Abstract
Purpose: :
It has been well established that vitamin A supplementation is a highly effective intervention to reduce morbidity, mortality, and blindness among children in developing countries. The objective of this study is to characterize the coverage of the Cambodian national vitamin A program among preschool children and to identify risk factors for not receiving vitamin A supplementation.
Methods: :
The study subjects were preschool children and their families who participated in the 2005 Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), a nationally representative survey that was part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) project.
Results: :
Of 1,547 preschool children, aged 12-59 months, 42.8% received a vitamin A capsule within the last six months. There were no significant differences in paternal education, child age, fever within the last 2 weeks, stunting, underweight, or wasting between children who did or did not receive a vitamin A capsule. Maternal education of ≥10 years (Odds Ratio [O.R.] 2.09, 95% Confidence Interval [C.I.] 1.02 - 4.29), 7-9 years (O.R. 1.46, 95% C.I. 0.99 - 2.15), 4-6 years (O.R. 1.71, 95% C.I. 1.26 - 2.32), and 1-3 years (O.R. 1.50, 95% C.I. 1.10 - 2.06) was associated with the child receiving a vitamin A capsule compared to no formal education in multivariate analyses adjusting for other potential confounders. The national vitamin A supplementation program in Cambodia did not reach over one-half of preschool children in 2005.
Keywords: vitamin A deficiency • nutritional factors