Mobile Phone-Based Nutrition Education Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Introduction: A woman’s nutrition during pregnancy and nursing affects the mother and the growing child. Similarly, the first two years of a child’s life are critical to their growth and development and are facilitated by optimum nutrition. Women’s nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices influence household food and nutrition security. Mobile health (mHealth) is a potentially effective health intervention in pandemic situations when physical gatherings are restricted. Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of a mobile phone-based nutrition education intervention targeting pregnant and nursing mothers in six Sri Lankan divisional secretariat areas. Method: This intervention was evaluated using a before and after within-subjects design. The intervention included 19 messages over four weeks sent via mobile phone, covering nutrition themes such as pregnancy care, infant and young child-feeding, diet, family care for mother and child, and cash management. The intervention was evaluated based on a quantitative survey using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and qualitative interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study population was pregnant and nursing mothers. The objective of the qualitative interviews was to identify how respondents used messages and how satisfied they were with the project. The outcome measures were awareness/knowledge, attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy, behaviour intentions, and practices of pregnant and nursing mothers. Trained enumerators collected data using a mobile phone. Results: A total of 996 pregnant and nursing mothers participated in the pre-assessment survey, of which 720 completed the post-assessment. Most were nursing mothers (84.2% pre- and 78.9% post-assessment). Participants provided positive feedback on the intervention. Knowledge/awareness (t = −18.70, p < 0.01) and attitudes (t = −2.00, p < 0.05) increased when exposed to the intervention. Favourable improvements in the practices were also observed. Mothers’ practices related to breastfeeding and 24-h dietary diversity showed a statistically significant improvement. However, social norms and behaviour intentions did not significantly improve. The qualitative component also revealed favourable responses. Conclusion and Recommendations: The mobile intervention improved participants’ knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practices, but not social norms or behaviour intentions. This approach is recommended to be used on a larger scale in community settings. In addition, mobile technology could drive intervention in pandemic-related situations.

Improving dietary diversity and food security among low-income families during financial crisis using mHealth: Experience from two selected districts in Sri Lanka

“…Although the observed difference was higher in our study, it is important to note that the MDD-W percentage obtained in our study was lower than that reported in previous studies conducted in the country (67.8% vs. 96.9%) (11). This may be mainly due to differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of our population.…”

“…We developed messages in the Sinhala and Tamil languages. The description of the message development and sample content were similar to those in our previous study (11). The messages developed were tested on ten people who were not selected for this study.…”

“…The importance of mHealth is also highlighted in studies in the region, which suggest that text messagebased mHealth interventions in under-resourced settings could be encouraged and may result in higher service coverage and ultimately improve health and nutrition practices (10). Furthermore, the use of mHealth to improve nutrition education has been documented and found to be effective among pregnant and nursing mothers in Sri Lanka (11).…”

Effectiveness Of Education Through Social Media To Improve Nutritional Knowledge And Behavior On Pregnant Women As A Step To Prevent Stunting : A Literature Review

“…The limitations of research with interventions using social media are external factors that researchers cannot predict, for example participants could be influenced by information from outside such as from mass media.This way, interventions using social media combined with other media may be more effective (Wyst et al, 2019). Overall, The implementation of education using social media must be supported by primary health service system from local to national level so that it can be utilized more optimally (Peiris et al, 2023). Researchers think that providing education through social media is an effective way to be implemented in the era of technological development nowadays.…”

“…Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mohers in Sri Lanka (Peiris et al, 2023) Before and after withinsubject design 720 pregnant and nursing mothers…”