Background In resource-limited countries like Ethiopia, where malnutrition is a common problem, incarcerated people's sentences might be changed into a death sentence if the problems of undernutrition are not well understood and managed properly. There is limited evidence on nutritional status and associated factors among incarcerated people in low- income countries like Ethiopia, including the study area. Objective To assess the magnitude of undernutrition and associated factors among incarcerated people in Mizan prison institute, southwest Ethiopia. Methods An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 incarcerated people in Mizan prison institute from April 1 to 27, 2020, using a stratified sampling technique. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The outcome variable (undernutrition) was assessed by measuring body mass index (BMI). Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with undernutrition. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to measure the strength of association and a p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare the level of statistical significance. Results The magnitude of undernutrition was 18.6% (95%CI: 14.4%, 22.8%). Being in the age category of 18-29 years (AOR = 2.60; 95%CI: 1.22,5.52), history of previous incarceration (AOR = 2.31;95%CI: 1.23,4.34), duration of imprisonment (AOR = 1.19; 95%CI: 1.05,1.34), having depression (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.10,3.97) and sleeping in group (AOR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.18,4.01) were factors significantly associated with an increased odds of undernutrition. However, the presence of family support significantly decreased (AOR = 0.29; 95%CI: 0.12, 0.69) the odds of undernutrition. Conclusion The magnitude of undernutrition in the prison was found to be comparable to that of the general population in Ethiopia. The efforts on the ground to tackle undernutrition in the general population shall be extended to incarcerated people, especially by focusing on vulnerable groups such as those who had longer durations of incarceration, history of previous imprisonment, depression and no support.

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Undernutrition and associated factors among incarcerated people in Mizan prison institute, southwest Ethiopia.

Background Undernutrition is a major public health problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia. However, nutritional problems are frequently overlooked in low-income countries, especially among vulnerable populations such as imprisoned people. The scientific data on the rate of undernutrition among imprisoned people in Ethiopia is limited. Hence, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and associated factors of undernutrition among adult prisoners in Fiche town, central Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August 15 to September 15, 2020. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select participants. All prisoners whose age was 18 years and above who have been in prison for at least 6 months were included. Data were collected using interviewer-administered pretested semi-structured questionnaires and standard anthropometric measurements. A cut-off point of body mass index <18.5 kg/m2 was used to measure undernutrition. Data were coded, entered into Epi-data version 3.1, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with undernutrition. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to measure the strength of the association and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The overall magnitude of undernutrition among adult prisoners was 20% (95% CI: 16.5–23.6). Duration of imprisonment, incarcerated for 25 to 59 months (AOR = 3.07; 95% CI: 1.33, 7.04) and for greater than 59 months (AOR = 4.56; 95% CI: 2.0, 10.45), mild and moderate depression (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.05, 3.45), and moderately severe and severe depression (AOR = 2.78; 95% CI: 1.17, 6.60) were significantly associated with increased odds of undernutrition. However, being female (AOR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.98), having financial support (AOR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.87), engaging in income-generating work within the prison (AOR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.47), having medium dietary diversity (AOR = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.80), and having good dietary diversity (AOR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.61) significantly decreased the odds of undernutrition. Conclusion The magnitude of undernutrition among adult prisoners was high, with one in five prisoners in Fiche town prison having undernutrition. Sex, financial support, duration of imprisonment, income-generating work in the prison, dietary diversity, and depression were predictors of undernutrition. Hence, access to healthy food and diversified diets should be ensured for prisoners, and implementing early screening and treatment of depression, as well as encouraging prisoners to engage in income-generating work within the prison is recommended to reduce the burden of undernutrition.

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Undernutrition and associated factors among adult prisoners in Fiche town, central Ethiopia: a facility-based cross-sectional study

Background: Nutrition status is one of the health problems in developing countries. Prisons typically comprise marginalized sections of society and at high nutritional risk due to lack of diet diversity; And there is a lack of clarity on the dimensions of food security this study was identifying malnutrition and associated factors among prisoners to alleviate the problem. Objective: This study aimed to assess the nutritional status and influencing factors among prisoners in North Shoa prison, Ethiopia in 2021. Method: Institution based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from August 01 to September 10; 2021. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 364 study participants. Data has been collected by using interviewer administered questionnaire. Weight and height measured and BMI was calculated as weight/height (kg/m2). Haemoglobin measurement has been measured by a simple procedure for determining iron level in blood using Hemo-cue methods. Cleaned data was entered to Epi data version 3.1 and transferred to SPSS version 25 for further analysis, Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was fitted to identify factors associated with under nutrition (nutritional status). Significance variable was obtained with adjusted odds ratio at 95% CI of p< 0.05. Result: The overall prevalence of under nutrition among prisoners estimated as 33.8% (95% CI 28.8-39.3); and the prevalence of anaemia among PLHIV and negative sero-status residents was 54.2%, 50.8% respectively. The respondents who had anaemia were 3.26 times more likely to develop malnutrition AOR 3.269[95 % CI 1.908-5.600]) than who had no anaemia. had anaemia (AOR 4.464 [95 % CI 1.556-12.81]), hadn’t social support (AOR 6.281 [95 % CI 2.153-18.321]), age group 30 to 39 (AOR 0.180 [95 % CI 0.038-0.844]), use alcohol before jail (AOR 3.048 [95 % CI 1.037-8.965]).

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Assessment of Undernutrition and Its Influencing Factors among Prisoners Living with HIV/AIDS in North Shoa Zone Amhara Region Ethiopia, 2022

Adequate dietary intake is important in achieving optimal nutrition and health for people before and during treatment of HIV. Inadequate nutrition causes health issues and fatalities among prisoners. Thus, this study assesses dietary intake and factors affecting food service among male prisoners living with HIV at selected prisons in Kenya. A cross sectional analytical study design was adopted on a sample of 113 male prisoners living with HIV, randomly sampled from 4 prisons. Data collection tools included a structured questionnaire used to collect demographic, 24 h recall and food frequency data. During data analysis, 24 h recall data was analyzed using Nutri-survey software, and further analysis via SPSS software. Results revealed that slightly more than half the prisoners (50.4%) were aged 36-53 years. Primary education was attained by 60.2% and secondary education by 21.2%. Mean dietary intake for macronutrients was: Energy (1815±218 Kcal), Protein (56±12 g), fat (32±6 g), Carbohydrates (322±45 g), Fiber (41±23 g) and PUFA (8±1 g). None attained Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for energy, fat and PUFAs. Mean key micronutrients were: Vitamin A (1195.1±812.7), Vitamin B6 (1.9±0.9), Vitamin C (55.7±18.4), Iron (10.2±2.7), Magnesium (488.1±152.3) and Zinc (13.9±6.7). None met RDA for Iron. Therefore, provision of a nutritionally balanced diet in prisons can ensure nutrients adequacy.

	Key words: Dietary intake, food service, prisoners living with HIV.

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Maoga W. Nyamota

Papers

Dietary intake and factors affecting food service of male prisoners living with human immunodeficiency virus at selected prisons in Kenya