Field visit - A key component of Public Health Education
Field visit is an essential part of public health education. Collection of data on contemporary public health issues from community people provides students a practical exposure to community health practices, understand social and environmental determinants of health and directly observe how public health programs are implemented. Field visits also help future public health professionals to design interventions that are both effective and community sensitive.
Students of the department of public health visited the Savar community adjacent to Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute and collected data to assess the level of knowledge of rural community people on childhood malnutrition. Malnutrition leads to stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies. Importance of balanced nutrition, proper portion sizes and regular physical activity to promote healthy eating behaviors and detect early signs of malnutrition was the core contents.
At the same time they find out the level of mother’s awareness on childhood obesity also. Mothers, as the primary caregivers, play a crucial role in developing their children’s dietary habits, feeding practices and overall lifestyle. In recent years rapid urbanization, changes in food patterns and the increased availability of processed foods have altered traditional diets and lifestyles.These changes have resulted in rising rates of childhood obesity even in low- and middle-income countries where malnutrition remains prevalent. Despite various awareness campaigns and nutrition programs, gaps still exist in maternal understanding of proper child nutrition, particularly in rural and low-income settings. Our students went through these issues by face to face interview.
All the faculty members of the public health department accompanied the students and provided continuous guidance and support to the students ensuring the proper completion of their tasks.
At the end of the data collection they visited Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute and observed their activities of animal and poultry breeding, preservation of grasses and breed improvement and conservation.
