Effect of Educational Package for Mothers regarding Stunting among Children under Five Years

Mohamed Abdelrahman, Basma; Fathy Mohey El-Deen, Hedya; Rady El Said, Rasha

doi:10.21608/ejhc.2021.317956

Effect of Educational Package for Mothers regarding Stunting among Children under Five Years

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Lecturer of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing Benha University, Egypt

² Assistant Professor of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Benha University, Egypt

³ Lecturer of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Benha University, Egypt

10.21608/ejhc.2021.317956

Abstract

Background: Stunting is the most noticeable physical symptom of long-term malnutrition. It is largely an irreversible result of poor nutrition and repeated infections in the first five years of a child's life. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of educational package for mothers regarding stunting among children under five years. Design. Quasi- experimental design was utilized. Setting: The study was conducted at Maternal and Child Health Center at Benha City in Egypt. Sampling: Simple random sample of 378 mothers were included. Tools: Two tools were used for data collection; tool I: An interviewing questionnaire consisted of four parts to assess mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics, child personal data, mothers’ knowledge about stunting and growth charts and maternal and child reported nutritional practices. Tool II; An Observational checklist to observe mothers’ practices regarding measuring anthropometric measurements of children under five years. Results: The mean age of the studied mothers was 26.33±5.39 years. There were statistically significant improvements (P<0.05) regarding to mothers’ knowledge and practices post the educational package implementation. Conclusion: Educational package was effective in improving mothers' knowledge and practices regarding stunting. Recommendations: Maternal and Child Health Centers should plan and implement continuous workshops for mothers as an effective method for improving mothers’ knowledge and practices regarding stunting among children under five years.

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