Nutrition Communication Using Social-Marketing Techniques to Combat Vitamin A Deficiency: Results of Summative Evaluation

The operational feasibility was investigated of adopting a social-marketing approach to develop a community program of nutrition communication to promote consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Five comparable villages in a developmentally backward and drought-prone district in southern India were selected. In two experimental villages social-marketing strategy was adopted for nutrition communication while conventional nutritional education was implemented in two positive control villages. A large village did not receive any intervention and served as the negative control. This communication presents the results of the intervention programs carried out in the study areas over a period of one year. The results indicated that the knowledge attitude and practices among mothers of preschool children about vitamin A improved significantly in the experimental area after intervention. There was a fourfold increase in the intake of vitamin A-rich foods among preschool children in the experimental area as compared with a twofold increase in the positive control. There was no change in the negative control area. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of Bitots spots after intervention in the experimental area (p < .05). There was no change in the other two areas. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of a social-marketing strategy for nutrition communication for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies and the need for adopting innovative strategies for communicating nutrition messages. (authors)