Balanced Nutrition Education Program for Stunting Prevention Among Mothers of Toddlers in Banda Aceh

Abstract

Stunting remains one of the major public health challenges in Indonesia, primarily resulting from chronic malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life. Limited maternal knowledge of balanced nutrition is a key contributing factor to inadequate child feeding practices and increased stunting risk. This community service program aimed to improve the knowledge of mothers with toddlers regarding balanced nutrition as an effective strategy for stunting prevention in Geuceu Komplek Village, Banda Raya District, Banda Aceh City. A quantitative pre-experimental approach employing a one-group pre-test and post-test design was implemented involving 20 mothers of toddlers. The intervention consisted of an interactive balanced nutrition education session covering the principles of balanced nutrition, dietary diversity, the importance of animal-source protein, and appropriate feeding practices for young children. Participants' knowledge was assessed before and immediately after the educational intervention using a structured questionnaire. The results demonstrated a substantial increase in the average knowledge score from 53.7% in the pre-test to 98.0% in the post-test, representing an overall improvement of 44.3 percentage points. Participants actively engaged in discussions and demonstrated strong enthusiasm throughout the educational activities, indicating the effectiveness of the interactive lecture method in facilitating knowledge acquisition. These findings suggest that community-based balanced nutrition education effectively enhances maternal nutritional knowledge and supports positive behavioral changes for improving child feeding practices and preventing stunting. The novelty of this community service lies in integrating an interactive nutrition education model with quantitative knowledge evaluation in a local community setting, providing a practical and replicable approach for strengthening evidence-based stunting prevention programs in Indonesia.