Abstract
Background: Rural communities face challenges in accessing effective nutrition education, which is crucial for improving nutritional and health knowledge (NHK). This study aims to evaluate the impact of comprehensive educational interventions on NHK among rural residents and identify effective communication strategies for dissemination.
Methods: Five rural villages in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, were selected as intervention sites. The interventions included loudspeaker audio broadcasts, WeChat group video dissemination, promotional flyers targeting NCDs, online prize-winning quizzes, posters, “Kids as Teachers: Learning Together” activity. Pre- and post-intervention NHK questionnaires were used to assess residents' knowledge, and the acceptability of the interventions was also evaluated.
Results: The comprehensive educational interventions significantly increased residents' NHK scores, as evident from the observed improvement from 59.8 to 68.7 after the interventions. These improvements were observed across the entire range of scores, indicating a positive impact particularly on individuals with lower initial scores. Among the different communication methods employed, loudspeaker audio broadcasts and WeChat group video dissemination received the highest ratings from community workers for accessibility, with scores of 8 and 7.2, respectively.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that comprehensive educational interventions effectively enhance NHK in rural areas. Loudspeaker audio broadcasts and WeChat group video dissemination were particularly successful in reaching a wide audience and were well-received by community workers. These results suggest the importance of implementing similar educational interventions in other rural areas to promote NHK dissemination. Moreover, ensuring government support is crucial for successful NHK education implementation and sustainability.