Effect of Instructional Guidelines on Mothers' Knowledge and practices regarding Early Stunting Detection among Children under five years

Abstract

Background: Stunting has a negative impact on a child's health, making them more susceptible to disease and infection, as well as their mental and physical development, making stuntedyoungsterslesslikelytoreachtheirfullheightandcognitivecapacityasadults.Aim:The study aimed to evaluate the effect of instructional guidelines on mothers' Knowledge and practices regarding early stunting detection among Children under five years. Setting: Maternal andChildHealthCenteratKafrelsheikcity.Sample:Apurposivesampleincluded163mothers combined with their children. Methods: Quasi-experimental design was used. Tools: First tool: StructuredinterviewingquestionnairewasusedPartI:usedtoassessdemographiccharacteristics of motherspart II:Used to assess themother'sknowledgeaboutstuntingand knowledgeabout proper nutritional Second tool: observational checklist for assessing mothers ' practices toward growth monitoring. Results: The current study showed statistically significant differences between the mothers' total knowledge and their practices regarding early stunting detection among their children under five years pre/post instructional guidelines. Conclusion: The Guidelines were effective for the studied sample regarding early stunting detection a significant improvement was observed in the mean score and level of knowledge and practice among the studied sample in post guidelines in comparison to that in pre-guidelines. Recommendation: Conducting educational program to increase mothers’ knowledge about nutritional stunting, monitoring growth & development of the child, and the benefits of early detection in treatment throughmassmedia.