Prevailing prevention measures against morbidity, such as vaccination and safe hygiene practices, vary among local cultural contexts, and little is known about the extent to which these behaviors mitigate poor nutritional status in young children in Southeast Asia. We examined the associations between nutrition status with full immunization coverage, and water, sanitation and hygiene status among children aged 12-59 months in the 2015-2016 Thailand Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (n = 9060). When adjusted for confounding factors, children with incomplete immunization status were more likely to be stunted (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24-1.75, p < 0.001), wasted (aOR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.31-2.12, p < 0.001), and overweight (aOR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01-1.51, p < 0.05), whereas children who used unimproved water sources were more likely to be overweight (aOR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.27-4.64, p < 0.01). The further implementation of simple and cost-effective health promotion activities and practices at the household level may be important interventions for healthy child growth and development, particularly under restricted living conditions due to COVID-19.
Keywords: Thailand; immunization; infants and young children; malnutrition; primary health care; safe hygiene practices; universal health coverage.