Journal of Computing and Smart Ecosystems
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): J-CaSE

Provincial Classification of Child Malnutrition in Indonesia: A K-Means Clustering Approach for Evidence-Based Stunting Intervention Prioritization

Inas Nilasari (Airlangga University)
Nia Eka Safitri (Universitas Airlangga)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Indonesia's stunting prevalence of 21.5% recorded in SSGI 2024 surpasses the WHO emergency threshold, yet provincial data are conventionally presented in tabular formats that obscure spatial risk patterns and constrain evidence-based resource allocation. This study applies hierarchical clustering to 35 Indonesian provinces using five child nutritional indicators that is stunting, underweight, severe wasting, wasting, and overweight drawn from SSGI 2024. Four linkage methods were evaluated across k = 2 to 7 using Silhouette Score, Dunn Index, Connectivity, and Cophenetic Correlation Coefficient. Ward.D2 at k = 2 yielded the optimal configuration, producing two substantively distinct clusters: Cluster 1 (18 provinces) with comparatively lower undernutrition burden (mean stunting 17.98%, mean wasting 5.72%), and Cluster 2 (17 provinces) with markedly elevated risk across all undernutrition indicators (mean stunting 26.60%, mean wasting 9.11%). Papua consistently emerged as a structurally outlying unit across all linkage methods. These findings provide an empirical basis for geographically differentiated nutritional policy, enabling priority deployment of emergency interventions in high-burden provinces while sustaining preventive programming elsewhere.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

J-CaSE

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Description

The scope of J-CaSE covers various topics, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, cybersecurity, software engineering, and cloud and edge computing. It also explores the application of technology in smart city development and sustainable systems that ...