Dataset Information

Promoting hygienic weaning food handling practices through a community-based programme: intervention implementation and baseline characteristics for a cluster randomised controlled trial in rural Gambia.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Contamination of weaning food leads to diarrhoea in children under 5 years. Public health interventions to improve practices in low-income and middle-income countries are rare and often not evaluated using a randomised method. We describe an intervention implementation and provide baseline data for such a trial.

Design

Clustered randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Rural Gambia.

Participants

15 villages/clusters each with 20 randomly selected mothers with children aged 6-24 months per arm.

Intervention

To develop the public health intervention, we used: (A) formative research findings to determine theoretically based critical control point corrective measures and motivational drives for behaviour change of mothers; (B) lessons from a community-based weaning food hygiene programme in Nepal and a handwashing intervention programme in India; and (C) culturally based performing arts, competitions and environmental clues. Four intensive intervention days per village involved the existing health systems and village/cultural structures that enabled per-protocol implementation and engagement of whole villager communities.

Results

Baseline village and mother's characteristics were balanced between the arms after randomisation. Most villages were farming villages accessing health centres within 10 miles, with no schools but numerous village committees and representing all Gambia's three main ethnic groups. Mothers were mainly illiterate (60%) and farmers (92%); 24% and 10% of children under 5 years were reported to have diarrhoea and respiratory symptoms, respectively, in the last 7?days (dry season). Intervention process engaged whole village members and provided lessons for future implementation; culturally adapted performing arts were an important element.

Conclusion

This research has potential as a new low-cost and broadly available public health programme to reduce infection through weaning food. The theory-based intervention was widely consulted in the Gambia and with experts and was well accepted by the communities. Baseline analysis provides socioeconomic data and confirmation of Unicefs Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data on the prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory symptoms in the dry season in the poorest region of Gambia.

Trial registration number

PACTR201410000859336; Pre-results.

SUBMITTER: Manjang B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6078275 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Promoting hygienic weaning food handling practices through a community-based programme: intervention implementation and baseline characteristics for a cluster randomised controlled trial in rural Gambia.

Manjang Buba B Hemming Karla K Bradley Chris C Ensink Jeroen J Martin James T JT Sowe Jama J Jarju Abdou A Cairncross Sandy S Manaseki-Holland Semira S

BMJ open 20180805 8

<h4>Objective</h4>Contamination of weaning food leads to diarrhoea in children under 5 years. Public health interventions to improve practices in low-income and middle-income countries are rare and often not evaluated using a randomised method. We describe an intervention implementation and provide baseline data for such a trial.<h4>Design</h4>Clustered randomised controlled trial.<h4>Setting</h4>Rural Gambia.<h4>Participants</h4>15 villages/clusters each with 20 randomly selected mothers with c ...[more]

PMID: 30082338

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Dataset Information

Promoting hygienic weaning food handling practices through a community-based programme: intervention implementation and baseline characteristics for a cluster randomised controlled trial in rural Gambia.

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Intervention

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration number

Publications

Promoting hygienic weaning food handling practices through a community-based programme: intervention implementation and baseline characteristics for a cluster randomised controlled trial in rural Gambia.

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