Caspian Journal of Health Research (Oct 2024)
Study of Role of Internet Access and Frontline Workers in Community-based Child Nutrition Programs for Budget Allocation of National Health Services
Abstract
Background- Breastfeeding practices differ greatly across world health organization regions and continued innovative efforts are needed to achieve the right feeding practices. Objectives: This study was aimed to identify the role of Internet access to women population and accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers in improving infant and young child feeding practices. Methods- Data for current study was collected from the national family health survey-5 (NFHS-5), India which is openly available to the public. The sample was sub-grouped as urban and rural women and children. Data was analysed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression model. Results- Compared to national family health survey- 4 data (9.6%), our study based on NFHS5 data (11.3%) has shown marginal improvement in the number of children getting an adequate diet in the age group of 6-23 months. Urban women (51.8%) have higher access to internet as compared to rural (24.6%) women. The correlation coefficient between percentage of women with internet access and children receiving adequate diet was 0.513 (P=0.001), indicating a direct relationship between the two variables. The multiple linear regression model showed that percentage of women with internet access has independent association with children getting an adequate diet (B=0.23, P=0.002) adjusted for ASHA workers. Conclusion- Despite robust government programs like home based newborn care (HBNC) and home-based care for young child (HBYC) where around 1.04 million ASHAs are perceiving one of the objectives of an adequate diet for every child, the prevalence of children with adequate nutrition is not encouraging. This study suggests access to the internet to women especially ASHA workers and lactating mothers can help to promote infant and young child feeding practices.
