A Study to Assess Family Status and Parent’s Health Education on the Nutritional Status of Children Selected Urban Community Areas of District Gwalior

Abstract

Several factors, including a family's socioeconomic standing, level of education, and health literacy, influence their nutritional standing. Children and women from low-income families are disproportionately affected by India's widespread malnutrition crisis. The prevalence of malnutrition is particularly severe in the Indian region of Gwalior. A family's nutritional status is heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors and the level of health literacy of the parents. The availability and accessibility of healthy food in the home is influenced by the family's socioeconomic standing, which includes characteristics such as income, education level, and occupation. Parents' knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating is a major factor in shaping their children's and other family members' diets. The goal of this research is to determine how socioeconomic status, parental health education, and child nutrition in a few randomly chosen urban neighbourhoods of the Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh (MP), interact with one another. The purpose of this research is to learn how these variables affect kids' diets in urban settings. This research employed a descriptive correlative method. Gwalior, India, was the site of the research. This study used a correlative methodology. The sample included of 100 family. Sample was selected using purposive sampling technique. Adult participants provided written informed consent and permission to perform the study before any data was collected. Information was gathered through the use of an interview schedule and a checklist to record observations. Descriptive and inferential statistics (both pre- and post-tests) were used to examine the data. Families with college degrees were found to have more knowledge than the ordinary family. Seventy percent of responders were ill-informed about their own nutritional status. After receiving health education, however, only 36.66 percent scored above average and 46.66 percent scored below. The effectiveness of health education was demonstrated by a statistically significant rise in test scores (mean post test score of 18.3, compared to mean pretest score of 7.9) at the 0.00001 level. The socioeconomic level of families and parental health education were found to be significant factors in determining children's nutritional status in urban community areas of District Gwalior. Evidence suggests that improving parental knowledge, especially in the areas of nutrition and health-related activities, can have a beneficial effect on children's dietary intake. These results have important implications for the design of future treatments and policies meant to enhance the nutritional health of children living in comparable conditions. It is important to evaluate the long-term effects of initiatives in this area, and further study is needed to determine the precise processes by which parental health education and socioeconomic position affect children's diets.