Analysis of Critical Beliefs in Diverse Complementary Food Intervention Using Planned Behavior Theory

Diverse complementary foods (DCF) play a significant role in meeting the nutritional needs of infants aged 6-23 months to avoid malnutrition. However, local beliefs (e.g., socioeconomic, and religious beliefs) can determine the success of such public health intervention programs, especially in highly diverse regions. Selecting the most critical factors in the community to undergo intervention programs is also tricky. This study investigated mothers' beliefs in providing DCF to evaluate their understanding of the importance of DCF with purposive sampling. A quasi-experimental study involving forty-one mothers in a stunting-impacted area of Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, was undertaken. Data were obtained via 3-phase interviews conducted by trained enumerators until saturation condition was reached. For the first phase, the mother's beliefs were identified using questionnaires based on the Planned Behavior theory. The second phase separated the subjects based on their beliefs in giving DCF. The third phase was determining the significance of differentiating beliefs between the groups using a statistical T-test and pinpointing the most significant concerns. Based on their practical understanding, twenty-two mothers were classified as DCFs (mothers who made and served DCF containing fresh ingredients to their infants) and nineteen as non-DCFs. The seven most differentiating core beliefs were identified: the factors of economy, children's pickiness in eating, husband's support, motivation, instant food consumption, places to shop, and availability of various foods around the house. This study demonstrated that distilling critical intervention points, i.e., core beliefs in complex public health interventions, can be done by applying the Planned Behavior theory.