Mothers’ Perceived Susceptibility and Severity of Maternal Behavior in Stunting Prevention

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nutritional problem is still a significant public health issue worldwide, and Indonesia is not exempted. Stunting is the failure of a child to grow to the proper height of their age due to unbalance nutritional intake (more calories and less protein) when they are still in the womb, baby, and toddlers. The mother’s lack of awareness about the susceptibility and severity of the stunting is the contributing factor. AIM: Purpose of this study is to investigate mothers’ perceived susceptibility and severity toward stunting and their association with mothers’ behavior to prevent stunting. METHODS: It is a quantitative study using an analytical observation design with a cross-sectional approach. This population is 120 mothers with under 5 years of children in East Surabaya Health Center, Indonesia. They were all taken as research samples. The independent variables are perceived susceptibility and severity of stunting, whereas stunting prevention is the dependent variable. The Likert scale is used to develop a questionnaire as a data collection tool. The logistic regression test was carried out to identify mothers’ perceived susceptibility and severity level to protect their children from stunting. RESULTS: The study found that mothers generally have a good perception of the susceptibility and severity of stunting. The logistic regression test shows that the value of significant = 0.000 for the susceptible variable and significant = 0.003 for the severity factor. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that the strong association between mothers’ perception of susceptibility and severity of stunting affects their stunting prevention behavior. SUGGESTION: The study advises mothers to improve their awareness of the danger of stunting and take necessary action to prevent it. Health promotion efforts should focus on empowering and enhancing the participation of mothers to take pre-emptive steps to prevent stunting.