Hidden hunger and child undernutrition in South Asia: A meta-ethnographic systematic review.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: South Asia hosts the largest proportion of undernourished children in the world. Hidden hunger and undernutrition continue to be a major global health concern in the region. A systematic review looking at factors and drivers for hidden hunger and child undernutrition was undertaken. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This review was conducted using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta- Analysis guidelines. Five computerized databases were searched CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus, in addition to various grey literature sources. RESULTS: A total of 3601 articles were retrieved from databases and 25 studies from grey literature, 98 studies met our inclusion criteria. Included studies were assessed for quality by validated tools. A Meta-ethnographic narrative approach was used to analyse the findings. The most commonly reported factors for child undernutrition were maternal education, poor dietary diversity and rural residence. CONCLUSIONS: Based on findings we propose a model to mainstream context specific nutrition behavioural change along with nutrition specific and sensitive interventions aimed at targeting gender, social and cultural factors and norms. Findings from the review add to the extant literature of child undernutrition to inform policy and program.