The Effect of Communication, Information, And Education Session on Nutritional Status in Children under 3 Years of Age

Background: The prevalence of childhood malnutrition remains high in the developing world. The malnutrition rate increases between the ages of 6 to 24 months because breast milk alone is not enough to meet the child’s nutritional needs, and other foods are introduced. WHO recommends that children should be taught complementary foods at six months. It is argued that poor feeding practices are associated with caregivers’ insufficient knowledge and lack of information, and traditional beliefs are restricting them. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a month-long nutritional communication, news, and education session on increasing nutritional status in children under three years of age. Subjects and Method: This was a randomized control trial conducted at Gresik Muhammadiyah Hospital, Gresik, East Java, Indonesia. A sample of 160 children under three years was selected for this study. The model was allocated randomly into the experimental and control groups, each group consisting of 80 children. The dependent variable was weight for age in the z-score. The independent variable was information, communication, and education (ICE). The ICE session was delivered by health cadres every week for a month, with mothers of the children under study assigned as the session’s participants. The dependent variable was measured three months after the intervention. A weight scale measured the body weight. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test. Results: There was a difference in children's growth between those given intensive and non-intensive information and education communication (p= 0.015). Observation of weight gain in the intervention group was higher (mean rank = 86.11) than body weight in the control group (represent class 74.89). Conclusion: A month-long nutritional communication, information, and education session targeted at mothers effectively increase the nutritional status of children under three years of age. Keywords: communication, information, and education, nutritional status, children. Correspondence: Siti Hamidah. Universitas Muhammadiyah Gresik. Jl. Sumatra.101, Mt. Malang, Randuagung, Kebomas, Gresik, East Java. Email: siti_hamidahtw@umg.ac.id. Mobile: +62 81553520203