Chil Nutrition Communication for Small Children in Egypt: Described by Mothers with Higher Educational Background

Abstract: ABSTRACT Right child nutrition communication to the mothers of small children is fundamental. Optimal infant and young child feeding practices rank among the most effective interventions to improve child health.  How well health information is received, is affected by the characteristics of the receiver such as culture, language, personality etc. Communication of child nutrition over cultural boarders can be improved by understanding communication processes in different societies. Communication inputs from McGuire’s model; source, channel and destination were used to describe communication process in this study, which was carried out in Egypt, where the nutrition situation is characterized by different challenges.   The purpose of this interview study was to find out how highly educated mothers of small children, living in cities in Egypt experience child nutrition communication in their society. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were used as the method for interviewing 7 mothers with children from 6 months to 4 years. Strategic sampling and snowball sampling were used for finding suitable participants. Interviews were analyzed by content analysis.   Result: Mass media in the form of Internet, TV, books and Child nutrition hotline and interpersonal communication such as pediatricians, social networks and elder generation were nutrition information sources for Egyptian mothers. Pediatricians and Internet were widely described sources as well as the elder generation. Challenges, related to different sources such as trust were mentioned, available information contained discrepancies.   This study gives specific knowledge of how child nutrition is communicated, used and received by Egyptian mothers. Challenges are identified both in interpersonal and mass media communication. These results can improve the nutrition communication/health communication for the study group or similar target groups via different sources and channels. The result of study is increasing the understanding of complexity in health communication. More culture specific studies and understanding of the target groups is needed in order to gain deeper understanding for other cultural contexts.