The status on care and nutrition of 774 children staying in rural areas while parents were in towns / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To understand the status on care and nutrition of children living in the rural areas (so called 'left-behind' children) while their parents were seeking for jobs in the urban areas. Methods Cross-sectional study was employed in this investigation.The group of‘left-behind' children (n=774) and the comparison group (n=774) were identified.The ascertainment methods mainly included questionnaire,anthropometries measurements,food-frequency,and laboratory examination.Results be poorly attended (X2=6.671,P=0.036;X2=15.053,P=0.001 ).Mothers who chose to work outside of their households would tend to choose bottle-feeding or decrease the duration of breastfeeding for their infants (X2=5.051,P=0.031;t=-7.201,P=0.001).The intake of milk and bean products in children were obviously lower than that seen in the control group (t=-2.150,P=0.032 ;t=-2.054,significant difference when comparing with the control group (X2=4.560,P=0.033 ).Conclusion communities,parents and extended families would facilitate more attention and effective intervention programs to improve the situation.