Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of the Selected Parents/Guardians of Pre-School Children on the Local Nutrition Programs, Pilar, Bataan, 2023

Date

6-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Cesar B. Quicoy

Committee Member

Julieta A. Delos Reyes, Agham C. Cuevas

Abstract

Adequate nutrition is crucial for a child's growth and development, as it sets the building blocks for a sound and healthy life for them. It is necessary that children are given access to nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, proteins from low fat dairy products, nuts or fish; all of which contribute essential vitamins and minerals required for proper growth. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, awareness, and program perceptions of selected parents/guardians on the local nutrition program for preschool children in Pilar, Bataan. Analyses were done on the data obtained from the 96 parent/guardian respondents who are participants of the local nutrition programs in Pilar, Bataan.

The respondents were found to be 92 percent female, 42 percent aged 31 to 40 years old, 63 percent had at least reached secondary studies, 78 percent unemployed, and 55 percent have an average monthly income of Php 20,001 to 30,000. Other characteristics were also determined, number of children of the parent/guardian, barangay classification, and exposure to different media. There were 77 percent who have atleast one to two children, 50 percent living in urban areas, 94 percent do not use television, and 52 percent use cellphones or smartphones in acquiring nutrition-related information.

Knowledge and awareness of the respondents were determined and results showed that majority of the parents/guardian have low level of knowledge and medium level of awareness on the experts' dietary recommendation for children. On the perception of the parents/guardians, majority or 94 percent of them agreed on the listed benefits or advantages, while 6 percent disagreed. The listed barriers that most parents/guardian perceived are the poor road conditions, house duties, work schedule, access to private institutions, and child not wanting to ingest to provided food and vitamins.

The correlation between knowledge, awareness, and perception was also determined. The results showed that knowledge and awareness are associated with one another with a weak positive monotonic relationship. Chi-square testing done revealed that employment status of the parents/guardians is strongly associated with awareness, and weakly associated with the perceived benefits. Furthermore, household income is strongly associated with knowledge and awareness; and lastly, education attainment is moderately associated with knowledge and strongly associated with the awareness.

Educational seminars, proper allocation of budget for daycare centers and workers, proper organization in program implementation, swift action on the recorded grievances of the community, and further studies on the participation of parents/guardians were recommended to address all the issues and concerns of the beneficiaries of the programs, as well as the whole community of Pilar, Bataan.

Language

English

LC Subject

Nutrition -- Evaluation

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2023 A14 F66

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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