Association of childcare practices and stunting among children beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program: A nested case-control study

Background@#Childcare is a challenging task particularly for caregivers in urban slums. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) aims to improve the beneficiaries' caregiving practices, which could compensate for the negative effects of poverty on children's nutritional status. @*Objective@#To determine the association of childcare practices (CCP) and stunting among children beneficiaries residing in Pasay City. @*Methodology@#This nested case-control study included 7 to 9 year-old children cohorts who were enrolled in the 4Ps in 2008, comprising of 82 stunted and 97 normal children. The outcome and predictor variables were the child's height-for-age z score (HAZ) and household CCP, respectively. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to determine the association between the desirability of HH CCP and stunting, and HH CCP score and HAZ, respectively. @*Results@#Six out of 10 beneficiaries had “desirable” CCP. Stunting was more likely observed among children whose households have undesirable CCP; who were enrolled in 4Ps at a younger age; had low birth weights; male; whose primary caregivers are less than 40 years old; whose maternal heights are less than 151 cm; whose primary caregivers had less than 7 years of education; and whose monthly household income is less than PhP 9,000. Undesirable CCP is associated with stunting, and the HH CCP score had a positive relationship with HAZ score among children. @*Conclusion@#Desirable CCP decrease the likelihood of stunting among children. Therefore, improving the childcare practices of beneficiaries could decrease the prevalence of childhood stunting.

Dietary diversity of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in selected barangays in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> The study aimed to analyze the household dietary diversity of beneficiary and non-beneficiary households of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in selected barangays in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines and determine the nutritional status of children (6-60 months old) within these households.<br /><strong>METHODS:</strong> Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was used as an indicator for the households' dietary diversity. The nutritional status of children was determined using anthropometric data from the Barangay Health Centers. A total of 270 households was randomly selected through stratified random sampling with equal allocation.<br /><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Findings showed that beneficiary households had higher HDDS compared to the non-beneficiary households. The results also suggest that beneficiary households with larger household size, higher income, who were living in rural areas and who have female as well as more educated financial managers, tend to have a more diverse diet. On the other hand, a higher prevalence of malnutrition was observed among children in beneficiary households.<br /><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> Beneficiary households of 4Ps had better diet quality in terms of diversity than non-beneficiary households. However, the advantage of having a more diverse diet has not fully addressed the malnutrition problem among children as it was still widely prevalent in beneficiary households.</p>