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Global progress in social and economic development is occurring, although slowly, in the most needy parts of the nonindustrialized world, where nutritional deficiencies, including micronutrients, remain significant public health problems. Until empowering benefits accrue from development spin-offs, policy guidance for purposeful public health actions can help reduce the unconscionable toll on health and quality of life from micronutrient malnutrition and can interrupt its intergenerational debilitating effects on national development. Narrowly focused control programs including homestead production, plant breeding, fortification, and supplementation are in effect, but in general, they have not been holistically planned and integrated into overall development programs. Such integration is needed to ensure sustainability into the next century. A new paradigm is needed, including a new way of thinking by nutrition scientists and program implementers that includes partnerships with the poor in all aspects of program planning and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of a series of interactive video nutrition education programmes was studied in northeastern villages in Thailand. One of the five modules (VTR-4) was particularly child development oriented, aimed at creating maternal awareness of the child as an individual with early perceptual ability, importance of mother-child interaction, play and supplementary feeding. Village mothers with children under two years old were interviewed individually prior to the introduction of the media and at two, ten and 14 months later when the VTR-4 had been shown three, four and seven times, respectively in each village. A supplementary food product was produced and made commercially available at a low cost. Four hundred and seventy-eight men, 930 women and 3, 225 school children watched the VTR-4. Nutritional status of the children, maternal knowledge and attitude towards child rearing were assessed as well as some aspects of practice observed during home visits. There was a significant improvement in maternal awareness of infants' perceptual abilities, knowledge and attitude toward breast feeding, childplay and play materials and supplementary feeding, especially a more positive approach to tongue thrusting. Random observation during home visits revealed some changes in accordance with the media, i.e., mother-child interaction, existing play materials and the type of cradle used. Significant difference was also noted in the percentage of mothers intending to give their next baby colostrum compared to the control group at post tests 2 and 3. Although the prevalence of malnutrition among those under two years old in these villages has not decreased significantly during the study period, it was clear that the integration of psychosocial components into nutrition education had a considerable impact on maternal knowledge, attitudes and some aspects of child-rearing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]