Attached
I ntroduction: Institutional care is the commonest
001 uti on for chi I dren depri ved of paental ca'e i n Sri
, Lanka. They have multiple risk factors which can
contri bute to a worse outcome wi th rega-d to growth
and dENei opment. Daa regardi ng grpwth of Sri
Lankan i nstituti onal i sed chi I drerJ are I ecki ng.
Objective: To assess growth arid nutritional stctusof
institutionalised chi I dren less thai five years of age
in the Colombo di stri ct.
Method: It is a descriptive cross sectional study
conducted in 8 rarldomly saected voluntary foster
care institutions in the Colombo District housing
children less then five years old. Children with an
uncerta n date of bi rth, chroni c ill nesses and gerJeti c
or congerJitai detects were exel uded from the study.
Data on growth were compared wi th i nformati on on
mal nutri ti on of chi I drerJ be ow 5 years i n Sri Lanka
Results: One hundred and eig,ty children were
erJrolled in the study. Among girls, 21% ha::J
moderate stunti ng and 13% severe stunti ng. In boys,
30% were moderctel y stunted end 8% ooverel y
stunted. In gi rl S, prENai erlCe of moderate end severe
underweight was 25% and 18% respectively. In
boys, 26% had modercte underwei ght and 17% had
severe underweight. Whilst 20% of girlsand 14% of
boys were moda-ately wasted,. 7% of girls and 8%
of boys wa-e severely wasted. Prevaence of
stunti ng, underwei ght and wasti ng was si gnifi cantl y
higha- in the study cohort. (p<0.OO1 for all three
categories of malnutrition).
Conclusion: Children less than five years of age in
foster care institutions in Colombo district have
si gni fi cant growth i mpai rrneot.
