Factors Influencing the Quality of Life and Nutritional Status of 0-2 Years Old Children

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of children factors, family factors, and access to healthcare services on children’s quality of life as perceived by caregivers and nutritional status of 0 to 2 years old children.Materials and Methods: This study employed predictive design. The sample group consisted of 106 caregivers with children aged 0 to 2 years old from five subdistricts in one province in Central region in Thailand. The research instruments included the Demographic Data of Parents and Children Questionnaire; the Access to Healthcare Services Questionnaire; the Child-Rearing Practices Questionnaire; the Quality of Life of 0-2-year-old Children Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using the Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, and multivariate logistic regression.Results: Logistic regression model accounted for 34 % of variance in children’s quality of life (Nagelkerke R2= 0.34) and 35.3% of variance in their nutritional status (Nagelkerke R2=.35). Factors predicting the QoL of children were the maternal age (OR=4.75; 95%CI = 1.16, 19.45, p < .05), and the child-rearing practices (OR=5.68; 95%CI = 1.97, 16.40, p < .05). Factors predicting nutritional status were maternal age (OR=0.088; 95%CI = 0.01, 0.79; OR=0.225; 95%CI=0.02, 2.34, p < .05), and child-rearing practices (OR=7.84; 95%CI = 1.93, 31.84, p < .05). Finally, access to healthcare services had a significant association with QoL of children (χ2 = 9.632, p < .05).Conclusion: Healthcare personnel should improve children’s quality of life and nutritional status by organizing programs to promote child-rearing practices and facilitating parents for accessibility to healthcare services.