<p>Despite Bihar’s sustained economic growth, improvements in nutritional outcomes have not kept pace. The burden of undernutrition among children under the age of five in Bihar remains high. We conducted a study using spatial analysis to examine the distribution of stunting in children under five years of age in Bihar, based on the 2019–2021 Demographic and Health Survey. The study found that stunting is still a persistent issue in the country, albeit with varying rates across states. Although there have been some improvements in Bihar in terms of nutrition, stunting still prevails more in rural areas than in urban ones. Additionally, male children in Bihar are slightly more affected by stunting than female children, and those between the ages of 24–59 months are more susceptible than those aged between 0 and 24 months. The Getis-Ord Gi* statistic identified significant hot spot areas for stunting in India, including Sheikhpura, Sitamarhi, Gaya, Purba Champaran, and Darbhanga as the hotspot areas for childhood stunting in Bihar. The Spatial Scan Statistical Analysis identified one main cluster and five secondary clusters of stunting in Bihar. In total, there were 26 direct significant groups and 51, 107, 1, 1, and 147 significant groups in secondary clusters 1 to 5, respectively. Our study’s findings can help to develop strategies and localized interventions to combat stunting in Bihar. It is crucial to design public health interventions that target high-risk populations to reduce stunting in the worst-affected regions of Bihar.</p>

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Identifying the Geospatial Burden of Childhood Stunting in Bihar

  • Venkata Naga Sindhuja Padigapati,
  • Alka Singh,
  • Praveen Koovalamkadu Velayudhan,
  • Girish Kumar Jha

摘要

Despite Bihar’s sustained economic growth, improvements in nutritional outcomes have not kept pace. The burden of undernutrition among children under the age of five in Bihar remains high. We conducted a study using spatial analysis to examine the distribution of stunting in children under five years of age in Bihar, based on the 2019–2021 Demographic and Health Survey. The study found that stunting is still a persistent issue in the country, albeit with varying rates across states. Although there have been some improvements in Bihar in terms of nutrition, stunting still prevails more in rural areas than in urban ones. Additionally, male children in Bihar are slightly more affected by stunting than female children, and those between the ages of 24–59 months are more susceptible than those aged between 0 and 24 months. The Getis-Ord Gi* statistic identified significant hot spot areas for stunting in India, including Sheikhpura, Sitamarhi, Gaya, Purba Champaran, and Darbhanga as the hotspot areas for childhood stunting in Bihar. The Spatial Scan Statistical Analysis identified one main cluster and five secondary clusters of stunting in Bihar. In total, there were 26 direct significant groups and 51, 107, 1, 1, and 147 significant groups in secondary clusters 1 to 5, respectively. Our study’s findings can help to develop strategies and localized interventions to combat stunting in Bihar. It is crucial to design public health interventions that target high-risk populations to reduce stunting in the worst-affected regions of Bihar.