title: Disseminating weaning messages: an intervention trial.
abstract: This article reports a non-randomized intervention study conducted in two market towns to find out whether participant-centred health education discussions improve parents' knowledge and actions concerning infant feeding. Following an initial quiz, parents of 8-week-old infants attended a discussion on weaning (intervention) or home safety (control). They were then asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge and actions concerning weaning when their infants were 7-9 months old. A total of 61 parents took part in the intervention and 49 in the control. In the post-intervention questionnaire, the intervention group reported using more home-cooked foods and less commercially-prepared foods and knew the optimum time to register their infants with the dentist. These results suggest that participant-centred discussions are an effective way of disseminating public health messages concerning infant feeding.
authors.affiliation: Sure Start Bedlington and Scotland Gate, Northumberland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoare
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D053198:Child Nutrition Sciences / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009035:Mothers; D014886:Weaning