A correlation study to assess attitude and practice regarding dietary habits in relation to prevention of malnutrition among mothers of preschool children in a selected areas of Aurangabad District

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is one of the significant factors contributing to Infant and child mortality in developing countries of the world. Nutrition during the first five years has an impact not only on growth and morbidity during childhood, but also acts as a determinant of nutritional status in adolescent and adult life. Aims and objectives: The study aimed at assessing practice and attitude regarding dietary habits in relation to prevemntion of malnutrition among mothers of preschool children, finding the correlation between practice scores and attitude scores, and find out association between practice and attitude scores with selected demographic variables. Materials and methods: Practice of mothers regarding dietary habits was assessed by 3 point rating scale, Attitude of mothers was assessed by 5 point likert scale. 50 mothers were selected by convinient sampling for the study. Results: The study results shows that 82% mothers having good practice and 18% having average practice. Regarding attitude 80% of mothers having good attitude, 18% having average, and 02% having poor attitude. The correlation r value shows 0.341 as a mild correlation between practice and attitude. There was a significant association between practice scores with number of children (X 2 =6.799, df=2) and educational status(X 2 =6.01, df=2) of mothers. Conclusion: The study concludes that improve the practice and attitude of mothers regarding dietary habits in relation to prevention of malnutrition among children by giving health teaching.