Effectiveness of the nutritional promoting program on the growth of pre-school children in a child development center, Pongyangkok Sub-district, Hang Chat District, Lampang Province

Abstract

The objective of this quasi-experimental research was to investigate the effectiveness of a nutritional promotion program on pre-school children’s growth. This was conducted by applying behavioral learning theories. The sample of this study was 108 pre-school children aged between 3-5 years old with their parents and a purposive sample of 8 caregivers of pre-school children in the child development center in the Pongyangkok Sub-district Municipality, Hang Chat District, Lampang Province.

The intervention comprised 12 weekly curriculum sessions for pre-school children, four weekly activities for parents, and three weekly activities for caregivers. The measurement of growth was done by weighing and measuring the height of the children to be compared with the weight for age, height for age, and weight for height criteria. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Mean comparison between before and after the program was performed by using paired t-test.

The results revealed that after the intervention, higher percentages of pre-school children passed the normal weight for age, height for age, and height for weight criteria than before. In the aspect of parents and caregivers, the score of the knowledge, attitude and practice of nutritional promotion on the growth of pre-school children after the intervention statistically significantly increased more than before. The results of this study suggest that the intervention working together with parents, caregivers and children themselves is a valuable tool and may play a role in improving the nutritional status of children.