The Effect of an Educational Package on Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior of Pregnant Women

Introduction: Adequate nutrition is an important part of a healthy pregnancy and nutrition education can play an important role in improving the health of the mother and her child. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of an educational package on nutritional knowledge, attitude, and behavior of pregnant women. Methods: : In this quasi-experimental study, 88 women of 8-14 weeks of pregnancy referring to health centers in Karaj were selected through convenience sampling method and were randomly allocated to the experiment (n=44) and control (n=44 ) groups. The experiment group received nutrition education program including two 60-90 minute lecture sessions and an educational booklet and film. The control group received sexual education with similar method. Data were gathered using a self-made questionnaire including demographic characteristics, nutritional knowledge, attitude, and behavior (with 16,21,14,and 21 items, respectively) before and four weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, paired-T-test, T-test, McNemar test and analysis of covariance and logistic regression. Results: At baseline, there was no significant differences between the two groups in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics, and mean of nutritional knowledge, attitude and behavior scores (P<0.05). After the intervention, the mean scores were significantly higher in the experiment group than those in the control group in terms of the knowledge (63.5±13.5 vs. 35.7±12.8), attitude (74.8±7.8 vs. 65.2±8.3) and behavior (61.5±14.5 vs. 36.7±13.9) (p<0.001). Also, optimal food intake was significantly more frequent in the experiment group compared with the control group on meat (OR= 4.51, CI95% 1.56-13.00), bread and cereal (OR= 3.68, CI95% 1.32-10.25), and milk and dairy products (OR=3.38, CI95% 1.12-10.21). Conclusion: Findings of the study indicate that the educational package was effective in promoting nutritional knowledge, attitude, and behavior of pregnant women. This intervention program is easy to implement. Therefore, it is recommended to implement it at health centers

Nutritional knowledge, practice, and dietary habits among school children and adolescents

Background: Although nutritional status of children and adolescents is of great concern various interventions and modifications aiming at promotion of healthy eating behaviors have limited impact due to insufficient understanding of dietary habits between different age groups and genders. The aim of this study in not only evaluation of nutritional knowledge, practice, and dietary habits of primary school and junior high school students in Isfahan province, but also this research explore crucial differences regarding gender and living area of the above-mentioned population in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 4700 primary school and junior high school pupils in Isfahan province. Data were collected through standard 24-h recall food frequency questionnaire and researcher-designed questionnaire. Independent t-test was applied for comparison of mean values of total units of consumed food materials. Qualitative variables were compared by using the Chi-square test. Data were analyzed by ACCESS 2010 and SPSS 18 software. Results: Nutritional knowledge of female pupils and junior high school students was higher than their male and elementary school students respectively; still, theses superiorities did not lead to higher practice score. Bread and cereals group received daily intakes in accordance with food and drug administration (FDA) recommendations. Indeed, vegetables, milk, and dairy products, as well as meat daily intakes, were lower than the FDA recommendation, whereas fats, oils, and sugars intakes were higher. In comparison to females, male participants had significantly lower consumption of vegetables and fruits whilst they had a higher intake of carbohydrates, fats, and meats. Conclusions: Our results showed that adolescents failed to meet sufficient nutritional requirements, and they had an imbalanced diet, which was considerably low in several essential nutrients and high in some food materials