detail description of Role of nurse in Nutritional education

1. ROLE OF NURSE
IN
NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION
Ms. Saheli C
Lecturer
IACN

2. INTRODUCTION
• Nutritional and health education can be defined as a
planned effort to improve nutrition and health status
by bringing about changes in the behaviour of people.
• It is a process by which people gain knowledge and
develop confidence and skills needed for establishing
good dietary and health practices.

3. CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal
communication Mass media
Traditional media
Nutritional communication
INDIVIDUAL
APPROACH
• Personal contact/
interviews
•Home visits
•Personal letters/
telephone.
GROUP APPROACH
• Lectures
•Demonstration
•Discussion methods
•Group
•Panel
•Symposium
•Workshop
•Conferences.
•Role play/ Drama
•Models
•Field visits/ Tours.
•Television.
•Radio, recording
•Films/ Tape.
•Newspaper.
•Other printed matter.
•Journals
•Magazines.
•Exhibition / Meals
•Posters/ Charts/ Bill
pasting
•Computer/ Internet
• Folk music and
dance
•Puppetry.

4. METHODS OF COMMUNICATION
Methods of communication can further
classified into following categories-
A. Information centred methods.
B. Behaviour centred methods.

5. A. INFORMATION CENTERED METHOD
1. LECTURE METHOD:
• It is the most economical way of getting a vast amount of information
across a large group of people within the least time.
• It is a one way communication method that does not involve the
people much.
• For increasing the effectiveness of a lecture, the characteristic of the
audience should be known by the lecturer and the topic should be of
interest to the audience.
• Appropriate aids should be used in between and there should be
provision for discussion at the end of the lecture.

6. B. BEHAVIOUR CENTERED METHODS
The behaviour centred methods emphasize on
dissemination of information which can influence
behaviour. It includes-
1. Group discussion method.
2. Role play/ drama method.
3. Story telling
4. Demonstration.
5. Problem solving method /Brain storming.

7. 1. GROUP DISCUSSION METHOD:
• This is two way communication method; best method to modify
behaviour.
• This methods gives a feeling of belonging and the support of
other members makes it easier for people to take decisions and
change their attitude and practices.
• Discussions can be carried out in small groups with group
leaders; where the topic can be discussed separately and then
leaders can express their group’s viewpoints to the larger group.
• A good leader should be chosen to bring about desired results.
• The members of the group should actively participate.
• They should share their experiences, learn from each other, find
out solution of the problem together.

8. 2. ROLE PLAY / DRAMA METHOD
• Role play is the spontaneous dramatization which is
not rehearsed and sentences are composed on the
spot.
• It is an activity where people act out in real life
situations.
• Some may also pretend to be persons with certain
problems.
• Drama could be in the form of skit or a short play.
• It could also be done using puppets as an aid.

9. 3. STORY TELLING
• Stories are a traditional form of learning that people
experience from childhood.
• Stories can be close ended followed by a discussion initiated
by the story teller or they can be open- ended where the
group members themselves would complete it.
• After story telling session is over, the major point of learning
should be repeated for reinforcement.
• This can be done by simply asking, “What is that you have
learnt from this story’.

10. 4. DEMONSTRATION
• Demonstration is a way to show people how to do something
step by step so that they can learn new skills and how to do
things themselves.
• Each step of a demonstration is accompanied by an explanation
of what is being done, how is it being done and why is it being
done
• The people therefore get an opportunity to see how to do
something before they actually try it themselves.
• Demonstration can be of 2 types.

11. I. Method demonstration: where a procedure is
carried out step by step, slowly and accurately
before an audience.
II. Result demonstration: where the results of an
activity are demonstrated and discussed. The end
products of each steps are prepared beforehand in
this method.

12. 5. PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD/
BRAINSTORMING
• This technique helps people to logically come
out with solutions to their own problems.
• A group leader can identify and present the
problem to the entire group.
• He can then ask the group members to share
information and ideas related to the problem

13. TEACHING AIDS USED IN NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION
TEACHING
AIDS
MACHINE
OPERATED
AIDS
NON MACHINE
OPERATED AIDS
FILM
STRIPS/
SLIDES
CDs
AUDIO
TAPES
VIDEO
TAPES
POSTERS,
PICTURES,
MODELS
CHARTS
FLASH
CARDS
FLANNEL
GRAPHS

14. MASS COMMUNICATION MEDIA USED IN NUTRITION
EDUCATION
• Mass media are powerful tools in reaching and
educating vast audience quickly.
• They are essentially classified on the basis of the form
in which information is communicated to different
masses as written, spoken and audio- visual media.
• In written media the information is presented in the
script form using language, with or without illustrations
and also exclusively through illustrations.

15. • Examples of written media are leaflets, circular
letters, folders, banners, calendars and newspaper.
• These media call for reading skill of the learner for
successful communication.
• Spoken media means oral communication using
language.
• Radio is an example of spoken media. This
medium can be utilized successfully based on the
listening skill of the audience.

16. • Audio visual media includes both oral and visual
communication simultaneously which stimulates both
audio and visual senses of the audience.
• Film is one such medium.
• Audio visual media demands seeing and listening skills
of audience to make the maximum utilization of the
media.

17. COMPUTERS IN NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION
Computer assisted instruction finds use in patient education
and professional/ staff education as well as employee training.
1. Nutrition surveys:
❑ Population surveys are conducted at both national and local
levels. The survey data is read rapidly using the Optical
Character Reader and computers are used in analyzing the
data.
❑ These data help public health nutritionists to identify nutrition
needs of the community and plan programmes to help meet
these needs.

18. 2. Patient/ Client education: Computer assisted
learning is used in private practice, clinics and
hospitals for patient client education in health care.
For example, a computerized programme can be used to
provide diabetes education that does not require
constant surveillance by the health professional. In
addition to such; education on general diet and
exercise also available for use in professional health
care services.

19. 3. Professional nutritional education:
• Computers combined with other audio-visual instruction techniques
are used for self placed courses for dietician, nursing and premedical
students.
• Computer simulated clinical encounters helps to conduct an interview
with the patient to collect the data on nutrient catalogue which have
found to be effective in comparison with hospital based clinical
experiences.
• The instructor gets a printout reporting the students knowledge,
responses to enquiries concerning the patient and organization of the
clinical encounter; thus enabling the instructor to meet individual
student needs.

20. 4. ONLINE APPLICATION:
• On browsing the web, we find that food and nutrition
information is proliferating in cyberspace.
• Emails can be used to exchange ideas, projects and
data quickly and inexpensively.
• Search engines quickly direct us to websites and blogs
with breaking nutrition news, eating advice, healthful
recipes, governmental agencies, other credible
nutrition resources and food product information.

21. SITES AND MOMENTS FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION
The important and favourable sites for nutrition
education are -
• Homes.
• Schools
• Hospitals.
• Feeding centres.
• Rural areas.

22. 1. HOMES
• Home visits by different functionaries and extension
workers such as nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives,
health visitors, sanitarians etc. give excellent
opportunities for nutrition education, which can be
related to actual home conditions as a part of their
activities.
• Home visits should be planned for a convenient time
of the day in relation to the mother’s household
duties.

23. 2. SCHOOLS
• Schools are particularly favourable sites for nutrition
education.
• School children are less fussy about their food habits
than adults.
• Learning new ideas about food will fit into the
concepts of schools as ‘places of change’.
• In order to give nutrition prominence, teachers must
be aware of local nutritional problems and their
prevention.
• Effective nutrition education in schools will have its
carry home and feedback results.

24. 3. HOSPITALS
• Hospitals which are concerned with curative work are most
conducive for nutrition education work with patients and their
relatives.
• In children’s wards mothers come with their infants and young
children, eager to receive information on how to rear their
children well.
• Individual counselling, discussions in small groups and
demonstrating at a time when their children are recovering
make mothers receptive to new ideas.
• Out patient clinics, prenatal clinics, new born and premature
units are also suitable sites for nutrition education.

25. 4. FEEDING CENTRES
• Feeding programmes are good media for providing
nutrition education to the community.
• When education is imparted along with the
distribution of food, people are more receptive.
• Nutrition education must become a part and parcel
of any feeding programme because unless
nutrition education is given along with food
supplements, the people would go back to their
old status once the food distribution is stopped.

26. 5. RURAL AREAS
• Nutrition education and training occupy the
pride of place in extension work, as they alone
can bring awareness and develop a lasting
inclination in the community to work,
independent of external assistance, for a self
sustained programme of production ,
consumption and preservation of protected
foods.

27. ROLE OF NURSE IN NUTRITIONAL
EDUCATION
• A Nurse can guide people to choose optimum and
balanced diet, remove prejudices and promote good
dietary habits.
• In hospital nurse can give advice to choose the appropriate
balanced diet to restore health.
• Can act as a facilitator for dietary change among patients.
• In the community the nurse and the health visitor play an
important role in nutrition education.

28. • Nurse serve as a liaison between family and the community
health providers.
• The nurse can educate the public about prevention of
deficiency disorders like anaemia, protein calorie
malnutrition, night blindness, goitre and nutrition related
diseases such as CVD, stroke, diabetes and obesity.
• A nurse can help people in understanding the structure and
functions of the body, teach them about how to keep
physically fit- the need for exercise, rest and sleep and the
effects of alcohol, smoking, and drugs on the body.

29. • She can educate the mothers about child spacing, breast feeding, safe
motherhood, immunization, weaning and child growth, diarrhoeal disease
and respiratory infections.
• She can educate the people about the prevention of locally endemic
diseases, the importance of proper waste disposal, avoidance of water
stagnation to prevent the spread of malaria and consumption of iodide
salt to control the goitre can be stressed upon.
• The nurse inform about the people about the health services available in
the community like screening programmes, supplementation, antenatal
care, immunization and referral services and how they can utilize them.