What influences health behavior? Learning from caregivers of young children in Viet Nam
Dearden, K.A.; Quan, L.Nga.; Do, M.; Marsh, D.R.; Schroeder, D.G.; Pachón, H.; Lang, T.Thi.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin 23(4 Suppl): 119-129
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0379-5721 PMID: 12503240 DOI: 10.1177/15648265020234s216Document Number: 266088
Globally, the caregiving behaviours that contribute to good nutritional status are well understood; but it is not clear why some caregivers perform these behaviours while others do not. This formative qualitative research was designed to improve understanding about what distinguishes caregivers who practice optimal behaviours from those who do not. This study is a one-time, cross-sectional baseline assessment of factors that affect nutrition-related behavioural change. It took place in a rural northern province in Vietnam. One hundred caregivers of children 6 to 17.9 months of age from five communes were interviewed. None of the five communes were included in the larger prospective study designed to test the impact of the Community Empowerment and Nutrition Program (CENP). Four behaviours were examined: feeding the child "positive deviant" foods, feeding the child during diarrhoeal episodes, washing the child's hands and taking the child to the health centre when ill. Results indicate that for all four behaviours, favourable social norms distinguished those who practiced each behaviour from those who did not. Positive, reinforcing beliefs and attitudes were important determinants of every behaviour except handwashing. Likewise, self-efficacy differentiated doers from non-doers for all behaviours except feeding during diarrhoeal episodes. Findings from this research suggest that fathers and in-laws of non-doers are more likely to fail to advise mothers about infant feeding and health than they are to provide negative advice. By discovering what distinguishes those who practice optimal behaviours from those who do not, researchers, programme planners, and others are better equipped to develop targeted interventions that lead to positive behavioural change.