Background
Indonesia continues to encounter a significant public health crisis due to stunting. Maternal knowledge is the key driver of nutritional practices and outcomes. This study aimed to develop a maternal/caregiver stunting knowledge index (SKI), analyze disparities in urban-rural knowledge, and identify the key determinant factors driving these disparities.
Methods
This cross-sectional study analyzed data points from the 2024 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey, involving 294,538 mothers and caregivers. Data regarding stunting knowledge, sociodemographic, maternal, and caregiver characteristics, child characteristics, area of residence, and variables related to maternal health knowledge and utilization were collected via interviews conducted with mothers. Height-for-Age Z-score (HAZ) was calculated using age and height measurements. Knowledge level was measured using a constructed SKI categorized as low, moderate, or high. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify the predictors of low SKI and risk(s) for stunting.
Results
The prevalence of low SKI scores was significantly higher in rural areas, and maternal education was the strongest determinant of low SKI scores in both regions. In rural areas, limited access to formal health information (e.g., lack of a Maternal and Child Health book) was a major predictor. Low SKI was associated with higher odds for stunting risk (urban: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.617; rural: aOR, 1.576), whereas high awareness of the long-term impacts of stunting provided a significant protective effect.
Conclusion
Urban-rural knowledge disparities were concentrated among caregivers with lower education and limited health service utilization. Interventions should be tailored regionally, targeting caregivers with low education levels and emphasizing the long-term consequences of stunting to promote preventive behaviors.

Background
Malnutrition is common among children under 5 years of age in Indonesia, with the rates varying between urban and rural areas. The minimum acceptable diet (MAD) assesses nutrient quality and quantity. This study aimed to identify the potential variables for MAD in 6–23-month-old children in both urban and rural Indonesia.
Methods
We used the data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey to conduct this nationally representative study. A total of 4,688 children aged 6–23 months were included in the study. MAD was classified using the 2017 World Health Organization global nutrition monitoring framework. The determinants of MAD were analyzed using multiple logistic regression.
Results
Overall, 45% of children aged 6–23 months received the required MAD, with 47.4% receiving the MAD in urban areas and 35.7% in rural areas. Children’s age, fathers’ age, parents’ education level, mothers’ employment, and wealth index were strongly linked to MAD in both rural and urban homes. The factor specifically related to MAD in urban areas was mother living with her husband. For rural households, mothers’ involvement in decisionmaking and a minimum of four antenatal care (ANC) visits significantly increased the likelihood of their children’s MAD status.
Conclusion
MAD status was determined by increased child age, higher parent education, younger father, working mother, and higher wealth index in children aged 6–23 months in both urban and rural settings. Mothers living with a spouse determined the MAD status only in urban areas. More frequent ANC visits and mother participation in household decisions were other factors related to MAD status in rural areas.

Citations

• Determinants of Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural Belagavi – A cross-sectional study
  Ayesha Abdullatif Dhalayat, Mubashir Angolkar, Anusha Kulkarni, Alex Carvalho
  Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health.2026; 41: 102417.     CrossRef
• Health behaviors, lifestyle factors, and healthcare challenges in family medicine: a comprehensive review of recent evidence from Asian populations
  Joung Sik Son
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(4): 215.     CrossRef