IMPROVING MOTHERS' ABILITY TO CARE FOR TODDLERS WITH AVOIDANT RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDER (ARFID)

Introduction: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is one of the causes of nutritional disorders among children. These conditions may interfere with nutritional intake in children, which calls for community health nursing care. This community service aims to provide community nursing care for mothers who have toddlers with ARFID problems in a rural area in Aceh Province. Methods: This community service involved eight mothers with toddlers suffering from ARFID. The health education sessions, with a booklet, were performed to improve mothers’ ability to care for toddlers with ARFID. The family’s ability to manage eating disorders was measured using a self-reported questionnaire before and after the health education session. Results: All mothers' abilities increased after being given health education, as indicated by the mean pre-test (31.63) and the mean post-test (37.25) measuring by a questionnaire of the family’s ability to manage eating disorders. The result emphasized that health education interventions can improve mothers' ability to deal with eating problems in children. Conclusion: Health education using booklets as media, as part of community health nursing care, positively impacts mothers’ ability to care for toddlers with ARFID. Therefore, the sustainability of such intervention should be considered to prevent stunting among children, especially toddlers with ARFID. KEYWORDS eating disorders; health education; mothers’ ability.