Factors influencing prevalence of stunting in Indonesia based on spatial aspects

Stunting significantly affects children’s health and development, increasing their vulnerability to illnesses, mortality, and impaired brain development. This can lead to delays in motor skills and hinder cognitive growth. The 2022 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI) highlighted an issue: stunting prevalence among Indonesian children is 21.6%, which remains above the WHO target of 20%. This study seeks to model and map areas requiring targeted interventions to address stunting and undernutrition among children under five using the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method. GWR is a valuable statistical method that effectively analyzes the spatial relationships between dependent and independent variables across various regions, providing insights that can improve our understanding of geographical patterns and influences. The resulting model and maps aim to help reduce stunting prevalence in Indonesia by considering the unique characteristics of each area. The findings demonstrate that the local GWR model outperforms the global OLS model, with an R² value of 68.42% and an AIC of 187.58. The analysis identifies Low Birth Weight (%) (X4) as a significant factor across all provinces, while other variables, such as the percentage of family planning participants (X2), access to adequate sanitation (X3), early breastfeeding initiation (IMD) (X5), and toddlers with MCH books (X6), have varying effects depending on the province.