Table 1.

Knowledge of recommended behaviours and underlying mechanisms, by knowledge domain

Topic	Correct response(s)	Per cent correct
		All (N = 360)	Households (N = 262)	Leaders (N = 54)	Volunteers (N = 26)	Profes‐sionals (N = 18)
Panel A: Nutrition behaviours
Infant and young child feeding
Initiate breastfeeding	Immediately or less than 1 hr after delivery	91	89	94	100	100
Give colostrum	Yes	92	90	96	100	100
Breastfeeding frequency	Whenever the baby wants	9	10	7	8	6
	When you see the baby is hungry	7	7	4	12	6
	When the baby cries	6	8	2	0	0
	Frequently	85	84	96	85	56
	At least 8 times per day	1	1	0	0	0
Exclusive breastfeeding to	6 months	91	88	96	100	100
Introduction of liquids	6 months	82	82	85	88	67
Introduction of solid foods	6 months	66	63	72	81	67
Vitamin A supplementation	Twice per year	30	27	31	31	72
For child with diarrhoea:		8	5	6	12	50
Give solid food	Yes	1	1	0	4	11
Amount	Same as usual	77	74	81	85	89
Give breastmilk	Yes	77	74	81	85	89
Amount	More than usual	78	75	83	85	94
Give other liquids	Yes	58	52	72	73	83
Amounts	More than usual	99	99	100	100	100
Give ORS	Yes	72	66	80	100	94
Give zinc	Yes	97	97	100	96	100
See health prof.	Yes	91	89	94	100	100
Hygiene & Sanitation
Occasions to wash hands	When they look dirtyb	51	42	65	85	89
	Before preparing food	31	31	31	27	39
	Before breastfeeding	45	40	46	77	72
	Before eating	96	94	100	100	100
	After using the toilet	67	63	70	81	94
	After changing a diaper	10	10	7	8	11
	After working in the fields or caring for livestock	13	11	20	4	17
Purpose of using soap in handwashingb	To help me by removing dirt and improving appearance	76	73	74	96	100
Actions to make drinking water safea	Boiling for at least 1 min	78	78	81	77	56
	Adding purification tablets/drops	96	95	96	96	100
During pregnancy
Visits to antenatal clinic	4–9	88	89	83	92	67
Food consumption	Eat more food	78	74	85	92	78
Harmful foods	None	47	40	52	73	89
Vitamin supplement	Yes	82	80	83	81	100
Panel B: Underlying mechanisms
Hygiene and sanitation (germ theory of disease)
Purpose of using soap in handwashingb	To help others by preventing transmission of disease	76	73	74	96	100
Food composition (function of nutrients)
More energy for work:
Onion or tomato?	Onion	2	3	0	0	0
Water or milk?	Milk	45	43	46	38	83
Contribution to future health:c
Orange fruit or a Fanta?	Orange	51	45	52	69	100
Nsima (maize meal) or Ndiwo (greens)?	Ndiwo	36	33	39	23	94
Biscuits or papaya?	Papaya	86	85	87	81	100
Food safety (control of contaminants)
Cooking eliminates mould	No	54	53	56	46	72
Animals affected by mould on feed grain	Yes	48	42	59	65	67
Animal source foods affected by mould on animal feed	Yes	41	37	44	54	61

Note. Questions listed are in order asked within each domain.

^aA separate variable was coded for each correct response.

^bPostcoding generated a variable for at least one of the following: “When they look dirty” as an occasion to wash with soap, “To improve appearance” or “Both” as the reason for handwashing. A second variable was coded for a correct selection of “To prevent transmission of disease” or “Both” as the reason for handwashing.

“Other responses” were postcoded and any response between four and nine times were coded as correct.

^cResponse options included each food, “they are the same,” and “don't know.”