Integrated school based nutrition programme improved the knowledge of mother and schoolchildren

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of nutrition education on improving knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of mothers and the improvement of the nutritional status of their children. A cluster randomized controlled design using multistage sampling was employed. The integrated school‐based nutrition programme included gardening, nutrition education for parents, and supplementary feeding for children (GarNESup). KAP of mothers was assessed using pretested questionnaires administered by teachers. The randomly selected schools were randomly allocated into two groups: Both schools provided lunch to targeted children with one‐dish indigenous vegetable recipe, but School 1 received iron‐fortified rice whereas School 2 was provided ordinary rice. Eighty wasted and/or anaemic children in each school were fed for 120 days. Nutrition education for children's parents was done every school card claim day and during parent–teacher meetings using 10 developed modules. Weight, height, and haemoglobin level of children and KAP of mothers were measured at baseline and endpoint using standard techniques. KAP of mothers who had completed more than six modules had significantly increased from baseline to endpoint: Negative consequence of worm infestation (33.3% to 60.6%, P = 0.035), importance of serving breakfast for children (42.4% to 78.8%, P = 0.004), cooking vegetables (63.6% to 93.9%, P = 0.002), and purchasing fortified foods was recorded (51.5% to 93.9%, P = 0.000). Children in School 1 had significantly higher weight gain (1.33 ± 0.72) and haemoglobin level (0.49 ± 0.99) than children in School 2 (0.84 ± 0.59; 0.12 ± 0.70). Nutrition education resulted to significant increase of mother's KAP and the implementation of the integrated school‐based nutrition model significantly improved children's nutritional status.

Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Systematic Review of Impact Pathways to Nutrition Outcomes

“…Thirteen of 14 studies reported improved knowledge of ≥1 topic related to nutrition, WASH, or health, with diverse effects. All studies reporting outcomes on knowledge of vitamin A ( 37 , 44 ), maternal nutrition ( 45 ), general nutrition ( 36, 44, 46–49 ), and health and nutrition-related diseases ( 44, 45, 49, 50 ) reported improvements. At least half of the studies looking at children's knowledge of nutrition (1 of 2) ( 51 ), and WASH (3/4) ( 42, 49, 51 ) documented improvements.…”

“…Three of 4 studies looking at the effect on income/selling showed improvements in food items, such as vegetables (2 of 3) ( 39, 40 ), OFSP ( 36 ), as well as a nonfood item (cottonseed) ( 39 ). Three studies reported changes in mothers’ attitudes on meal preparation, mothers’ ability to convince their children to eat vegetables (1 of 1) ( 49 ), and children's probability of consuming vegetables and fruits (2 of 2) ( 51 , 53 ). Four studies also reported improvement in ≥1 domain of women's empowerment.…”

Students’ scientific attitude during the Implementation of innovative green garden-based education

“…Gardening programs are flexible in all shapes and sizes fit with the needs and resources of every school (Alderson et al, 2015). The International Institute for Rural Reconstruction describe that it is needed some features to promote school garden resilience: school garden must use organic fertilizer, must have at least 200-m 2 garden bed and deep dug at least 1 ft, good water source, proper drainage system, and use mulch to protect soil (Angeles-Agdeppa, Monville-Oro, Gonsalves, & Capanzana, 2019;De Vlieger, Riley, Miller, Collins, & Bucher, 2018). Running a school garden requires some knowledge, people skills, and common sense that related with how to plan and manage, find resources, collaborate and motivate with those involved, and organize garden work and lessons (FAO, 2009;Sherman, 2010).…”

Integrating nutrition outcomes into agriculture development for impact at scale: Highlights from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund

“…The authors of the five papers demonstrate how a range of nutrition‐sensitive interventions, including home gardens and enhanced homestead food production, cropping improvements and diversification, and food fortification can be scaled up to contribute to the improvement of diets and nutritional outcomes in women and children. The papers provide evidence from efficacy (Michaux et al, ) and effectiveness (Angeles‐Agdeppa, Monville‐Oro, Gonsalves, & Capanzana, ) studies, to assessments of technologies to optimise value‐added processing (Durairaj, Gurumurthy, Nachimuthu, Muniappan, & Balasubramanian, ) and cost effectiveness of interventions (Walters, Ndau, Saleh, Mosha, & Horton, ), to a report of bringing a proven intervention to scale (Diosady, Mannar, & Krishnaswamy, ). These interventions aim to improve nutrition through a number of direct and indirect pathways, outlined in a simplified programme impact pathway adapted from Masset, Haddad, Cornelius, and Isaza‐Castro (; Figure ).…”

“…Second, Angeles‐Agdeppa et al's () Integrated school based nutrition programme improved the knowledge of mother and schoolchildren is a good example of an effectiveness evaluation. The authors report the implementation of an integrated school‐based nutrition programme that included gardening, nutrition education for parents, and supplementary feeding for children, and tested its impact on children's nutritional status.…”