THE EFFECT OF HEALTH EDUCATION ON THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF TODDLERS USING THE G-SIT APPLICATION ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF MOTHERS IN UPT KUBANG JAYA HEALTH CENTER

Abstract

Mother's knowledge and attitude have a big role in determining the nutritional status of toddlers. When mothers' understanding of nutrition is inadequate, the selection of food for children is often inappropriate, resulting in an impact on the nutritional intake of toddlers. 
Efforts to increase knowledge and form better attitudes can be done through health education. One of the educational media that can be used is the G-SIT application, an application designed to provide information about the nutritional status of toddlers and help mothers meet their children's nutritional needs. This study aims to determine the influence of health education on the nutritional status of toddlers using the G-SIT application on the knowledge and attitudes of mothers in the work area of the Kubang Jaya Health Center UPT. The study used a quantitative design of one group pretest posttest and was carried out in January 2025 
with 44 respondents selected using purposive sampling techniques. The research instrument was in the form of a questionnaire of maternal knowledge and attitudes prepared by the researcher. Data were analyzed using a statistical t dependent test. The results showed that the average maternal knowledge and attitude before intervention of 6.64 and 6.23 increased to 7.36 and 7.32 after being given health education through the G-SIT application. The results of the dependent t-test showed a significant mean difference in maternal knowledge and attitude before and after the intervention with a p value of 0.001 < 0.05. This study concludes 
that the G-SIT application is effective in increasing maternal knowledge and attitudes regarding the nutritional status of toddlers. Therefore, this application is recommended to be used as a health education medium at the Health Center, especially for mothers who have toddlers.