Table 4.
Factors associated with not meeting the requirements for minimum meal frequency 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* | ||
| Liberia | Household wealth index | |||
| Poor | 1.00 | |||
| Middle | 0.65 | [0.43, 0.99] | 0.043 | |
| Rich | 0.86 | [0.51, 1.44] | 0.573 | |
| Mother watched television | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.68 | [0.48, 0.96] | 0.031 | |
| Mother's education | ||||
| No schooling | 1.00 | |||
| Primary | 0.84 | [0.62, 1.14] | 0.265 | |
| Secondary and higher | 0.66 | [0.44, 0.97] | 0.034 | |
| Perceived baby size | ||||
| Small | 1.00 | |||
| Average | 0.57 | [0.40, 0.82] | 0.003 | |
| Large | 0.86 | [0.58, 1.29] | 0.475 | |
| Administrative region | See details below † | |||
| Nigeria | Child's age (months) | |||
| 6–11 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 0.85 | [0.75, 0.96] | 0.012 | |
| 18–23 | 1.10 | [0.96, 1.27] | 0.175 | |
| Mother watched television | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.79 | [0.67, 0.94] | 0.008 | |
| Household wealth index | ||||
| Poor | 1.00 | |||
| Middle | 1.04 | [0.88, 1.22] | 0.665 | |
| Rich | 1.23 | [1.01, 1.50] | 0.043 | |
| Mother listened to the radio | ||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 0.79 | [0.69, 0.90] | <0.001 | |
| Geographical region | See details below ‡ | |||
| Sierra Leone | Child's age (months) | |||
| 6–11 | 1.00 | |||
| 12–17 | 1.67 | [1.27, 2.19] | <0.001 | |
| 18–23 | 1.90 | [1.33, 2.69] | <0.001 | |
| Geographical region | See details below § | |||
| Timing of post‐natal check‐up | ||||
| Missing/do not know | 0.84 | [0.60, 1.16] | 0.286 | |
| 0–2 days | 1.00 | |||
| 3–6 days | 0.63 | [0.44, 0.89] | 0.008 | |
| Seventh day or later | 0.77 | [0.49, 1.21] | 0.251 | |
| Mode of delivery | ||||
| Non‐caesarean | 1.00 | |||
| Caesarean | 0.40 | [0.16, 1.00] | 0.05 | |
OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval. Adjusted ORs with multivariate logistic regression analysis, 2007–2013. *Compared with the Volta region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum meal frequency was significantly higher in the Central [OR = 3.10, 95% CI: (1.40, 6.80) ], the Greater Accra [OR = 3.20, 95% CI: (1.40, 7.80) ], the Western [OR = 9.10, 95% CI: (3.70, 22.50) ], the Eastern [OR = 9.10, 95% CI: (3.80, 22.30) ], the Ashanti [OR = 4.20, 95% CI: (1.90, 9.50) ], the Brong Ahafo [OR = 7.50, 95% CI: (3.30, 17.10) ], the Northern [OR = 11.10, 95% CI: (4.90, 25.00) ], the Upper East [OR = 8.60, 95% CI: (3.30, 22.70) ] and the Upper West [OR = 3.80, 95% CI: [1.70, 8.50) ] regions in Ghana. †Compared with the Monrovia region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum meal frequency was significantly higher in the North Western [OR = 2.73, 95% CI: (1.37, 5.41) ] region in Liberia. ‡Compared with the North Central region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum meal frequency was significantly higher in the South South [OR = 1.45, 95% CI: (1.13, 1.87) ] and lower in the North East [OR = 0.51, 95% CI: (0.41, 0.64) ] and the North West [OR = 0.52, 95% CI: (0.42, 0.64) ] regions in Nigeria. §Compared with the Eastern region, the odds for not meeting requirement for minimum meal frequency was significantly higher in the Northern [OR = 1.65, 95% CI: (1.10, 2.49) ] and lower in the Southern [OR = 0.67, 95% CI: (0.51, 1.12) ] region in Sierra Leone.