STUDY DESIGN

Cross sectional study will be conducted to determine the prevalence of stunting among under-
five children. Cross sectional study will be used because it can assess both, the exposure and
outcome at the same time and also, it saves time and inexpensive to use.
STUDY AREA
The study will be conducted at Nkasi district in Rukwa region. Simple random sampling was
used to select this district out of four (4) districts that are found within Rukwa region. This is the
region of choice due to high prevalence of Stunting, despite being the region that produces large
amount of food in Rukwa region.
Another reason of selecting this region is that, it is one of the regions located near the Lake
Tanganyika, thus it predisposes Children to water-borne diseases associated with physical and
mental health. These have impacts to their growth and development.
STUDY POPULATION
In this study the population will be under-five children of Nkasi district as they are the most
vulnerable affected group of the community in regard to stunting.
 Inclusion Criteria
i. All under-five children who live in Nkasi district will be included in this
study.
ii. Mother or caretaker (Including Father, siblings, relatives and maids)
 Exclusion Criteria
i. All under-five children who are seriously sick.
ii. All under-five children with disabilities
iii. All under-five children who recently start to live at Nkasi district in less
than one month.

SAMPLE SIZE;
It is obtained from Kish Leslie’s formula,
N=Z2P (100-P)
E2

Where,
N- Sample size
P- Prevalence or Expected proportion
Z- Statistical significance level
 E- Margin or bound of error on the quantity to be estimated

 Using the Confidence interval of 95%, Z will be 1.96~ 2

 (According to Tanzania National Survey of 2018), P=35%
 When 95% Confidence interval is used the maximum tolerated error will be, E= 5%

From,
N=Z2P (100-P)
E2
N=22×35(100-35)
52
N=4×35×65
25

N=364
Therefore, sample size will be 364.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE;
Multistage sampling will be used to obtain samples in this study. This will save time and avoid
the need to study all areas within the district.
Firstly, the sampling will involve a simple random sampling process of all wards (There are 13
wards at Nkasi district).
After the random selection of wards, simple random sample of all streets will be taken then
simple random sample of households will be done. In households the Mother or care taker of
under-five children will be asked to answer questions and will be asked to allow their children to
undergo anthropometric measurement (measurement of height or length)
DATA COLLECTION;
The following methods will be imposed in this study,
 Questionnaire: A well prepared and pretested set of questions to collect household
information placed within the KOBO tool box software installed in smart phones.
Interview will also be conducted with parents or caretaker of children to fill the
information. The questionnaire will comprise mixed type questions (both open ended and
closed ended questions).
  Anthropometric measurement: There will be measurement of height or length which
will be measured by height/length board.
 For children below 2 years, length will be measured were;
The child will be laid on the length board and by the aid of two people, the measurer and
the assistant measurer. The measurer will take the readings and the assistant measurer
will adjust the child in case of any movements for the measurer to obtain accurate
readings. The readings will be recorded by the measurer.
 For children above 2 years, height will be measured were
The child will be asked to stand on the height board by the aid of two people, the
measurer and assistant measurer. The assistant measurer will make sure that the child is
standing in a proper posture and the measurer will record the height.

DEFINITION OF VARIABLES;
 Independent Variables
These are, factors associated with stunting such as socioeconomic factors, diseases,
feeding practices and oral health.
 Dependent Variables
Prevalence of stunting among under-five children.

DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS;

Data from Questionnaires and anthropometric measurement (height or length) will be obtained
from the study field. Then processed into sheets and computers by using ENA for smart
software and SPSS for data analysis, and the results will be tabulated.

DATA PRESENTATION (DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS);

The results will be published, shared and compared with other research results. Then, the results
will be shared to other professionals, magazine, libraries, journals, internet and Newspaper.

ETHICAL ISSUES;
 Ethical clearance letter:
This will be obtained from the University of Dodoma Ethical committee and submitted
to Nkasi district commissioners. Their permission will permit us to go further to local
authority leaders. Hence, we will be able to reach the households for research purpose.
 The Anthropometric measurement will be recorded in privacy to ensure confidentiality
and privacy.
 The names will not be included in questionnaires to hide the identity of respondents.
 Nature of the study will be informed to all respondents and information obtained will be
used for research purpose only.
 No harm to subjects (method used will be acceptable and reliable)
 Advice and counseling will be given to respondents if necessary.