Table 3.
Factors associated with inappropriate dietary diversity among children aged 6–23 months across four anglophone West African countries
| Country | Variable | OR | 95% CI | P‐value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Administrative region | See details below* | ||
| Child's age (months) | ||||
| 18–23 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 1.10 | [0.70, 1.70] | 0.748 | |
| 6–11 | 4.30 | [2.70, 6.80] | <0.001 | |
| Household wealth index | ||||
| Rich | 1.00 | |||
| Middle | 1.50 | [0.90, 2.50] | 0.107 | |
| Poor | 1.90 | [1.10, 3.10] | 0.017 | |
| Perceived baby size | ||||
| Large | 1.00 | |||
| Average | 1.40 | [1.00, 2.00] | 0.079 | |
| Small | 1.70 | [1.00, 2.70] | 0.039 | |
| Place of delivery | ||||
| Health facility | 1.00 | |||
| Home | 1.90 | [1.20, 2.80] | 0.003 | |
| Liberia | Child's age (months) | |||
| 6–11 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 0.46 | [0.31, 0.70] | <0.001 | |
| 18–23 | 0.38 | [0.26, 0.56] | <0.001 | |
| Child had ARI (past 2 weeks) | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.57 | [0.32, 1.00] | 0.049 | |
| Father's education | ||||
| No schooling | 1.00 | |||
| Primary | 1.96 | [1.22, 3.15] | 0.005 | |
| Secondary and higher | 1.05 | [0.71, 1.56] | 0.793 | |
| Father's occupation | ||||
| Not working | 1.00 | |||
| Agricultural | 1.79 | [1.10, 2.93] | 0.020 | |
| Non‐agricultural | 4.08 | [1.16, 14.39] | 0.029 | |
| Administrative region | See details below † | |||
| Nigeria | Child's age (months) | |||
| 6–11 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 0.39 | [0.32, 0.47] | <0.001 | |
| 18–23 | 0.32 | [0.26, 0.39] | <0.001 | |
| Mother read the newspaper/magazine | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.71 | [0.58, 0.87] | 0.001 | |
| Timing of post‐natal check‐up | ||||
| No check‐ups/missing | 1.00 | |||
| 0–2 days | 0.86 | [0.70, 1.05] | 0.138 | |
| 3–6 days | 1.07 | [0.77, 1.48] | 0.685 | |
| Seventh day or later | 0.68 | [0.51, 0.90] | 0.008 | |
| Geographical region | See details below ‡ | |||
| Household wealth index | ||||
| Poor | 1.00 | |||
| Middle | 0.69 | [0.53, 0.90] | 0.006 | |
| Rich | 0.64 | [0.48, 0.84] | 0.001 | |
| Child had diarrhoea (past 2 weeks) | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.79 | [0.64, 0.97] | 0.022 | |
| Mother's education | ||||
| No schooling | 1.00 | |||
| Primary | 0.69 | [0.54, 0.87] | 0.003 | |
| Secondary and higher | 0.67 | [0.52, 0.86] | 0.002 | |
| Preceding birth interval | ||||
| No previous birth | 1.00 | |||
| <24 months | 0.75 | [0.59, 0.95] | 0.017 | |
| >24 months | 0.91 | [0.75, 1.10] | 0.339 | |
| Type of delivery assistance | ||||
| Health professional | 1.00 | |||
| Traditional birth attendant | 0.72 | [0.50, 1.03] | 0.074 | |
| Other untrained personnel | 0.67 | [0.48, 0.94] | 0.019 | |
| Residence | ||||
| Urban | 1.00 | |||
| Rural | 1.33 | [1.06, 1.68] | 0.014 | |
| Sierra Leone | Child's age (months) | |||
| 6–11 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 0.37 | [0.28, 0.48] | <0.001 | |
| 18–23 | 0.18 | [0.13, 0.26] | <0.001 | |
| Mother's education | ||||
| No schooling | 1.00 | |||
| Primary | 0.83 | [0.55, 1.26] | 0.387 | |
| Secondary and higher | 0.62 | [0.41, 0.93] | 0.020 | |
| Mother's religion | ||||
| Muslim | 1.00 | |||
| Christian and others | 1.68 | [1.19, 2.37] | 0.003 | |
| Child had fever (last 2 weeks) | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.76 | [0.58, 0.99] | 0.043 | |
| Mother listened to the radio | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.70 | [0.54, 0.90] | 0.006 | |
| Timing of post‐natal check‐up | ||||
| No check‐ups/missing | 1.00 | |||
| 0–2 days | 0.76 | [0.541.06] | 0.104 | |
| 3–6 days | 1.65 | [1.04, 2.63] | 0.034 | |
| Seventh day or later | 0.75 | [0.53, 1.07] | 0.111 | |
| Mother's working status | ||||
| Non‐working | 1.00 | |||
| Working (past 12 months) | 0.69 | [0.50, 0.94] | 0.020 | |
OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; ARI, acute respiratory infection. Adjusted ORs by multivariate logistic regression analysis, 2007–2013. *Compared with the Volta region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum dietary diversity was significantly higher in the Northern [OR = 2.40, 95% CI: (1.10, 5.30) ] region in Ghana. †Compared with the Monrovia region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum dietary diversity was significantly higher in the South Central [OR = 4.08, 95% CI: (1.16, 14.39) ] region in Liberia. ‡Compared with the North Central region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum dietary diversity was significantly higher in the South South [OR = 1.89, 95% CI: (1.29, 2.79) ] and significantly lower in the South East [OR = 0.59, 95% CI: (0.42, 0.83) ] regions in Nigeria.