1.
Ceylon Med J
;
2006 Jun; 51(2): 63-5
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-49090
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the prevalence of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in children under five years (n = 52), in three randomly selected, State operated foster care institutions in Sri Lanka. The prevalence of PEM, was (51.9%), underweight (63.5%) and wasting (25.0%) was found to be considerably higher than the national prevalence (13.5%, 29.4%, 14.0%, respectively). Based on this preliminary evidence, it is recommended that a study representative of all institutionalised children in both State and private facilities be conducted to identify deficiencies and recommend improvements to institutional care in Sri Lanka.