TABLE 3.
Husbands’ knowledge of nutrition, by program group and survey round1
| Baseline | Endline | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrition-focused MNCH2 (n = 747) | Standard MNCH (n = 767) | Nutrition-focused MNCH2 (n = 622) | Standard MNCH (n = 685) | |
| Knowledge of IFA | ||||
| Coffee or tea decrease iron absorption when taken with meals | 3.8 | 3.5 | 29.6*** | 3.5 |
| Benefits of IFA tablets during pregnancy | ||||
| To reduce the risk of anemia for pregnant women | 34.0 | 33.1 | 51.0* | 35.2 |
| To reduce the risk of anemia for the child inside the womb | 27.6 | 21.8 | 48.4** | 27.6 |
| To reduce the risk of low birth weight | 10.8 | 11.6 | 33.8** | 14.7 |
| To help improve the child's intelligence | 27.0 | 25.2 | 36.7 | 28.0 |
| To reduce the risk of excessive blood loss after delivery | 7.8 | 3.9 | 21.1*** | 5.8 |
| To reduce the risk of excessive blood loss during delivery | 1.5 | 2.0 | 10.8* | 3.9 |
| To make the mother healthy/strong | 30.3* | 40.8 | 30.1** | 45.0 |
| Women should take IFA for 6 mo during pregnancy | 29.9 | 27.3 | 69.9*** | 34.3 |
| Knowledge of calcium | ||||
| Benefit of calcium tablets during pregnancy | ||||
| To ensure adequate growth of child's bones and teeth | 31.8 | 31.0 | 68.7*** | 46.1 |
| To reduce the risk of hypertension/pre-eclampsia/eclampsia | 6.3 | 4.4 | 43.1*** | 10.7 |
| Women should take calcium for 6 mo during pregnancy | 28.1 | 24.5 | 69.5*** | 32.9 |
| Knowledge of dietary diversity | ||||
| Kind of food pregnant/lactating women should eat every day | ||||
| Rice | 75.0 | 68.5 | 97.3 | 99.3 |
| Thick daal | 36.1 | 28.9 | 83.3*** | 52.9 |
| Yellow/orange fruit and vegetables | 42.7 | 44.5 | 73.3 | 45.4 |
| Dark-green leafy vegetables | 80.2 | 84.5 | 91.6 | 84.7 |
| Other vegetables | 64.3 | 65.1 | 62.1 | 70.4 |
| Yellow/orange fruit | 48.9 | 55.8 | 65.6** | 43.4 |
| Egg | 88.0 | 87.6 | 96.6 | 94.9 |
| Milk/milk products | 59.6 | 70.0 | 82.8 | 74.6 |
| Fish/seafood | 71.4 | 71.2 | 82.2 | 82.0 |
| Meat (both flesh and organ) | 65.9 | 65.1 | 85.1* | 78.1 |
| Total knowledge score (range: 1–10)3 | 3.95 ± 1.35 | 3.95 ± 1.45 | 6.05 ± 1.58*** | 4.60 ± 1.41 |
1Values are means ± SDs or percentages. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. IFA, iron and folic acid; MNCH, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health.
2Differences between intensive and nonintensive areas, accounting for geographic clustering with the use of a 3-level mixed model.
3Unexplained SDs for subdistrict, village, and individual levels were 0.390, 0.259, and 1.31, respectively. Intraclass correlations for subdistrict and village were 0.078 and 0.113, respectively.