
Community-based nutritional intervention for reducing malnutrition among children under 5 years of age in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Author(s) -
Hossein Malekafzali
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/2000.6.2-3.238
Subject(s) - malnutrition , sanitation , environmental health , medicine , incidence (geometry) , deworming , intervention (counseling) , protein–energy malnutrition , islamic republic , under five , pediatrics , geography , islam , nursing , physics , archaeology , pathology , immunology , optics , helminths
A project was conducted in a rural area in September 1994 with the aim of decreasing the incidence of protein-energy malnutrition among children under 5 years, by nutritional intervention through the primary health care system. An initial situation analysis revealed the region’s resources and causes of malnutrition. Practical instruction on feeding methods, deworming, environmental sanitation, the promotion of home-grown vegetables and reinforcement of the growth monitoring programme were chosen as the routes for intervention. All indices were reassessed in the region after 1 year. Results showed that nutritional awareness had grown among mothers, and that the incidence of malnutrition had dropped from 6.5% to 1.8%, as measured against the weight-for-height index