Qualitative Study on Nutrition- and Health-Related Knowledge Attitudes and Practices in Four High Stunting Regions of Lao PDR
Despite the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)’s significant economic growth over the last decade, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of malnutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Redressing these...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/735151602498872174/Qualitative-Study-on-Nutrition-and-Health-Related-Knowledge-Attitudes-and-Practices-in-Four-High-Stunting-Regions-of-Lao-PDR http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34660 |
| Summary: | Despite the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic (Lao PDR)’s significant economic growth over the
last decade, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern.
Rates of malnutrition are particularly high in remote,
rural, and upland areas. Redressing these high rates of
malnutrition is critical in reversing inequalities in
mortality and ill-health throughout people’s lives. This
report presents the results of a qualitative study to
investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related
to maternal and child health and nutrition in local
communities in four provinces of Lao PDR with high levels of
childhood undernutrition. While study participants were
aware of the importance and benefits of antenatal care,
facility-based birthing, and postnatal care, they also
reported significant barriers to accessing these services.
These barriers included poor road conditions and lack of
transportation, long distances to health facilities,
language difficulties, and lack of spousal support. With
regard to infant and young child feeding, many mothers were
aware of the benefits of colostrum for the first 24 hours
and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life
and tried to put this into practice. However, some ethnic
minority women stated that at times it was hard to prevent
grandmothers from giving the infant water or a little chewed
rice. There were mixed results when it came to growth
monitoring of children. Even though mothers did participate
in growth monitoring and promotion activities, most did not
fully understand the reasons behind those activities. Access
to clean water and appropriate sanitation facilities
depended on location, but few families had access to safe
water. While messages regarding handwashing and desisting
from open defecation were well known in most villages,
poverty and lack of support for providing safe and
sustainable sanitation systems diminished the ability of
many families to practice safe hygienic practices. |
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