Prevention of Malnutrition among Children in Kenya: Nursing Intervention

Abstract

Malnutrition remains a significant public health concern in the developing world, including but not limited to Kenya. It compromises children’s immune systems and health, thereby increasing their susceptibility to infections. In this respect, the current study sought to establish nursing interventions in alleviating malnutrition among children in Kenya. The study’s aim is to identify nursing interventions adopted by nurses to help prevent malnutrition among children below five years in Kenya. The goal of this literature review is to contribute to the planning and execution of prevention programs in the most severely affected regions of Kenya. This will be achieved by analyzing nursing interventions adopted by nurses to help prevent malnutrition among children below five years in Kenya in a systematic manner. The research adopted a literature review approach. The data was collected by conducting a search strategy employing an inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify pertinent literature or articles addressing child malnutrition and nursing interventions employed for the prevention of malnutrition among children in Kenya. The researcher conducted a qualitative data analysis, particularly using thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes emanating from the reviewed articles. The findings revealed various interventions used by nurses in Kenya to prevent malnutrition among children below five years, which are categorized into three main themes including community-based malnutrition management strategies (Educating mothers on basic health and nutrition, Deworming programs), health-facility based malnutrition management strategies (teaching mothers on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, counselling of mothers on basic health and hygiene, early identification and prevention of low birthweights through antenatal care, immunization and vaccination of infants and weight and growth monitoring promotion services) and nutrition-based interventions (such as provision and distribution of Therapeutic foods, giving supplementary foods and nutrition assessment and malnutrition screening and treatment). The study concluded that since malnutrition among children still remain a challenge despite these nursing interventions efforts, there is need for multisectoral action that may be the best way to tackle malnutrition challenges in Kenya, primarily based on the complex circumstances in poor settings.

Keywords/tags (subjects) Child malnutrition; community education; nutritional intake; supplements; under-nutrition; nursing interventions. Miscellaneous (Confidential information) For example, the confidentiality marking of the thesis appendix. See Project Reporting Instructions, Section 4.1.2.