KNOWLEDGE AMONG HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS REGARDING INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING AT A PEDIATRIC TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL.

Health Care Providers’ knowledge regarding infant and young child feeding.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of health care providers (HCPs) regarding infant and young child feeding practices at a tertiary care children hospital of Karachi.

STUDY DESIGN AND DURATION: Descriptive cross sectional study conducted over six months from June – December,2021

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 169 HCPs including 122 (72.2%) doctors and 47 (27.8%) nurses were enrolled and interviewed using a structured questionnaire based on infant and young child feeding guidelines developed by World Health Organization. Each correct response was scored. Knowledge score was categorized into Good, Fair and poor on the basis of >75%, 50-75% and <50% respectively. Chi square test was applied to determine the association HCP’s age, gender, qualification and experience with knowledge scores.

RESULTS: Out of total 169 HCPs, 38 (22.5%) were found to have good knowledge score, 117 (69.23%) had fair knowledge score while 14(8.3%) had poor knowledge score. Knowledge of HCPS was particularly scarce regarding recommended age of exclusive breast feeding 2 (1.2%), food groups for complementary feeding 22 (13%) and minimal dietary diversity requirements for complementary feeding 11(6.5%). No significant association of knowledge scores was observed with respect to age, gender, qualification and experience of HCP.

CONCLUSION: HCPs do not have adequate knowledge regarding infant and young child feeding guidelines. There’s need to implement specific training programs targeting infant and young child feeding particularly in HCPs involved in child health care so that they may guide parents specially mothers regarding proper nutritional requirements.