Development and validation of a nutrition training package for rural women farmers in Tanzania: A pilot study
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Date
2022-05-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development
Abstract
Undernutrition continues to inflict significant social, health and economic consequences in developing countries,
Tanzania inclusive. Lack of nutrition knowledge among rural women who are the main caregivers of children
and family at large is reflected in the poor nutritional status and compromised health in rural areas. This study
aimed to develop and pilot a nutrition training package which is contextually and culturally specific for rural
women farmers in Tanzania in order to improve their knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices for positive
behaviour change and optimum nutrition practices. The study was conducted in five villages from the semi-arid
Dodoma region in Tanzania. A total sample size of 660 households/ women was involved in the study. The
development of nutrition education materials started by conceptualization process, where factors affecting
nutrition status were drawn from the baseline information. A set of five target behaviours were prioritized for
intervention development. These included: exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding, diet
diversification, maternal nutrition, food processing at household level and general hygiene. The training
materials were in pictorial form to enable even the illiterate ones to be included. Analyses were conducted to
compare the baseline with after pilot results. Results showed that there were statistically significant mean
increases in general nutrition knowledge. Dietary diversity and practices improved after the pilot study. There
was a clear indication that the training packages were well packed and messages given were getting across and
the women could change their practices. All of the participants of the pilot study agreed that the training
equipped them with enough information to efficiently incorporate nutrition issues into their future practices. The
nutrition education program was found to have improved household nutrition practices in a relatively short time,
in particular, nutrition knowledge and food diversity in the piloting group. Future studies may benefit from using
this training material to educate rural women farmers. This study is a good starting point for creating a
community of women in rural areas that is knowledgeable and with nutrition sensitive practices that will help to
prevent undernutrition problems in the future
Description
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, Page No. 14-20
Keywords
Nutrition knowledge, Rural women, Farmers, Training, Pilot