Globally, the prevalence of acute malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency is high in
young children, especially in developing countries. This study was undertaken to
determine the impact of a nutrition education intervention programme (NEIP) on the
nutritional knowledge and practices of caregivers, as well as the nutritional status of
children between the ages of three to five years in the Mutale Municipality in Vhembe
district, Limpopo Province.
A pre-testâpost-test control group design was chosen using eight villages (four villages
in the experimental group (E); four villages in the control group (C). At baseline, the
study population was 125 caregivers and 129 children aged three to five years (E = 66;
C = 63 children). After intervention, 86 caregivers and 89 children (E = 40; C = 49
children) were found. Only participants who participated at baseline and postintervention
were included for comparison.
A valid structured interview schedule was used to determine nutritional practices and
knowledge. The nutrient intake was determined by two 24-hour recalls. Weight and
height (to determine weight/height status) and blood samples (vitamin A and iron status)
were taken using standard techniques. The NEIP was developed by the researcher
using South African Food-based Dietary Guidelines (SAFBDGs) and South African
Paediatric Food-based Dietary Guidelines (SAPFBDGs) as basis. The NEIP was
implemented on the experimental group on two occasions, namely every week during
the first three months and then during the last three to four months in a period of 12
months.
Data were analysed using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS®) version 9.2 and
expressed using median, minimum and maximum values to describe continuous data.
Frequencies and percentage were used to describe categorical data and 95%
confidence intervals were used for median and percentage differences to determine the impact of the intervention programme. The 24-hour recall data were analysed using
Food Finder III version 1.1.3.
The study revealed that the socio-demographic information and anthropometric
nutritional status of the children did not change after intervention in both groups.
Furthermore, at baseline, nearly one third of the children in both groups had marginal
vitamin A status. However, after intervention, all children in both groups had adequate
to normal vitamin A status, which could be due to the vitamin A supplementation and
food fortification programme of the SA Government. The iron indicators were within
adequate levels at pre- and post-intervention in both groups.
The impact of NEIP was observed in some of the nutritional practices, since the majority
of caregivers usually included starchy foods, protein-rich foods and vegetables in the
childâs plate daily at baseline in both groups. However, the number of children who
were given more than three meals per day showed a tendency towards an increase in
the experimental group. The intake of milk and yoghurt improved significantly in the
experimental group. The majority of children were eating indigenous foods. However,
the intake of black jack, spider flower, wild jute plant, baobab fruit, paw-paw, mopani
worms and termites improved significantly in the experimental group.
The median carbohydrate and protein intake was adequate when compared to
EAR/RDA in both groups at pre- and post-intervention. The median energy,
carbohydrate and plant protein intake had increased significantly in the control group.
The intake of iron and folate had increased significantly in both groups, while zinc intake
increased significantly in the control group. After the intervention, the intake of
tshimbundwa (traditional bread made with maize) also increased significantly in the
control group. Furthermore, the intake of stinging nettle, meldar, wild peach, pineapple,
dovhi, tshigume and thophi had improved significantly in both groups.
The nutrition knowledge score was good at baseline, as the majority of caregivers in
both groups were aware that children should be given a variety of foods, indigenous foods, starchy foods, protein-rich foods, vegetables and fruit. However, in the
experimental group the percentage of caregivers who knew that children should be
given full-cream milk and fat increased significantly at post-intervention. On other hand,
the percentage of caregivers who knew tshimbundwa increased significantly in the
control group.
The majority of caregivers were including most of the food items on the childâs plate
(starchy, protein-rich foods, vegetables and indigenous) at baseline, which left little
room for improvement. However, the impact of NEIP was observed in some nutritional
practices. On the other hand, minimal impact of the NEIP on nutrition knowledge was
observed, since most of the caregivers had good nutritional knowledge at baseline.
It is recommended that the NEIP developed in this study be adapted for the Department
of Health (Nutrition Section) so that healthcare workers can present it in different
communities using different media so as to increase coverage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-08232012-150109 |
| Date | 23 August 2012 |
| Creators | Mushaphi, Lindelani Fhumudzani |
| Contributors | Prof XG Mbhenyane, Prof A Dannhauser |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-08232012-150109/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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