Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1982

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major Professor

Lura M. Odland

Committee Members

George Everett, Daniel Hubbard, Roy Beauchene

Abstract

In order to establish the existence of malnutrition in pregnant women in a district in Zimbabwe, an analysis of the staple food products, mealie meal (Lite-Wite) and sadza made from this meal was completed. In addition, a dietary survey of 50 women and body weight measurements of 21 of the 50 women were carried out.

For the meal and sadza, calories, protein, fat, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and ascorbic acid level were estimated using methods established by the American Association of Cereal Chemists. The analyses of essential amino acids (valine, phenylalanine, threonine, methionine, lysine, leucine, isoleucine) involved use of the Amino Acid Analyzer--119B. Tryptophan was analyzed using the methods developed by Spies and Chambers. The dietary calculations were based on food composition tables for local foods as compiled by the Ministry of Health, Zimbabwe.

The food analysis data indicated low content of protein, fat, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid in both mealie meal and sadza. Dietary intake estimations indicated that the protein intake approximated FAO recommended allowances; however, the protein source, maize, was low in lysine and tryptophan. Total daily caloric intake was low, as was calcium, vitamin A, niacin and ascorbic acid. The body weight measurements indicated that only 2 of 21 pregnant women achieved the recommended weight gain of 11 Kg. Women who had low total weight gain during pregnancy tended to have infants with low birth weight.

After establishing the fact that malnutrition existed in pregnant women in this district, a communication program aimed at creating nutrition awareness in this group of people was developed. The communication program required a thorough description of the existing communication system in Zimbabwe, sample nutrition messages that may flow in such a system were developed, and a communication model with a plan of action was proposed. The nutrition messages consisted of press releases, fact sheets, brochures, and posters. These messages were sent to experts in the fields of international nutrition and communication for evaluation. Comments of 12 evaluators were then incorporated into the reconstruction of these messages.

A nutrition communication model with a plan of action was developed. The model consisted of three phases: opinion leaders, the target population, and feedback. The model was then critiqued by graduate students and faculty members in the Communication discipline. Comments of the participants were used to improve the model's usefulness.

The messages and the model were found to have potential in creating nutrition awareness in this population. The model was viewed as having potential use in nutrition education not only in this particular district, but the whole country, as well as other countries. Each situation, however, must be examined and adjustment made to suit local characteristics.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS