Effect of nutrition education on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the tribal and urban respondents on millet consumption

Abstract

Millets plays crucial role in underdeveloped countries since their ability to grow in hostile climates, also their composition of rich micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins, higher contents of dietary fiber, essential amino acids and low-slung glucose release which will contribute to food and nutritional security of world’s population. Policy gap is existing in developed and developing countries, and educational approaches for lifestyle and healthy nourishment are required for all the stages of life, to save from the disease burden and multiple nutritional problems. Two hundred adults comprising 100 men and 100 women were selected from each of the tribal and urban populations of Telangana. A subsample of 30 was selected from each area for nutrition education intervention. A comprehensive interview questionnaire was used to gather data from tribal and urban populations. An information communication technology (ICT) module was developed on "Health benefits of millets" (Poshakala nidhulu- chirudhaanyaalu) as a nutrition education intervention in the local language, i.e., Telugu. The post intervention results were nonsignificant (P<0.05) for knowledge about millets among the tribal respondents, while urban respondents had significantly (P<0.05) increased knowledge levels. Significant (P<0.05) attitudinal change was noticed about the inclusion of millets in the diets. The consumption of millet pattern was significantly (P<0.05) improved after the intervention among the tribal males, urban males and urban females but not among the tribal females (P>0.05). Respondent’s KAP toward the millets had increased after the intervention, which indicates increased awareness and knowledge. It can be suggested to implement awareness programs on millet's health benefits to prevent metabolic disorders and improve nutritional status. Government initiatives should continue to distribute millets through the Public Distribution System (PDS) and other health-related programs.