THE EFFECT OF HEALTH EDUCATION ON MOTHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF STUNTING PREVENTION AT BOUGENVIL INTEGRATED HEALTH POST, TEGALWARU VILLAGE, KARAWANG REGENCY, INDONESIA

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of health education on mothers’ knowledge regarding stunting prevention at Bougenvil Integrated Health Post, Tegalwaru Village, Karawang Regency, Indonesia.

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental approach with a pretest–posttest two-group design. A total of 38 mothers participated, comprising 19 mothers in the intervention group and 19 in the control group. Maternal knowledge regarding stunting prevention was assessed before and after the study period. The intervention group received health education focusing on stunting prevention. Data distribution was assessed using a normality test. Changes in knowledge scores from pretest to posttest within each group were subsequently examined using a dependent t-test, with statistical significance established at p < 0.05.

Results: In the intervention group, the mean knowledge score increased from 10.89 (SD = 2.378) at pretest to 15.42 (SD = 2.987) at posttest, representing a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001). The control group also demonstrated an increase, from 11.47 (SD = 2.547) to 13.53 (SD = 2.412), with a statistically significant within-group difference (p = 0.002). Before health education, 13 mothers (68.4%) in the intervention group were categorized as having poor knowledge, whereas after the intervention, 11 mothers (57.9%) were categorized as having good knowledge.

Conclusion: Maternal knowledge regarding stunting prevention improved significantly following health education. The findings support the potential contribution of health education to strengthening mothers’ understanding of stunting prevention. However, because the reported analysis focused on within-group changes, further between-group analysis is required to establish the comparative effect of the intervention.