Improving nutritional education for villagers at a health center in Gotvand, Iran: a best practice implementation...

Individuals living in rural areas and low-income communities are at an increased risk of nutrient-poor diets and associated metabolic disorders, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

This study aimed to enhance the nutritional education process, identify barriers and facilitators to improving compliance, and develop strategies to address areas of non-compliance for villagers in Gotvand, Iran.

In accordance with the JBI Evidence Implementation Framework, this clinical audit study was conducted in 2023 at a health center in Gotvand, Iran. Forty adult villagers referred to the health center took part in a baseline audit to evaluate compliance with recommended practices. After 1 month, a follow-up audit was conducted, during which 20 villagers were randomly selected and their data analyzed. Data collection methods included direct observation and interviews.

The baseline results indicated that face-to-face interviews or experiential learning approaches had the highest compliance rate (70%), followed by other strategies in addition to nutrition education (60%). Training aimed to increase nutritional knowledge recorded a compliance rate of 55%, while self-monitoring to facilitate nutrition education by individuals had the lowest rate at 33%. After the 1-month follow-up, compliance rates improved significantly, revealing audit scores of 100% for Criteria 1-3, and 94.4% for Criterion 4.

The findings suggest that employing local educators, using educational packages (including illustrated pamphlets), and conducting face-to-face sessions are effective strategies for delivering nutritional education in rural areas, taking into account local community knowledge, language differences, and cultural context.

http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A517.