Nutritional status of toddlers, education level, and habitual hygiene behaviour among mothers in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition in toddlers can cause impaired growth and become one of the risk factors for morbidity and mortality. Mothers with a good level of education will affect their ability to select and serve foods with balanced nutrition for toddlers. Meanwhile, maternal hygiene behavior related to the cleanliness of food, drinks, body, and the environment is an important factor in preventing various diseases that can influence the nutritional status of children under the age of five.

Purpose: To identify the correlation between maternal education level and hygiene behavior with the nutritional status of toddlers in Hamlet III Sukamulya Village.

Method: Cross-sectional. The data used is primary data collected through a questionnaire. Data include maternal demographics, toddler characteristics, and maternal hygiene behaviors. The population of this study consisted only of mothers with toddlers from Hamlet III Sukamulya village using a total sampling technique with a total of 145 respondents. Data were analyzed with univariate analysis and bivariate analysis using Spearman rho test.

Results: Showed that the majority of mothers had a basic education level (79.3%), and had good hygiene behavior (90.3%), and most toddlers had normal nutritional status (63.4%). This study found a p-value of 0.772 on the mother's education level variable and a p-value of 0.085 on the hygiene behavior variable.

Conclusion: there is no correlation between maternal education level and nutritional status of toddlers and there is no correlation between hygiene behavior and nutritional status of toddlers.