Peer-reviewed article
Risk of child undernutrition in households with life-limiting illness: A cross-sectional study.
Janni B Petersen, Irene Naleba, Josephine Namugambe, Sofine Heilskov, Per Kallestrup ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared children under five living in Ugandan households with a member receiving home-based palliative care against children in neighboring households without such members. The researchers measured malnutrition, food security, and healthcare access. Contrary to expectations, children in households with life-limiting illness showed no higher risk of undernutrition and even had slightly better nutritional indicators, though they experienced higher food insecurity. The findings suggest that home-based palliative care may have a protective effect on child nutrition.
Key points
- No statistically significant difference in undernutrition prevalence between the high-risk group and comparison group
- Children in households with life-limiting illness showed a trend towards less undernutrition on all continuous nutrition indicators
- The high-risk group experienced higher food insecurity than the comparison group
- Overall acute malnutrition prevalence was lower than expected in both groups
- Stunting was higher than expected in both groups, possibly due to seasonal variability
Limitations
The study was conducted during a single season (April to July 2021), which may not represent year-round patterns of undernutrition. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or determine which specific elements of home-based palliative care might be protective.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An ongoing challenge within the field of undernutrition is to identify children at risk. AIM: The objective of this study was to investigate whether children who are living in households inhabiting a household member with a life-limiting illness are at risk of undernutrition. SETTING: A comparative cross-sectional study was performed in Uganda. METHODS: We collected anthropometric data on children under the age of five and information on household dietary diversity, food security and healthcare barriers. Study participants for the hypothesised high-risk group were recruited within households receiving home-based palliative care. The comparison group included neighbouring households. RESULTS: Data collection from 145 paired households was performed from April to July 2021. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence of undernutrition. For all continuous nutrition indicators there was a trend towards less undernutrition in the hypothesised high-risk group than in the comparison group. We found lower overall prevalence of acute malnutrition than expected. The hypothesised high-risk group was associated with higher food insecurity than the comparison group. CONCLUSION: Lower overall acute malnutrition than expected may be because of the season variability. Stunting was higher than expected in both groups, which may suggest season variability in undernutrition. The results suggest a protective effect of receiving home-based palliative care on child nutritional status.Contribution: The study did not show a risk of child undernutrition in households inhabiting a household member with life-limiting illness. Future research may identify key elements responsible for the potential protective effects of home-based palliative care on child undernutrition.