MALNUTRITION IN VILLAGE LOOC:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL

REFLECTION

____________________

A Thesis

Presented to the Faculty of the

College of Nursing

University of Cebu – Lapu-lapu and Mandaue Campus

Mandaue City, Philippines

_________________

In Partial Fulfilment of

the Requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing

By:

CARUSCA ESMALIN LAMOSAO LORDAN MACACHOR SUMALINOG

October 2022
Rationale:

One of the biggest issues in both wealthy and poor nations is malnutrition. The
figures for malnutrition in children are growing exponentially. On a global scale, in 2011,
roughly 165 million children under 5 years old were found to be too short for their age or
stunted, and 101 million and 52 million children were assessed to be underweight and
wasted, respectively; stunting is indicative of the level of chronic malnutrition; wasting, on
the other hand, captures the extent of acute malnutrition (Laguna, 2015). The World Health
Organization reports that in 2020, there were an anticipated 149 million stunted (too short
for age), 45 million wasted (too thin for height), and 38.9 million overweight or obese
children worldwide. The WHO also notes that undernutrition is a contributing factor in
about 45% of fatalities in children under the age of five, most of these take place in low-
and middle-income nations; the global burden of malnutrition has substantial and long-
lasting effects on individuals, families, communities, and nations in terms of development,
economy, social issues, and health. Laguna (2015), also noted in her study that 80% of the
tally of malnutrition is prevalent in 14 countries; India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Philippines, Tanzania, Egypt,
Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan.
The Philippines is ranked 9th in the world with the greatest number of stunted
children under the age of 59 months. Being situated in the Southeast Asian region, the
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) also reported that in
2021, 27.4% of Southeast Asian children under 5 have stunted growth, 7.5% of people are
overweight and 8.2% are wasteful, approximately 1 out of every 2 children in the area are
lacking in at least one micronutrient.
Stunting is a significant public health concern in the Philippines, as evidenced by
the fact that the country is rated fifth among East Asia and Pacific countries with the highest
prevalence of stunting and is among the 10 countries with the highest number of stunted
children globally.
Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines, currently has a program called ‘Electronic
Operation Timbang’, a program that charts the weight of children aged under 59 months to
assess their nutritional needs and to interpret their nutritional status. The data for the year
2021 revealed that there are 9,498 stunted children and 3, 438 severely stunted children in
Mandaue City indicating that stunting is 10% prevalent in the city.
In a smaller environment, barangay Looc in Mandaue city currently has 40
malnourished children in the year 2021-2022 under the age of twenty-four months (data
retrieved from Looc Health Center), the chart does not include children that have not visited
the Looc health center. Barangay Looc continually charts malnourished children. In the
data recovered from the electronic operation timbang chart of village Looc, there are
approximately 234 stunted, 45 severely stunted, 38 overweight, 63 underweight, and 6
severely underweight children. When generalized, malnutrition is roughly 32% prevalent
across 15 sitios of village Looc. The data indicate that children from village Looc are
suffering from protein-energy malnutrition due to the fact that hundreds of children are
stunted and roughly 63 are underweight.
In an attempt to know the culprit of the alarming prevalence of childhood
malnutrition in village Looc, a qualitative study must be utilized to at least identify common
concerns that the maternal parents of these malnourished children have, to determine
misconceptions about malnutrition, to know the level of knowledge they have in terms of
malnutrition, and to promote child health among residents in village Looc.

Most Filipino children are underweight due to inadequate consumption of

nutritional and healthy food, particularly protein (Mbuya et al, 2021). Families who live in
poor households are unable to acquire the basic nutritional needs of a child, making them
more susceptible to diseases. Balanced nutrition plays a pivotal role in a child’s physical
growth, work capacity, and cognitive development (Mbuya et al, 2021). However,
malnutrition inhibits growth, affects cognitive development, and reduces the physical work
capacity of the children.

Malnutrition is not limited to stunted and wasted children; it also covers overweight
children. The data retrieved from village Looc’s health center revealed that there are 38
overweight children, which also marks as a concern. However, a lot of these children are
stunted or short for their age, indicating protein-energy malnutrition. This kind of
malnutrition is a common concern in the country. Breastfeeding is an important factor that
contributes to malnutrition. In a study by Magani et. al (2020), entitled “Breast-feeding,
water and sanitation, and childhood malnutrition in the Philippines”, it is said that
breastfeeding provides important health benefits to children in low-income households.
Some of these undernourished children are under 24 months old, which belongs to the age
group of breastfed children, however, there is still an alarming prevalence of malnutrition
belonging to this age group.

A qualitative research approach is taken into consideration to understand the

phenomena better. Using thematic analysis, the results will be used as variables to focus on
for potential interventions that will eradicate malnutrition in the barangay.

Atheoretical Stance

In conducting qualitative research, the suspension of reading related studies and

theories is necessary. To eliminate subjectivity and uphold an unbiased and raw approach
to the thematic method of analysis, we are setting aside the review of related literature and
theory identification. While the primary aim of this research looks at studying the lived
experiences of parents of malnourished children, it is necessary that the research will not
be predisposed by related or prior studies that will likely cause biases and subjectivity.
Gathering raw and first-hand findings will lead to the formulation of a theoretical stance
that will come in the later phases of writing this paper or at the end of data analysis and
interpretation. The study will prioritize the thematic analysis of phenomenological
variations through the gathered data and its interpretation. Integrating related studies and
literature will also come after the interpretation and analysis of data.

Philosophical Stance

The philosophy anchored in this study is interpretivism. The foundation of

interpretive philosophy is the conviction that science is inherently subjective, allowing for
additional models of reality (Bharadwaj, 2000). In light of qualitative research, we chose
to anchor interpretivism to view alternative models of reality. Since our problem is
concerned with malnutrition, we would like to pertain to questions on why the phenomenon
exists, which we believe are subjective because of the qualitative research design.
Malnutrition that is happening in village Looc is what we are looking into, to know the
phenomenon better, the philosophical approach of interpretivism is utilized to gather
subjective data that is associated with sociology and soft sciences. It defines its
characteristics as subjective as seen by the participants. We will also use quotes and themes
in the words of the research informants that provide pieces of evidence from different
perspectives.

We will be immersed in the environment of the informants in order to understand

their lived experiences and relate them to the identified variables. To understand the
phenomena better, we are reflecting on the informants’ lived experiences, that is
epistemological in nature.

In terms of the rhetorical philosophical assumption, the language utilized is native

Cebuano and English. The selection of the mentioned languages varies from what the
informant understands better. The questions are written in a literary style using personal
voice and qualitative terms.

The methodological approach in this study is pure qualitative that uses inductive
reasoning, focusing on the specific perspectives of the informants and later will be
generalized as themes or findings of the study that will be used to revise questions derived
from experiences in the field.
 The Problem

Domains of Inquiry

This study will be conducted to know the lived experiences of maternal/paternal

parents of malnourished children in village Looc with the aim to address common lapses
in nutrition and to start eradicating malnourishment in the village.

To address the problem, the following sub-problems are generated and taken into
consideration:

1. What are the parents’ concepts of malnutrition?

2. What are their children’s dietary patterns?
3. How do the parents describe the current nutritional status of their child?
4. How important is their child’s nutrition?
5. In what way are they nourishing their child’s nutrition?
6. What kind of constraints are they having that have led to their child being
malnourished?
7. How do the parents perceive the following:
a. breastfeeding and malnutrition;
b. diarrhea and their child’s nutrition;
c. sanitation of toilets and homes, and their child’s nutrition?
8. How alarming do they find the nutritional status of their child?
9. What is their overall experience as parents with a malnourished child?
10. How would they like to be helped in promoting nutrition?

Significance of The Study

Barangay Officials. The council of Barangay Looc will use the findings in this study to
plan interventions that will slowly eradicate malnutrition.

Department of Health. Workers of the department will be able to understand more about
the problem and address it through evidence-based practice, research-based intervention,
and appropriate strategies to eradicate or diminish malnutrition cases; especially in
newborns and infants.

UCLM CARES. As active participants in community extension, the CARES office along
with the representatives can execute better teaching strategies that will be beneficial to the
residents of Village Looc.

Parents of Malnourished Children. When themes are determined, parents will be

informed of their lapses in taking care of children. When these lapses in child care are
improved, potential eradication of malnutrition in the barangay can be evident in the
coming year.

Future Researchers. The need for the expansion of this study is essential, this qualitative
research is limited, has minimal scope, and is partly subjective. To understand and address
the problem further, quantitative researchers can use the themes in this study as variables
that are subject to statistical treatment that will determine differences and relationships
among the variables.
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