REASONING ABOUT CHILDHOOD NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES BY MOTHERS IN RURAL INDIA - A COGNITIVE ANALYSIS

This study examines reasoning about the cause and treatment of three t ypes of childhood protein energy malnutrition (PEM) by 108 mothers in rural South India. The mothers were interviewed and their explanations of the childhood nutritional problems were verbally recorded, transcr ibed and then analyzed using cognitive methods of analysis. The result s indicated that knowledge and practices associated with traditional s ystems of Indian medicine prevalent in rural areas greatly influenced the mothers' reasoning. Their explanations were shown to have story-li ke structures, with sequences of events finked by strong causal explan ations. Mothers with higher levels of formal education showed greater verbal use of concepts related to biomedical theories of nutritional d isorders. However, their interpretations of these concepts were still based on the traditional theory. The study revealed both positive and negative aspects of traditional knowledge and beliefs for adequate chi ld nutrition and health. The development of improved instructional str ategies for nutrition and health education in relation to knowledge or ganization is discussed in the context of rural India.