International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

line decor
  
line decor

 Volume 12, Issue 6 (June 2025), Pages: 190-198

----------------------------------------------

 Original Research Paper

Development and validation of a nutritional education model for malnourished preschool children in Malaysia

 Author(s): 

 Intan Farahana Abdul Rani 1, 2, *, Norly Jamil 1, Mohamad Albaree Abdul 1, Azizah Zain 1, Jamilah Mohd Basir 1, Iylia Mohamad 1, Wan Nur Afni Wan Risad 1

 Affiliation(s):

 1Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
  2National Child Development Research Center, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7367-8894

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.06.018

 Abstract

Malnutrition in children is a serious public health concern that can lead to developmental delays, stunted growth, speech difficulties, and cognitive impairments, often resulting in long-term disabilities. This study aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive nutritional education model to address malnutrition among Malaysian preschool children. The model was designed in alignment with policies and guidelines from the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure its relevance and practicality. Using a Design and Development Research (DDR) approach, the study was conducted in three phases. In Phase One, semi-structured interviews with four teachers and three mothers of malnourished preschoolers were used to gather information on educational needs. Phase Two involved a focus group discussion with five experts to identify key components of the model, followed by the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) with six experts to refine these elements. In Phase Three, the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) with five experts was used to confirm the model’s applicability. The final model consists of three main components—home, school, and community—comprising eight, five, and four elements, respectively. This model offers a structured and context-specific approach to nutritional education and serves as a practical tool for educators and policymakers in addressing early childhood malnutrition in Malaysia.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Child malnutrition, Nutritional education, Preschool children, Model development, Malaysia

 Article history

 Received 12 November 2024, Received in revised form 28 May 2025, Accepted 1 June 2025

 Funding

The current study was funded by the Sultan Idris Education University under the Centre of Pedagogical Research and Innovation (2022-0108-107-01). 

 Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express gratitude for the support and contributions of the teachers and experts involved in this study. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

The present study was conducted following ethical guidelines and gained approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Sultan Idris Education University. All participants also provided informed consent.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Rani IFA, Jamil N, Abdul MA, Zain A, Basir JM, Mohamad I, and Wan Risad WNA (2025). Development and validation of a nutritional education model for malnourished preschool children in Malaysia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(6): 190-198

  Permanent Link to this page

 Figures

  Fig. 1  Fig. 2

 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3  Table 4  Table 5

----------------------------------------------   

 References (21)

  1. Allen B and Saunders J (2023). Malnutrition and undernutrition: Causes, consequences, assessment and management. Medicine, 51(7): 461–468.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpmed.2023.04.004    [Google Scholar]
  2. Ariffin A, Yusof NAAM, Siraj S, and Nor MM (2018). Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM): Determining phase for a multicultural-based model of peace education curriculum for preschool children. Journal of Research, Policy and Practice of Teachers and Teacher Education, 8(1): 5–17.  https://doi.org/10.37134/jrpptte.vol8.no1.2.2018    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bodjanova S (2006). Median alpha-levels of a fuzzy number. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 157(7): 879–891.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fss.2005.10.015    [Google Scholar]
  4. Collado-Soler R, Alférez-Pastor M, Torres FL, Trigueros R, Aguilar-Parra JM, and Navarro N (2023). A systematic review of healthy nutrition intervention programs in kindergarten and primary education. Nutrients, 15(3): 541.  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030541    [Google Scholar] PMid:36771248 PMCid:PMC9921877
  5. Dattilo AM, Carvalho RS, Feferbaum R, Forsyth S, and Zhao A (2020). Hidden realities of infant feeding: Systematic review of qualitative findings from parents. Behavioral Sciences, 10(5): 83.  https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10050083    [Google Scholar] PMid:32349324 PMCid:PMC7287829
  6. De P and Chattopadhyay N (2019). Effects of malnutrition on child development: Evidence from a backward district of India. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3): 439–445.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2019.01.014    [Google Scholar]
  7. Harvey N and Holmes CA (2012). Nominal group technique: An effective method for obtaining group consensus. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 18: 188-194.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-172X.2012.02017.x    [Google Scholar] PMid:22435983
  8. Kirk D, Catal C, and Tekinerdogan B (2021). Precision nutrition: A systematic literature review. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 133: 104365.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104365    [Google Scholar] PMid:33866251
  9. Lee WS, Jalaludin MY, Khoh KM, Kok JL, Nadarajaw T, Soosai AP, Mukhtar F, Fadzil YJ, Anuar Zaini A, Mohd-Taib SH, Rosly RM, Khoo AJ, and Cheang HK (2022). Prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors in young children in Malaysia: A nationwide survey. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10: 913850.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.913850    [Google Scholar] PMid:36061396 PMCid:PMC9433651
  10. McMillan SS, King M, and Tully MP (2016). How to use the nominal group and Delphi techniques. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 38: 655-662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0257-x    [Google Scholar] PMid:26846316 PMCid:PMC4909789
  11. Ooi KS, Abdul Jalal MI, Wong JY, Choo MY, Kamruldzaman NA, Lye CW, and Lum LC (2023). The prevalence and determinants of child hunger and its associations with early childhood nutritional status among urban poverty households during COVID-19 pandemic in Petaling District, Malaysia: An exploratory cross-sectional survey. Nutrients, 15(10): 2356.  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102356    [Google Scholar] PMid:37242239 PMCid:PMC10222894
  12. Özok AF (2024). Mathematical modelling and fuzzy logic. In: Kahraman C, Cevik Onar S, Cebi S, Oztaysi B, Tolga AC, and Ucal Sari I (Eds.), Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems. INFUS 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, Volume 1088: 3–6. Springer, Cham, Switzerland.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70018-7_1    [Google Scholar]
  13. Rahman A, Othman N, Kuddus MA, and Hasan MZ (2024). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia: A pilot study. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 17(5): 833–842.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2024.02.019    [Google Scholar] PMid:38547630
  14. Saleem J, Zakar R, Bukhari GMJ, Fatima A, and Fischer F (2021). Developmental delay and its predictors among children under five years of age with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition: A cross-sectional study in rural Pakistan. BMC Public Health, 21(1): 1397.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11445-w    [Google Scholar] PMid:34266406 PMCid:PMC8281691
  15. Schmitt SA, Bryant LM, Korucu I, Kirkham L, Katare B, and Benjamin T (2019). The effects of a nutrition education curriculum on improving young children’s fruit and vegetable preferences and nutrition and health knowledge. Public Health Nutrition, 22(1): 28-34.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018002586    [Google Scholar] PMid:30345939 PMCid:PMC10260655
  16. Siddiqa M, Zubair A, Kamal A, Ijaz M, and Aljeddani SMA (2024). Risk factors of child malnutrition under 5 years: Evidence from Pakistan using the composite index of anthropometric failure. Nutrition, 127: 112523.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2024.112523    [Google Scholar] PMid:39154547
  17. Sotiraki M, Malliou A, Tachirai N, Kellari N, Grammatikopoulou MG, Sergentanis TN, and Vassilakou T (2022). Burden of childhood malnutrition: A roadmap of global and European policies promoting healthy nutrition for infants and young children. Children, 9(8): 1179.  https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081179    [Google Scholar] PMid:36010069 PMCid:PMC9406702
  18. UNICEF (2020). Addressing Malaysia’s nutrition crisis post-COVID-19: Time for nutrition-focused social protection. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, New York, USA.    [Google Scholar]
  19. UNICEF (2021). Families on the edge issue 4: Two-steps forward, one step back: The new normal for Malaysia’s urban poor? United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.    [Google Scholar]
  20. Vitale N and Coccia C (2023). Impact of a Montessori-based nutrition program on children’s knowledge and eating behaviors. Journal of School Health, 93(1): 53–61.  https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13237    [Google Scholar] PMid:35869569
  21. WHO (2024). World health statistics 2024: Monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.    [Google Scholar]