Background
Nutrition knowledge plays an important role in public health. It is one of the factors that affects the nutrition habits of individuals, families and communities. It provides a good foundation for making proper decisions regarding food choice and nutrition practices.
Objective
To determine the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with nutrition knowledge among primary school pupils in Laikipia County.
Study Design, Settings, Participants
A cross sectional study involving a total of 326 pupils aged 12-14 years recruited into the study from three rural primary schools in Laikipia County.
Measurable Outcome/Analysis
Demographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, nutrition knowledge scores. The nutrition knowledge was assessed using 20-item questionnaire. Chi-square tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and logistic regression were used to determine association between variables.
Results
The mean age of the pupils was 12.24 ± 1.39. The pupils were in classes 4, 5, and 6. The mean nutrition knowledge score was 10.96 ± 3.76. The nutrition knowledge was categorized into three levels: low (≤ 40%), moderate (41-49%) and high (≥70%). A Pearson correlation test showed that the age of the pupils was not significantly associated with the mean nutrition knowledge score (P = .051). Ownership of a television set was significantly associated with the level of nutrition knowledge among pupils at a significance level of .05 (P = .016). The main source of lighting was significantly associated with their level of nutrition knowledge (P = .008). The class of study was significantly associated with the nutrition knowledge level (P = .000) at a significance level of 0.01. Class 7 pupils were more likely to have higher nutrition knowledge as compared to class 5 and 6 pupils (OR = 8.34). Class 5 pupils were less likely to have high nutrition knowledge as compared to their class 6 and 7 counterparts (OR = 2.76).
Conclusion
Ownership of television and source of lighting were significantly associated with the nutrition knowledge of the pupils. The television is an effective tool for delivering health messages to pupils in this age group.
Funding: None.
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Copyright
© 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.
