Assessment of Fathers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Nutritional Needs of their Children under 5 Year-Old in Kigeme Refugee Camp in Rwanda

Abstract

The educational level of parents significantly impacts the quality of nutrition provided to their children. The specific research objective of this paper states the influence of fathers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices on children's lives at Kigeme refugee camp. A descriptive survey research design was employed. The target population was 850 fathers, and the Alain Bouchard formula was used to get a sample size of 264 respondents, where the inclusion criteria included fathers having children under 5 years old in the Kigeme refugee camp. Nutrition literacy theory was used to guide the study. A questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. The findings revealed that 55.3% of respondents indicated that they did not know how or when a child can be taken for anthropometric measurements. 118 (44.7%) know, and they are interested. It was also found that 57.2 %, as indicated by the study participants, showed that infants have to start to eat at 6 months. Furthermore, the study found that the number of children who are not fed by their fathers is high, as confirmed by 79.6% of the respondents. The study concludes that fathers did not have efficient knowledge, practices, and attitudes toward the growth and feeding of their children under 5 years old, and a few who have such knowledge declare that they have no access to diversified food in order to prepare the recommended balanced diet for their children in the Kigeme refugee camp. The study recommends that there is a need to create opportunities for fathers to access the diversified food of their children and to expand kitchen gardens in Kigeme refugee camp, which could help them enrich their diet through vegetables gotten from them.