Impact of Instructional Programme on Knowledge Regarding Protein Energy Malnutrition among the Mothers of Preschool Children from Selected Rural Areas of Karnataka: A Pilot Study

Background of the study: According to World Health organization (WHO), protein energy malnutrition refers to “an imbalance between the supply of protein and energy and the body’s demand for them to ensure optimal growth and function”. It is a major public health problem in India. It affects particularly the preschool children (<6 years) with its direct consequences ranging from physical to cognitive growth and susceptibility to infection1. This affects the child at the most crucial period of time of development which can lead to permanent impairment in later life. According to WHO, globally 162 million under-fives were stunted among them 56% lived in Asia and 36% in Africa, 99 million under-fives were underweight among them 67% lived in Asia and 29% in Africa2. 50 million under five children were wasted and 17 million were severely wasted. Approximately 71% of them lived in Asia and 28% in Africa, with similar figures for wasted children 69% and 28% respectively. Children who suffer from wasting face a markedly increased chance of death3. According to United Nations International children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEF), 13% of children under five years old in the developing world were wasted and 5% were extremely wasted. UNICEF estimates that in developing world 129 million under five children were underweight, nearly one in four and ten percent of them being severely underweight4. The prevalence of underweight is higher in Asia than in Africa, with rates of 27 and 21 % respectively5. Methods: The quantitative research approach was used for the study. The present study adopted mixed research design in two stages, first stage uses Cross Sectional Descriptive Survey for the identification of pre-school children suffering with protein energy malnutrition and second stage Randomized Pretest Posttest Control Group Design for evaluating the Impact of instructional program on knowledge regarding protein energy malnutrition among the mothers of preschool children from selected rural areas of Karnataka was adopted. Nola Penders Model was used as a conceptual framework for the study. Cross sectional survey was conducted in the selected rural areas of Dharwad to screen the preschool children to find the prevalence of protein energy malnutrition in them. A total of 50 (10% of total population of main study) mothers of preschool children were selected as per sampling criteria. 25 each mothers were distributed in experimental and control groups. Structured knowledge questionnaires were used to collect the data from study participants. The results were described by using descriptive and inferential statistics.