The effect of school feeding programme on class absenteeism and academic performance of schoolchildren in Southern Ethiopia

A prospective cohort study

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15097110
AutoresTsion A Desalegn, Tsion Desalegn (0000-0003-2079-2415, Hawassa University, autor correspondente), Samson Gebremedhin (0000-0002-7838-2470, Addis Ababa University), Fikadu Reta Alemayehu (0000-0002-3510-0576, Hawassa University), Barbara J Stoecker (0000-0001-9421-6950, Oklahoma State University)
Ano2021
Volume24
Fascículo10
Páginas3066-3074
Data de publicação2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPublic Health Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1368-9800 • E-ISSN: 1475-2727
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1368980021000501
PMID33541456
OpenAlexW3127408670
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas15

Objective: Ethiopia recently scaled up the implementation of a school feeding programme (SFP). Yet, evidence on the impact of such programmes on academic outcomes remains inconclusive. We evaluated the effect of the SFP on class absenteeism and academic performance of primary school students (grade 5–8) in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia. Design: This prospective cohort study enrolled SFP-beneficiary ( n 240) and non-beneficiary ( n 240) children 10–14 years of age from sixteen public schools and followed them for an academic year. School absenteeism was measured as the number of days children were absent from school in the year. Academic performance was defined based on the average academic score of the students for ten subjects they attended in the year. Data were analysed using multivariable mixed effects negative binomial and linear regression models. Setting: Food insecure districts in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia. Participants: SFP-beneficiary and non-beneficiary children 10–14 years of age. Results: The mean ( sd ) number of days children were absent from school was 4·0 ( sd 1·5) and 9·3 ( sd 6·0), among SFP beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, respectively. Students not covered by the SFP were two times more likely to miss classes (adjusted rate ratio = 2·30; 95 % CI 2·03, 2·61). Pertaining to academic performance, a significant but small 2·40 (95 % CI 0·69, 4·12) percentage point mean difference was observed in favour of SFP beneficiaries. Likewise, the risk of school dropout was six times higher among non-beneficiaries (adjusted rate ratio = 6·04; 95 % CI 1·61, 22·68). Conclusions: SFP promotes multiple academic outcomes among socio-economically disadvantaged children

Absenteeism · Academic year · Beneficiary · Cohort · Environmental health · Mathematics education · Poisson regression · Political science · Population · Prospective cohort study · Rate ratio · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Surgery