Volume : 4, Issue : 12, December - 2015

Utilization of anganwadi services for children under five years and awareness of mothers regarding anganwadi services- A cross sectional survey

Mrs. Lija R Nath

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;The purpose of the study was to determine the rate of utilisation of anganwadi services for under-five children, and maternal awareness regarding the services in selected wards of Kallara Village, Thiruvananthapuram district. The design selected for the present study was descriptive study design. 322 subjects (under-five children and their mothers) were selected using cluster sampling technique. The tools used for the data collection were structured questionnaire to assess socio- personal data, awareness of mothers regarding Anganwadi services and utilization of Anganwadi services. Data was collected by house to house survey using structured questionnaire in the year 2014. The study concluded that only fifty nine percentage of mothers were sending their under-five children to Anganwadis and utilizing the services regularly and most of the mothers (60.9%) had average knowledge regarding Anganwadi services. There was significant association between the utilization rate and variables like maternal awareness (p&lt;0.01) and family income ( p&lt;0.05). Accurate information and motivation from health personnel may help to improve the awareness and utilization of ICDS services.</p>