Keywords
under-five children,
urban-rural disparities,
One Health
How to Cite
Abstract
Vitamin A deficiency represents a convergence of nutritional, environmental, and health system challenges. Within a One Health framework, determinants of vitamin A deficiency among under-five children extend beyond dietary intake to include animal-source food availability, environmental sanitation, infection burden, and access to preventive health services, particularly in settings characterized by urban–rural disparities. This study examines urban-rural factors influencing VAD in under-five children.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 260 mother-child pair respondents between October 2022 and November 2022. The participants were selected by a multi-stage sampling technique. Children's serum retinol levels were determined by high‑performance liquid chromatography. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and a data sheet. Data were processed using IBM® SPSS version 25 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Prevalence of vitamin A was significantly higher in rural than in urban communities (33.8% vs 16.2%, p=0.002). In urban communities, a statistically significant association was found between vitamin A deficiency and fathers’ occupation (p < 0.001) and vitamin A supplementation (p = 0.017). However, in rural areas, a statistically significant association was found between Vitamin A deficiency and fathers’ occupation (p<0.001), vitamin A supplement (p = 0.017), birth order (p = 0.010), and Family size (p = 0.008).
Conclusion: Vitamin A deficiency was prevalent, but a significantly higher proportion of children in the rural areas had vitamin A deficiency as compared to those in the urban areas.
Recommendation: Community health workers should educate parents about the importance of taking advantage of vitamin A supplementation and ensuring children eat foods from all food groups.