Information governance to reduce child malnutrition in a health service in Ecuador, 2026
Keywords:
information governance; nutrition surveillance; child health; health information systems; motor development.Abstract
Child malnutrition represents a failure of state capacity to observe, record, and act upon the social determinants of health, with irreversible consequences for physical growth, cognitive development, and motor performance. The objective was to determine the extent to which information governance influences the management of child nutritional surveillance in a health service in Ecuador during 2026. A quantitative approach, non-experimental cross-sectional design, and explanatory scope were adopted, with a sample of 328 participants (283 caregivers and 45 professionals). A 54-item Likert-scale questionnaire was applied (α = 0.961). A medium level predominated in both information governance (57.3 %) and nutritional surveillance management (56.1 %). The association was positive and significant (Rho = 0.469; p < 0.001), and the ordinal logistic regression model was significant (χ² = 64.131; p < 0.001; Nagelkerke R² = 0.206). The regulatory framework and institutional management exhibited the highest explanatory capacity (R² = 0.168). It is concluded that information governance explains a relevant proportion of the variability in nutritional surveillance levels, which directly affects the physical health conditions and the potential for sports development of the child population.
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