The Association between Women's Knowledge about Vitamin A and Who they Contact for Advice about Nutrition and Health in Bangladesh
Jillian L. Waid *
Helen Keller International, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Zeina Sifri
Helen Keller International, New York, USA.
Nancy Haselow
Helen Keller International - Asia Pacific Regional Office, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Objectives: This paper measures the level of basic vitamin A knowledge nationally in Bangladesh and relates this knowledge to the sources of information on which a woman relies. It also reviews the relationship between knowledge of vitamin A and vitamin A intake in children and women.
Methods: Questions about women's knowledge of vitamin A and the people upon whom they rely for nutrition and health information was added to the standard questionnaire of the Food Security and Nutrition Surveillance project (JPGSPH/HKI). This section was administered to 4,512 child caregivers and/or the person responsible for managing the household kitchen.
Results: Overall Bangladeshi women had an adequate knowledge of vitamin A, both the importance of the nutrient and its sources in the diet. There was no significant difference between the knowledge held by child caregivers and other index women in the household, but women who listed no resource people for nutrition and health information outside their household were significantly less aware of the benefits and sources of vitamin A than women who were able to seek advice from other sources.
Conclusions: As almost half of women relied on only family members to learn about nutrition and health, program implementation requires multiple strategies to include husbands and older family members in order to reach these women. In addition, more research into communication networks in rural areas is important in order to design effective project implementation strategies.
Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.