Managing public education on smoking behavior in families with stunted children: Between challenges and opportunities in Indonesia

Background

Stunting remains a major public health concern in Indonesia, compounded by the country’s high prevalence of smoking. This study explores the smoking behavior of families with stunted children, parental knowledge of smoking-related risks, and their motivation for behavioral change.

Materials And Methods

Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through interviews, observations, documentation, and focus group discussions in East Nusa Tenggara and Aceh—two provinces with high stunting rates.

Results

Findings reveal that most fathers are active smokers and frequently smoke around pregnant women or children. Parental awareness of the link between cigarette smoke and stunting is limited, and fathers show low motivation to quit smoking even after stunting is diagnosed.

Conclusions

The study recommends revising national stunting reduction strategies to include smoking prevention, enforcing smoke-free policies, restricting cigarette advertising and sales, and empowering families—especially fathers—to change harmful smoking behaviors to protect child health.