A study regarding awareness among mothers of children from 12 months to 23 months about growth charting and its determinants in rural area of Amritsar district.

ABSTRACT

Despite of various nutritional health programmes, malnutrition among children remains the big health problem in India. Even after the universalization of ICDS, India has biggest burden of malnourished children in the world. Suboptimal utilization of services by mothers is a big challenge before all programmes. Utilization of services also depends upon the awareness regarding the service and its perceived usefulness among beneficiaries. Therefore, the present study was conducted to know the awareness about the growth chart and its determinants among rural mothers. Study was conducted on 186 mothers selected from three villages. Chi square test and F test were applied wherever necessary. Results showed low level of awareness (38.17%) among the mothers regarding growth charting. Majority of mothers reported peripheral health functionaries i.e. ASHA (36.62%) & Anganwari worker (39.44%) as source of information. Distance from Health facility did not affect the knowledge of mothers. However, socio economic status and educational level of mothers were significantly associated with presence of awareness among mothers.