Effect of mothers’ use of information and communication technologies on dietary quality and undernutrition in young children in Kenya

Abstract

Child undernutrition remains a global challenge, with 200 million underfives suffering from wasting and stunting. Mothers’ access to nutrition and healthrelated information is critical for improving children’s dietary quality and nutrition outcomes. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in lowand middle-income countries is increasing and could improve mothers’ access to this information. This paper examines the effect of mother’s use of ICT on dietary quality and child undernutrition in a lower-middle-income country. The study uses a nationally representative sample of 10,385 children aged 6–59 months extracted from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015–2016. Dietary quality was measured using a child’s dietary diversity score (CDDS), while undernutrition was measured using underweight, wasting, and stunting levels. An instrumental variable approach was used to control for endogeneity of dietary quality and was executed using extended probit and extended ordered probit models. The study found that except for breast milk and dairy products, children of mothers who used ICT had significantly higher consumption of all food groups (P < 0.01). Children whose mothers used ICT had a higher CCDS and nutrient-dense food consumption (P < 0.01). Besides, the study found a significant (p < 0.01) positive effect of mothers’ use of ICT on the quality of children’s diets, with radio having the, most substantial effect. Dietary quality significantly (p < 0.01) and negatively affected the prevalence of being underweight and wasted. Children of mothers using ICT were found to have a significantly (p < 0.05) lower prevalence and severity of underweight and stunting, with the strongest effect resulting from mobile phone use. This research offers novel evidence to policymakers about the importance of incorporating ICT into policies and interventions for disseminating child nutritional and health information to mothers and caregivers in low- and middle-income countries.