The role of intra-household dynamics in shaping food allocation and nutritional decision-making in the northern region of Ghana

Abstract:

This paper investigated how intra-household communication and decision-making structures impact the nutritional status of children under five years of age in Northern Region of Ghana. Multistage random sampling of 400 households was used over five malnutrition-prone districts. Information was gathered through well-designed questionnaires, focus groups and in-depth interviews of respondents (caregivers and district nutrition officers). A percentage analysis coupled with chi-square analysis in SPSS version 22.0 was carried out to analyse quantitative data whereas content analysis was carried out to analyse qualitative data. The results obtained showed that 93.8 percent of the respondents indicated that they attributed to radio as their major source of information and that 100 percent of the respondents used the healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses. Only 9.8 percent of respondents shared child nutrition information on the social media. Household decision-making indicated that 3.3 percent of the respondents were the household heads as 96.8 percent were household members. On decision making positions, 28.5 percent were shared decision makers, 38.0 percent were all limited to depend on other people at home and 33.5 percent were not involved. Fifty-five percent of the households reported mothers as tasked with preparing the meals and 50 percent of the respondents rated mothers as the main person in charge of feeding the children. The analysis of the study shows that intra-household communication and equitable access to nutrition information sources should be enhanced to change child nutrition. There is the recommendation to reinforce community-based nutrition education facilitated by the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service, and this could be done through radio and networks of health providers. There is also a need to push on access to internet in the rural areas, to improve digital literacy and to enhance out-reach of the workshops held in the community in order to promote informed food distribution and communal decision making in the house-hold.