Stunting in Children Under Two Old in Rural Regions Wonosobo Regency Central Java Indonesia: Does Socio Economics Matter?

Stunting is a global issue, the incidence of stunting in Indonesia remains significantly elevated at 21.6%. Several studies show that stunting cases in rural regions are higher than urban regions. Several factors are known to influence stunting, including family socioeconomic factors in some previous studies. Knowing the factors that influence stunting, especially the socio-economic status of families in rural areas. The study in a rural area of Wonosobo Regency in 2019 using a cross-sectional design. A total of 443 respondents were selected from a rural with the highest prevalence of stunting in the region. The sample included all children aged 3 to 24 months who met the inclusion criteria, specifically the absence of any diseases or conditions that could affect growth and development. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with stunting. This study showed no correlation between child age, maternal education, maternal occupation, and stunting (p=0.05). Meanwhile, what is significantly related is gender and family socio-economic status with a p value = <0.05. Logistic regression analysis proves that boys have 1,774 times risk of experiencing stunting compared to girls. This research shows that gender and socio-economic factors influence stunting in rural areas in Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Families with low socio-economic status (poor) are at a greater risk than those with high socio-economic status (rich).