Publication: Grandparent caregiving in Cambodian skip-generation households: Roles and impact on child nutrition
Issued Date
2021-07-01
Resource Type
ISSN
17408709
17408695
17408695
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-85109684449
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Maternal and Child Nutrition. Vol.17, No.S1 (2021)
Suggested Citation
Mira Leonie Schneiders, Maly Phou, Vira Tun, Maureen Kelley, Michael Parker, Claudia Turner Grandparent caregiving in Cambodian skip-generation households: Roles and impact on child nutrition. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Vol.17, No.S1 (2021). doi:10.1111/mcn.13169 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/78073
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Title
Grandparent caregiving in Cambodian skip-generation households: Roles and impact on child nutrition
Abstract
This study aims to understand nutrition-related roles, responsibilities and ethical issues of grandparents caring for their grandchildren in skip-generation households in rural Cambodia. Over the past decade, Cambodia has experienced a rise in economic migration of working age populations. This has resulted in increasing numbers of ‘skip-generation’ households, in which grandparents and grandchildren co-reside without parents, reflecting potential household vulnerability. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with Cambodian grandparents who were primary caregivers to grandchildren for six months or longer. A total of 39 grandparents were recruited at two sites in north-west Cambodia. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted in Khmer and were recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Grandparents in this study looked after an average of three children, aged between two months and 18 years old. Overall, 40% were sole caregivers. Analysis showed that grandparents, particularly grandmothers, played a central role in their grandchildren's health and nutrition. Although grandchildren's health and nutrition were a major priority to grandparents, they reported facing significant challenges to safeguard their grandchildren's and their own nutritional needs. As a result, grandparents frequently faced difficult ethical trade-offs and prioritised their grandchildren's health and nutrition over their own. This study highlights that in order to improve child nutrition, policies and interventions need to be designed in ways that support and enable grandparent caregivers to meet their grandchildren's health and nutritional needs without neglecting their own.