A STUDY OF AWARENESS REGARDING HOUSEHOLD FOOD INSECURITY, FOOD PRACTICES AND HEALTH RISKS AMONG THE RURAL WOMEN OF ALLAHABAD DISTRICT (original) (raw)

Background: The lives of rural women population are characterized by limited education, lack of knowledge pertaining to health aspects & also limited influence on decisions affecting their lives. Thus, awareness is one major factor for development of this group of population. Objective: 1) To study the awareness regarding Household Food Insecurity, Food Practices and Health Risks among the rural women of Allahabad District aged between 18-25 years. 2) To access the impact of Health and Nutritional Awareness Program on the awareness level of selected population. Material and Methods: The data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire among 600 rural women from the villages belongs to Jasra and Chaka block of Allahabad district. Pre test was carried out before the exposure of awareness documentary followed by post test to assess the impact of health and nutritional awareness programme. Results: The knowledge of rural women regarding health and nutrition aspects improved significantly after intervention. There was a considerable increase in the awareness levels of rural women with regard to knowledge of household food insecurity, food practices and various health risks among rural Indian women. Conclusion: The informative & educable intervention definitely has a positive effect on awareness levels which would eventually encourage expansion of knowledge & positive health habits.