The impact of a health education course on maternal knowledge: a comparative study in a low socioeconomic rural region

Abstract

A comprehensive health education course was designed for mothers in West Bank villages, a relatively low socioeconomic population. The course focused on nutrition, hygiene, child development, and first aid. It was taught by specially trained local instructors in small classes characterized by an individualized teaching method. To evaluate the contribution of the course, the level of knowledge in topics taught in the course was tested. The test was personally administered by trained interviewers to 241 course participants and to a comparison group of 284 mothers who had not participated. As expected, participants demonstrated higher level of knowledge than nonparticipants, regardless of the time since having taken the course. The course seems to have contributed to all participants, but mostly to women of lower education. In a multiple linear regression the two most significant predictors of knowledge were course participation and level of maternal formal education.

PIP: A comprehensive health education course was designed for mothers in West Bank villages, a group of relatively low socioeconomic status. The course focused on nutrition, hygiene, child development, and first aid. It was taught by specially trained local instructors in small classes characterized by an individualized teaching method. To evaluate the contribution of the course, the level of knowledge in topics taught in the course was tested. The examination was administered by trained interviewers to 241 course participants and to a comparison group of 284 mothers who had not participated. As expected, participants demonstrated a higher level of knowledge than nonparticipants, regardless of the time since having taken the course. The course appears to have been useful for all participants,but mostly to those women with less education. In a multiple linear regression, the 2 most significant predictors of knowledge were course participation and level of maternal formal education.