Background: Vitamin A plays an important role in the growth and development of children. The requirement for Vitamin A is more in children, and its deficiency can hamper the growth as well as vision of the child. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 190 million preschool-aged children suffer from Vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Aim: This study aims to assess the knowledge of mothers of children under 5 years old regarding Vitamin A supplementation in a rural area of Panipat. Materials and Methods: The study was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted on 200 mothers of children aged 6–60 months who were residents of Israna, Panipat. It was conducted for 7 months after getting ethical clearance. A questionnaire was filled out by the mothers. The answers were compiled in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and analysis was done using STATA and SPSS software. Results: Out of 200 mothers taken in the study, based on the questionnaire, it was seen that only 130 children were taking immunization, and out of these 130, only 116 were taking Vitamin A supplementation. Seventy children were not even following immunization. Out of the 84 children who were not taking Vitamin A supplementation, 7 children were having signs of VAD. It was also seen that 17% of children had a history of chronic diarrhea. Conclusion: VAD is one of the causes of higher childhood mortality. It was seen that the proportion of children getting Vitamin A supplementation was low. Furthermore, children’s dietary habits were not adequate to fulfill Vitamin A requirements. The study concludes that the knowledge of mothers was not adequate, and awareness among them about Vitamin A supplementation, its requirements, and its benefits should be increased.
Kritika et al. (Tue,) studied this question.