Socio-economic factors associated with undernourished children, El Salvador rural poor survey, June 1977-May 1978

Such a system is essential in coordinating sectoral policies likely to affect nutritional status and monitoring the impact of such policies. After defining the survey sample and the measures used to identify protein-calorie malnutrition (the most prevalent form of malnutrition among Salvadoran children), the authors identify family-unit socioeconomic factors associated with child malnutrition in El Salvador (e.g., low income, lack of basic services, agricultural employment, smaller landholdings, illiteracy, and elderly and female heads of households). The impact of several of these factors is shown to vary greatly by urban vs. rural residency. Income, for example, is of little use in explaining malnutrition in rural households. The policy implications of these findings are then discussed and a multivariate model for targeting those at risk, designing appropriate interventions, and monitoring nutritional impacts is proposed. The model is characterized by its use of discriminant analysis to predict malnutrition; components of the model may vary depending on the population targeted. The text is illustrated by 14 maps and 72 tables; a 25-item bibliography (1950-83) is appended.