A compliance study of baal vita supplement to children in Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20232382Keywords:
Baal vita, Children, Compliance, Knowledge, MNP, SupplementAbstract
Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and have serious health implications, particularly for women and children globally. In Nepal, the government is tackling this issue by providing MNP/Baal Vita supplements to children aged 6-23 months, alongside promoting community-based infant and young child feeding (IYCF). This strategy aims to combat anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies in children under 2 years old. The government's protocol indicates that each child in this age group should consume a total of 180 sachets, 80% consumption of total sachets was taken reference for compliance in this study.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire was carried out among 198 participants. Simple random sampling was used for selecting a sample. Excel and SPSS were being used for data coding, decoding, and statistical analysis.
Results: Assessment of knowledge revealed that the majority (60.1%) of the participants had adequate knowledge regarding Baal Vita. The findings showed 51% of the respondents had Baal Vita compliance, as they had consumed at least 80% of the total sachets as per protocol. Sex of children and occupation of mothers are not associated with the compliance of Baal Vita, but education of mothers and ethnic groups are associated with its compliance.
Conclusions: The level of knowledge and compliance rate of Baal Vita in Sindhupalchowk district were not satisfactory. It is suggested that improving knowledge level with counselling, accessibility, availability, and change the perception towards the taste of powder is essential to improving compliance with Baal Vita.
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References
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