(P02-033-25) Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Knowledge Confidence, and Self-Efficacy of Caregivers in the Complementary Feeding Period

Objectives: The transition from milk to complementary feeding (CF) requires specific nutrients for best growth and development. The Spoonfuls of Nutrition Study aimed to explore caregivers’ nutrition literacy related to CF, their confidence in this knowledge, and feeding self-efficacy.

Methods: A national survey asked caregivers (n=418) of 6-24-month-old children items about nutrition literacy topics including: 1) General knowledge for feeding infants/toddlers (eg, until the age of 4 months, a baby should be given only breast milk, or formula); 2) knowledge about specific infant nutrient needs (eg, do infants and toddlers in the US get the recommended amount of protein?); and 3) food-related nutrient knowledge (eg, is milk a good source of iron?). Caregivers were also asked about their confidence in responses (very sure, sure, not sure, absolutely not sure) and questions related to feeding self-efficacy (eg, how easy or difficult is it for you to decide how much to offer?). Nutrition literacy topic scores and confidence and self-efficacy responses were summed to create total scores. Descriptive statistics were computed and Pearson correlations (p < 0.05 as criterion) examined associations among knowledge, confidence, and self-efficacy.

Results: Caregivers (64% mothers; 39% White, 21% Black) were educated (43% college degree) with 15.4 ± 5.6 mo old (M ± SD) children (51.1% female). A majority of caregivers correctly answered half or fewer of questions on general nutrition (62%) and nutrients (53%), yet overall confidence in their knowledge was negatively associated with overall nutrition literacy scores (ie, high confidence = low nutrition literacy; r=-0.10, p=0.040). Caregivers reported high self-efficacy related to feeding their child (25.4 ± 4.5) however, feeding self-efficacy was negatively related to confidence in nutrition knowledge (ie higher self-efficacy = lower confidence in responses; r=-0.20, p< 0.001), and not related to general nutrition knowledge (r=0.074, p=0.132).

Conclusions: A disconnect exists between caregivers’ knowledge and confidence and may be an important target for future nutrition education efforts, as parents in the present study demonstrated limited knowledge, but reported high feeding self-efficacy.

Funding Sources: Avocado Nutrition Center