Pemberdayaan Ibu Balita melalui Pelatihan Massage Appetite Therapy di Puskesmas Karangdadap Pekalongan

Nutritional problems among toddlers remain an important issue in society, one of which is influenced by the lack of mothers’ knowledge and skills in supporting children’s appetite. This community outreach program was designed to enhance the understanding and abilities of mothers with toddlers Massage Appetite Therapy training at Karangdadap Primary Health Center, Pekalongan. The methods included socialization, demonstration, hands-on practice, and mentoring. Knowledge was assessed through tests administered before and after the intervention, while massage abilities were evaluated through direct observation. The analysis showed that mothers gained additional awareness, from 57% with low knowledge to 63% with good knowledge, and an increase in skill scores from 50.67 to 69.33, with massage techniques performed according to the procedure. This training also empowered mothers of toddlers to apply simple and affordable stimulation techniques to support children’s nutritional status. Therefore, Massage Appetite Therapy can be considered a community empowerment strategy in efforts to prevent toddler nutritional problems at the primary health care level