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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Multiple caregiving arrangements have become common for childcare globally, and South Africa is no exception. Previous childcare studies mainly focused on the caregiver and household characteristics. Evidence on the influence of childcare on malnutrition is sparse. This study aimed to examine the relationship between exposure to secondary and multiple forms of care and child malnutrition, with a particular focus on child stunting and overweight among children. A cross-sectional study of a sample of 2966 dyads of mothers and children under five were analysed from the 2017 National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Wave 5. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that 22.16% of the children were stunted and that 16.40% were overweight. Most children were mainly cared for at home (67.16%) during the day. Some results of the obtained multivariable analyses show that lack of being cared for in a crèche or school during the day was significantly associated with stunting (odds ratio (OR) 2; confidence interval (CI) 1.10–3.62, p < 0.05) and overweight (OR) 3.82; (CI) 1.60–9.08, p < 0.05). Furthermore, in this study, 69.88% of children who were cared for at home by the primary caregiver had no other forms of multiple care arrangements. The results showing high stunting and overweight rates among children cared for at home suggest that the government needs to look into supporting caregiver parenting. The high unemployment rates in the country highlight the importance of socioeconomic status in childcare and its implication for children’s nutritional outcomes. The study’s findings suggest the need for innovative strategies to address the challenges associated with multi-caregiving which negatively affects children’s nutritional outcomes.

Details

Title
The Relationship between Childcare-Giving Arrangements and Children’s Malnutrition Status in South Africa
Author
Sello, Matshidiso 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Adedini, Sunday A 2 ; Odimegwu, Clifford 3 ; Petlele, Rebaone 3 ; Talent Tapera 3 

 Demography and Population Studies Programme, Schools of Public Health and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa; Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa 
 Demography and Population Studies Programme, Schools of Public Health and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa; Department of Demography and Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti 371104, Nigeria 
 Demography and Population Studies Programme, Schools of Public Health and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa 
First page
2572
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2774904195
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.