Investigation of the nutritional knowledge level and the effects of the people who care for individuals with down syndrome and their effects on healthy nutrition attitudes

Today, the birth rate of DS babies is increasing and it is observed that parents with DS children need to be conscious about the nutrition of their DS children. This study was created by two different part; the first part of questionnaire includes demographic content and consists of 4 questions and the second part that forms consists of 35 questions. That 35 questions selected from three different scale types are the Nutritional Knowledge Scale(NKS), the Nutritional Problems Screening Test(STEP) and the Parent Nutrition Style Questionnaire. To be applied to those who have DS children or caregivers of DS individuals, before and 3-4 weeks after the nutrition education. It is desired to determine the effect of nutrition education on caregivers and DS individuals.All questions were applied in a way that the participants could easily understand. As a result of the application of all the questions quoted before and after the training, it was understood that the training gave positive and significant results. It was made with the participation of 28 people. It was determined that 96.4% of the participants were between the ages of 12-45 and individuals with DS, and 67.3% of the participants were between the ages of 25-55 and their parents and caregivers were 75% of the education level of secondary education or below. In the study, the mean and standard deviation values from descriptive statistics were examined, and the level of significance was determined as p<0.05 and it was found to be positively significant. As supported by other studies, the necessity of continuing education on DS was revealed.