Peer-reviewed article
The coverage of indicators of sensitive and specific intervention programs and prevalence of stunting under-five children: A cross-sectional study in Aceh Province, Indonesia.
Teuku Muliadi, Aripin Ahmad, Abidah Nur, Nelly Marissa, Marisa et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between childhood stunting and the coverage of nutrition and health intervention programs across 13 districts in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Stunting prevalence was found to be significantly associated with four key interventions: supplementary feeding for pregnant women with chronic energy deficiency, zinc supplementation for children with diarrhea, parenting classes, and health insurance enrollment. The findings suggest that strengthening these four intervention areas could help reduce childhood stunting in the region.
Key points
- Supplementary feeding coverage for pregnant women with chronic energy deficiency showed a correlation of r = -0.57 with stunting prevalence
- Zinc supplementation for young children with diarrhea showed a correlation of r = -0.50 with stunting prevalence
- Parent participation in parenting classes showed the strongest correlation of r = -0.65 with stunting prevalence
- Health insurance program participation showed a correlation of r = -0.60 with stunting prevalence
- The study analyzed 20 sensitive and specific intervention program indicators but only four showed significant correlations
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study analyzing secondary data, which cannot establish causation or explain the mechanisms through which these interventions reduce stunting. The study does not provide information about the quality of implementation or confounding factors that may affect the relationships observed.
Abstract
Background: The prevalence of stunting children under-five in Aceh Province is still high due to multiple factors, including the sub-optimal coverage of intervention programs. Aim: This study aimed at finding out the correlation between the coverage of indicators of sensitive and specific intervention programs with prevalence of stunting in Aceh. Methods: A cross-sectional design analyzed secondary data from the Indonesia nutritional status survey and program coverage data in 13 regencies/cities in Aceh Province. The dependent variable was the prevalence of stunting. Meanwhile, the independent variable covered 20 sensitive and specific intervention program indicators. We apply STATA 16 to analyze the correlation between sensitive and specific coverage and stunting prevalence. Results: The coverage of indicators of pregnant women with chronic energy deficiency (CED) receiving supplementary feeding, young children with diarrhea receiving zinc supplementation, parents taking parenting classes, and participation in the health insurance program had a significant correlation with prevalence stunting in Aceh (r = -0.57; r = -0.50; r = -0.65; and r = -0.60). Conclusion: Intervention measures to avert childhood stunting in Aceh should include strengthening supplementary feeding programs for mothers and toddlers, supplementation to prevent toddler diarrhea, and counseling parents on parenting and health insurance.