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  • Title: Community nutrition survey in an urban settlement in Papua New Guinea.
    Author: Earland J, Freeman P.
    Journal: P N G Med J; 1993 Mar; 36(1):10-5. PubMed ID: 8266727.
    Abstract:
    Results of a small nutrition survey carried out in an urban settlement in Port Moresby are presented. Anthropometric, dietary and socioeconomic data were collected on 90 children under five years old and 78 adults. 30% of the children under five years old were below 80% weight for age. Of the 31% of adults found to be undernourished, the majority were females aged less than 30 years. With respect to dietary information, most families appear to eat a variety of foods though no attempt was made to measure quantity of foods consumed. Rice is the single most popular food, with 69% of adults having consumed it the previous day. Despite the high reliance on purchased foods, income appears to be low with the majority of people relying on money from relatives and the sale of home produce. The recommendations made for appropriate health and nutrition education may be applicable for other growing settlement populations in and around Port Moresby and other urban centres of Papua New Guinea. In May 1990 in Horsecamp settlement at Kilakila in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, community medicine students, a technical staff member, and a trained nutritionist went to 57 households of people who recently migrated from coastal areas to Port Moresby (84 adults and 90 under 5 year old children) to conduct interviews and take anthropometric measurements. The most frequently consumed food by adults (69%) and children (58%) was rice. They ate fresh fish more frequently than they did canned fish. They ate insufficient amounts of fruit. 30% of the children were below 80% weight for age. 7% were stunted. 12% were wasted. None of the children were both stunted and wasted. 30.7% of the adults were malnourished, 79.2% of whom were women and 74% of whom were women less than 30 years old. 38% of adults who responded to the question on age of introduction of foods other than breast milk introduced foods after the age of 5 months. 82% of the mothers had attended school. Just 13% of adults had paid employment. Other income sources were relatives and the sale of betel nut and garden produce. 68% of the food consumed came from the store and market. 26% of households received their food from the store and their own garden. 16 of the 27 families with their own garden did not eat any of the food themselves. 2 possible channels for health and nutrition education are the formal education system and the permanent family health clinic in Horsecamp. The researchers proposed that appropriate health education, including practical demonstrations, be conducted at every opportunity at the clinic, in the settlement, and in the schools.
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