CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF VARIABLES THAT AFFECT STUNTING IN EAST JAVA

Abstract

Stunting has become a widely discussed issue recently. Even the current government is actively involved in reducing the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia through various means, one of which is the recent 'free lunch and milk' program. This study aims to investigate the relationships between variables influencing stunting using Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall correlations, in order to identify necessary actions to reduce the risk of stunting. The research findings indicate a negative correlation between breastfeeding, early immunization initiation, child growth monitoring, vitamin A supplementation, maternal nutrition, early marriage prevention (before 17 years old), food expenditure, and adequate sanitation facilities with stunting prevalence. This means that increasing the number of infants receiving adequate breastfeeding, early initiation of breastfeeding, frequent child growth monitoring, more vitamin A supplementation, fewer malnourished mothers, fewer early marriages, higher food expenditures, and better sanitation facilities will decrease stunting prevalence. Through these analytical results, it is hoped that all involved parties, especially mothers, will pay attention to necessary actions to prevent stunting in children, such as exclusive breastfeeding, early immunization initiation, regular health facility visits for growth monitoring, vitamin A supplementation, improving maternal nutrition, delaying marriage until after 17 years old, increasing food expenditures, and maintaining proper sanitation conditions.