Mobile as an effective medium for improving Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition in Tribal areas of Gujarat

Abstract
ST communities have a history of self sufficiency in their culture and way of life which creates exclusion from the mainstream, but such exclusion is not discriminatory in and of itself. The prevalent notions about tribal ways of living which are discriminatory at times have perpetuated their marginalization. Concurrently, many ST communities reside in inaccessible and distant areas with poor transport services which add another layer of exclusion (Sonowal, 2008). Maternal, Infant and child nutrition is a crucial component of public health, especially in tribal community. Unawareness among women about maternal care and nutrition, Infant and child care & nutrition results into poor nutritional and health status. Systematic review of literature suggests that caste and gender create wide difference in MIYCN seeking behavior. Tribal Districts of Gujarat are a unique example of this our field work in Poshina area of Sabarkantha district, It was found that MIYCN condition in those area could be improved if nutrition and health education is disseminated through different informatics tools like mobisodes and FFL Video shows. A survey was conducted in Chochar and Dedka villages of Poshina Block of Sabarkantha District. Respondent were chosen through purposive random sampling from women who were either pregnant or had given birth in three years preceding the survey. Our study shows that tribal women rely on their immediate family members for information related to MIYCN as different channels of information are absent. Moreover, the ASHAs and AWWs fail to provide reliable and complete information. This when compounded with caste affiliation act as major barrier in the nutrition seeking behavior of women affecting MIYCN. Through this study is illustrated that ICT is the most accessible nutrition informatics tool which can be useful in propagating necessary and need based information to tribal women, thus, being instrumental for nutrition promotion.
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