• Mrs. Anita Gottlieb

INTRODUCTION: It is universally recognized that good nutrition means maintaining a nutritional status that enables us to grow well and enjoy good health (S`waminathan 2000). Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential in small amounts for body process. Vitamin themselves do not provide energy. They enable the body to use the energy provided by fats, carbohydrates and proteins (Townsend E. Cerelynn 2003). Inadequate intake of vitamins leads to some specific disorders. Globally about 21% of children suffer from vitamin A deficiency with a highest prevalence being in South East Asia (Pandav C.S. 2004). Health education is concerned with establishing or inducing changes in the attitudes and behaviour of individuals and groups that promote healthier living. Venkatachalam S.R. (2003) stated that the ignorance about correct dietary practices and dietary requirements has been recognized as an important cause of nutritional problem. To compact this problem nutrition education in the communities has been identified as an important long-term measures. METHODS: Quasi-Experimental Design was used to conduct this study, using One group pre and post test design without control group approach on 50 participants. Theoretical framework selected for this study was based on General Systems Theory by Bertanlaffy (1968). Convenient sampling was used to select the sample. Structured interview schedule and structured teaching programme with flash cards was used to collect data. FINDINGS: Majority of the mothers were 21 to 30 years of age. Fifty one percentage of mothers were from joint family. Only Thirty-nine percentage of mothers got previous sources of information from health personnel. Over all pretest knowledge score was 29.28 and post test knowledge score was 82.85 which is around 53% of difference in mean percentage reveals the effectiveness of STP on mother’s knowledge regarding prevention of vitamin deficiency disorders. Area wise post-test highest mean percentage score 100% was obtained by the mothers for vitamin A and lowest mean percentage score 37.5% for Vitamin B6 shows effectiveness 45% and 15%. CONCLUSION: From the findings it can be concluded that Prior to implementation of STP, mothers had poor knowledge (29.28%) on prevention of vitamin deficiency. After implementation of STP, mothers had Excellent knowledge (82.85%) on prevention of vitamin deficiency disorders with mean percentage difference of around 53.57% shows the effectiveness of STP on mothers knowledge regarding prevention of vitamin deficiency disorders. Significant difference was found between pre and pest-test knowledge scores and no significant association between post-test knowledge scores with demographic variables of the mothers.

Access, Effectiveness, Vitamins, Prevention, Knowledge, Structured Teaching Programme.

"A study to assess the effectiveness of Structured Teaching programme on knowledge regarding prevention of vitamin deficiency among mothers of under five children in a selected community area at Bareilly, U.P.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 6, page no.g16-g22, June-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2106829.pdf

"A study to assess the effectiveness of Structured Teaching programme on knowledge regarding prevention of vitamin deficiency among mothers of under five children in a selected community area at Bareilly, U.P.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 6, page no. ppg16-g22, June-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2106829.pdf