The Association Between Soil Transmitted Helminth Infections with Nutritional Status in Children (A Cross Sectional Study in Elementary School, Candi Village, Semarang District, Central Java Province, Indonesia)

Elementary school age children are vulnerable group in nutrition issues caused by Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH). The infections of STH can block the nutrient absorbment through body. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between STH infections (Soil Transmitted helminths) with the nutritional status among elementary school age children. This research was a observational analytic with cross sectional design. This study was conducted in elementary schools, located in Candi village, Bandungan District, Semarang Regency. Subjects were selected by random sampling technique, with 71 students as sample. Data was tested with validity and reliability test to determine the data quality. Data was analyzed by Chi-square test, with a 95%confidence level. The Prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminth infection was 11.3% and the prevalence of underweight nutritional status was 40.8%. The statistical test showed that p value = 1.000 (p> 0.05). This study concluded that there is no statistical relationship between STH infection and nutritional status. Furthermore, to examine the main cause in nutritional status, students need feces observation