A Self-Organizing Map Approach for Clustering Provinces Based on Multisectoral Indicators of Stunting Determinants

Abstract

Stunting is a national issue in Indonesia and also a global challenge.  It becomes one of the key priorities outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The heterogeneity of multisectoral conditions across provinces also contributes to the variation in stunting prevalence in Indonesia. The implementation of uniform policies to address stunting may not yield optimal results due to the diverse needs of each province. Therefore, specific interventions are required to overcome stunting issues. Based on this condition, it is important to cluster provinces based on their characteristics so that the government can determine appropriate interventions for each provincial cluster. Visualization of stunting conditions and multisectoral indicators can also enrich the understanding of each cluster. This study aims to construct clusters of provinces with similar characteristics in terms of multisectoral indicators of stunting determinants. This study applies cluster analysis using a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) algorithm to group provinces. The research steps include data preprocessing, clustering using the SOM algorithm, SOM mapping, and cluster characterization analysis. The results of this study show that three clusters were obtained. The first cluster consists of three provinces characterized by a high maternal mortality rate and a high percentage of exclusive breastfeeding. The second cluster includes nine provinces and is characterized by high risks in maternal and child health as well as economic vulnerability. In addition, the third cluster consists of 26 provinces characterized by relatively good living conditions and quality education.