Asian Journal of Medical Sciences (Sep 2011)
The Impact of Nutritional Awareness Package (NAP) on Secondary School Students for the Improvement of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) at Rural Areas of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal
Abstract
Objective: Nutritional problem in school age children is common throughout the India. Occurrence of nutritional problems like anaemia, scurvy, ricket and protein energy malnutrition (PEM) may develop due to lack of knowledge and awareness. Poor knowledge on nutrition among children can lead to unhealthy community. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of school-based nutrition awareness package on the development of nutritional knowledge of school children at rural areas of West Medinipur district. Material & Methods: Total 827 secondary school children were selected randomly from class VII to IX of three different schools of West Medinipur comprising 433 boys and 394 girls. To access the awareness level, a peer-reviewed, scoring system questionnaire was applied. The nutrition education was imparted through lectures, audiovisual aids and demonstrations for three months in school settings. Before and after imparting nutrition education, the changes in knowledge, attitude and practices regarding good nutrition was evaluated by questionnaire method. Results: After delivery of nutrition education, a significant improvement in their nutritional knowledge was observed. Nutritional knowledge was improved significantly on anaemia (p≤0.001), scurvy (p≤0.001), ricket (p≤0.001) and PEM (p≤0.001) at post-awareness stage. The analysis of data also inferred that the students scoring more marks in management part of deficiency diseases which is important during their future life. The study was successful in identifying certain gaps in their knowledge, attitude and practices before imparting nutrition education. Conclusion: It is concluded that a school-based comprehensive nutritional programme has significant effect on cognitive and attitudinal variables to increase the level of knowledge and to follow-up appropriate dietary behaviours. The findings support the importance of knowledge in nutrition of the children in connection with the development of healthy dietary behaviours.
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