Abstract
Background: Malnutrition among under 5 years old children is a common public health issue in both developed and developing countries. As mothers are the key persons responsible for their young children, this study aimed to assess the levels and predictors of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of mothers of malnourished children less than 5 years old on South Tarawa, Kiribati. Methods: This study is a cross sectional prospective design. This study conducted in pediatric ward and public health clinics of 11 public health centers on South Tarawa in Kiribati and among 82 mothers with under 5 years old malnourished children who were admitted to the Pediatric ward and public health clinics. The knowledge, attitude and practice on breastfeeding, weaning, diet and immunization was collected using a self-administrated validated questionnaire. Bivariate correlation and linear regression were applied and the significance level for this study was 5%.Results: Majority of the mothers (66%) were 19-32 years old, 69.5% were Roman Catholics, 67% had attended high-school, 46% had husbands as breadwinners and 85% were married. The participants had a low level of knowledge and middle level of attitude and practice on breastfeeding, weaning, diet and immunization. Education level (r=0.319, p=0.004) and breadwinner at home (r=-0.239, p=0.031) were positively correlated with attitude. The results of linear regression were significant, F (2, 81) = 6.757, p= 0.002, r2 = 0.146, suggesting that education level and breadwinner accounted for 15% of the variance in attitude score. Conclusion: This study showed the importance of mothers’ attitude towards malnutrition. Encouraging female education could be a potential target for future policies to reduce malnutrition in Kiribati.