Susiani Endarwati, Dedi Saifulah

An Analysis Of Health Education Toward Mothers’ Attitude In Feeding Children Under Five With Malnutrition.

Introduction

An analysis of health education toward mothers’ attitude in feeding children under five with malnutrition. . Examines health education's impact on mothers' attitudes toward feeding malnourished children under five in Malang, Indonesia. Significant improvement found.

Abstract

Malnutrition cases among children under five are still big challenge in Indonesia. It can be serious problems especially among children in between 6-24 months because it is the gold period of growth.  Data from Health Ministry of Indonesia Republic shows that a prevalence of children under five with less and bad of nutrient status is still high although many interventions have been done.  One of the reasons is the behavior and attitude of mothers in feeding their children such as eating frequency, food variety and quality of food that given to the children. The objective of this research is to know the impact of health education toward mothers’ attitude in feeding their children under five with malnutrition in Malang Regency.  This research uses Pre-Experimental method by using one group pre test-post test design. Based on purpose sampling technique, it is got 71 mothers who have children under five with lack of nutrient as sampling. The independent variable is health education, and dependent variable is mothers’ attitude in feeding their children under five with malnutrition.  Data collecting uses questionnaire, and data analysis is done by using paired sample t-test. It is shown p = 0.001<0.05, so the hypothesis is accepted. It means that there is an impact of health education toward mothers’ attitude in feeding their children who suffer lack of nutrient. This research shows the significant impact of giving health education toward mothers’ attitude in feeding their children with malnutrition. Therefore, it is need to use variety of media in promoting health education as interesting as possible such as video to improve mothers’ knowledge and understanding so they can give much contribution in preventing malnutrition cases among children under five.

Review

This study addresses a critical public health challenge in Indonesia: the persistent issue of malnutrition among children under five, particularly within the vulnerable 6-24 month age group. The authors effectively highlight the contributing role of mothers' feeding behaviors and attitudes, such as eating frequency, food variety, and quality, in exacerbating this problem despite ongoing interventions. The objective to assess the impact of health education on mothers’ attitudes towards feeding their malnourished children in Malang Regency is highly relevant and timely, positioning the research to offer valuable insights into a practical intervention strategy. The methodology employed is a pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design, utilizing a purposive sample of 71 mothers whose children suffered from a lack of nutrients. Health education served as the independent variable, with mothers' attitudes in feeding their children under five with malnutrition as the dependent variable, measured via a questionnaire. The statistical analysis, a paired sample t-test, yielded a highly significant result (p = 0.001), leading to the acceptance of the hypothesis. This finding strongly indicates a positive and statistically significant impact of health education on improving mothers' attitudes towards feeding practices. The findings underscore the undeniable potential of targeted health education as an effective intervention in the fight against childhood malnutrition. The study's conclusion, advocating for the use of diverse and engaging media, such as video, to enhance mothers' knowledge and understanding, provides a crucial practical recommendation for public health programs. While the pre-experimental design offers a clear initial indication of impact, future research incorporating a control group or more robust experimental designs could further strengthen the evidence base. Nevertheless, this research offers a significant contribution by empirically demonstrating the effectiveness of health education in influencing maternal attitudes, a key factor in preventing malnutrition.

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