Evaluation of the effectiveness of formulated awareness package on beneficial effects of ICDS for Upgradation of mother child health care

The Department of Women and Child Development within the Ministry of Human Resource Development initiated the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in 1976 in India. Under the Integrated Child Development Services programme, anganwadi centres provide children with health, nutrition, and education services from birth to six years of age and a nutritional and health services to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Study was made in rural tea garden areas to find out the coverage status of Integrated Child Development Service facilities and one awareness package was formulated to improve the coverage levels. Study found that the good, poor and nil levels of knowledge and attitude in percentage of families of post-awareness group were significantly higher than the knowledge and attitude levels of pre-awareness group due to the effective role of awareness package. There were significant improvement in the coverage of DPT, polio and measles in the post-awareness group than the pre-awareness group. Awareness campaign noticeably increased the coverage of iron and folic acid (IFA) and tetanus toxoid (TT) in post-awareness group. The impact of awareness package was further established as it was successful to decrease the effects of socio-economic barriers in coverage levels of Integrated Child Development Service facilities.