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Refugee Nutrition Studies and Public Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 4355

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Nutritional Sciences, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: nutrition during pregnancy; childbirth; lactation; complementary feeding; food and nutrition security; 1000-days window of opportunity; supplementary and therapeutic feeding; double burden of malnutrition; gender aspects; migration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few years, the world has experienced a steep increase in internally displaced people and refugees due to armed conflicts, protracted crises, and climate change. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, about 80 million people were forcibly displaced in 2020. As women and children are usually the worst hit by emergencies, a special focus will be placed on their nutritional and health status, including maternal mental health, food and nutrition security, economic vulnerabilities, gender issues and their status in host communities during and after migration.

Inadequate pregnancy care, poor diets, and suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices often lead to maternal and child malnutrition in all its forms (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight/obesity) and might impair child development in the long run. Hence, access to nutritious diets and nutritional health services during the first 1000 days is essential. The impact of culture, religion, mother’s education and nutrition/health-related knowledge also need to be considered during (and post-) crisis situations.

Papers addressing these topics are invited for this Special Issue, especially those with a high academic standard of quantitative and qualitative research and a practical focus on improving livelihoods and the nutrition and health situation of women and children living in fragile environments.

Dr. Veronika Scherbaum
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • maternal and child nutrition
  • pregnancy
  • breastfeeding
  • complementary feeding
  • dietary diversity
  • food security
  • malnutrition
  • micronutrient deficiencies
  • protracted crisis
  • refugees
  • migration

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 636 KiB  
Article
Anemia and Nutritional Status of Syrian Refugee Mothers and Their Children under Five Years in Greater Beirut, Lebanon
by Joana Abou-Rizk, Theresa Jeremias, Lara Nasreddine, Lamis Jomaa, Nahla Hwalla, Hani Tamim, Jan Frank and Veronika Scherbaum
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6894; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18136894 - 27 Jun 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3927
Abstract
The objective was to assess the prevalence of anemia and nutritional status of mothers and children under five years among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and to identify nutritional deficiencies among pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant non-lactating (NPNLM) mothers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among [...] Read more.
The objective was to assess the prevalence of anemia and nutritional status of mothers and children under five years among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and to identify nutritional deficiencies among pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant non-lactating (NPNLM) mothers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Syrian refugee mothers with children under five years in Greater Beirut, Lebanon (n = 433). Data on socio-economic status, maternal health, lifestyle characteristics, dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, and hemoglobin concentrations were collected. The prevalence of anemia was 21.7% among mothers and 30.5% among children. NPNLM with overweight/obesity and an at-risk waist circumference (WC) had 14.7-times and 10.9-times higher odds of anemia than mothers with normal WC and weight. Children of anemic mothers had 2.7-times and 4.4-times higher odds of total and mild anemia than those of non-anemic. Higher odds of mild anemia were found among children of lactating mothers than of NPNLM. A high percent energy intake of total fat and sugar was found among all mothers. Nutritional inadequacy was identified in higher proportions of lactating and pregnant mothers than NPNLM. Our findings highlighted the co-existence of overnutrition and anemia among Syrian refugee mothers and undernutrition among children from the same household. Culture-specific interventions are needed to support maternal nutrition, to ensure the health and wellbeing of their offspring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Refugee Nutrition Studies and Public Health)
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