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Behavior Change Interventions Delivered through Interpersonal Communication, Agricultural Activities, Community Mobilization, and Mass Media Increase Complementary Feeding Practices and Reduce Child Stunting in Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Appropriate infant and young child feeding practices are critical for optimal child growth and development, but in Ethiopia, complementary feeding (CF) practices are very poor. Alive & Thrive (A&T) provided intensive behavior change interventions through 4 platforms: interpersonal communication (IPC), nutrition-sensitive agricultural activities (AG), community mobilization (CM), and mass media (MM). OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of A&T intensive compared with nonintensive interventions (standard nutrition counseling and agricultural extension service and less intensive CM and MM) on CF practices and knowledge and child anthropometric outcomes. METHODS:We used a cluster-randomized evaluation design with cross-sectional surveys among households with children aged 6-23.9 mo [n = 2646 at baseline (2015) and n = 2720 at endline (2017)]. We derived difference-in-difference impact estimates (DDEs) and conducted dose-response and path analyses to document plausibility of impacts. RESULTS:At endline, exposure to IPC was 17.8-32.3%, exposure to AG was 22.7-36.0%, exposure to CM was 18.6-54.3%, and exposure to MM was 35.4% in the intensive group. Minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet increased significantly in the intensive group but remained low at endline (24.9% and 18.2%, respectively). Significant differential declines in stunting prevalence were observed (DDE: -5.6 percentage points; P < 0.05) in children aged 6-23.9 mo, decreasing from 36.3% to 22.8% in the intensive group. Dose-response analyses showed higher odds of minimum dietary diversity (OR: 3.3; 95% CI: 2.2, 4.8) and minimum meal frequency (OR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.4, 2.6) and higher height-for-age z score (HAZ) (?: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.4) among women exposed to 3 or 4 platforms. Path analyses showed a strong relation between AG and egg consumption, which led to increased child dietary diversity and HAZ. CONCLUSIONS:Delivery of social and behavior change interventions using multiple platforms was feasible and effective, resulting in improvements in CF practices and child stunting within a 2-y period. There is a need for continued efforts, however, to expand intervention coverage and to improve CF practices in Ethiopia. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02775552.

SUBMITTER: Kim SS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6686053 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Behavior Change Interventions Delivered through Interpersonal Communication, Agricultural Activities, Community Mobilization, and Mass Media Increase Complementary Feeding Practices and Reduce Child Stunting in Ethiopia.

Kim Sunny S SS Nguyen Phuong Hong PH Yohannes Yisehac Y Abebe Yewelsew Y Tharaney Manisha M Drummond Elizabeth E Frongillo Edward A EA Ruel Marie T MT Menon Purnima P

The Journal of nutrition 20190801 8

<h4>Background</h4>Appropriate infant and young child feeding practices are critical for optimal child growth and development, but in Ethiopia, complementary feeding (CF) practices are very poor. Alive & Thrive (A&T) provided intensive behavior change interventions through 4 platforms: interpersonal communication (IPC), nutrition-sensitive agricultural activities (AG), community mobilization (CM), and mass media (MM).<h4>Objectives</h4>The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of A&T inte ...[more]

PMID: 31165869

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Project description:BackgroundAttaining the recommended level of complementary feeding practices remains a serious challenge in many developing countries. Complementary foods are usually untimely initiated, which has adverse consequences on the growth, development, and survival of infants. The focus of most studies conducted worldwide seemed to be on the effect of behavior change interventions on the adequacy of complementary diets; but not on the timing of initiations. Moreover, many of the interventions targeted only mothers/caregivers of infants, and studies that engaged the family members are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of complementary feeding behavior change communication delivered through women development army leaderson the time of initiation of complementary foods.MethodsWe conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural communities of West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia from February 2017 to March 2018. A total of 16 geographic clusters were selected. Trial participants in the intervention group received complementary feeding behavior change intervention for 9 months whereas those in the control group received only the usual health care. Trained women development army leaders delivered the intervention. A pre-tested, structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Generalized estimated equation (GEE) regression and survival analyses were used to test differences in time of initiation of complementary food between the study groups.ResultsThe intervention significantly improved the likelihood of timely initiation of complementary food by 22 percentage points [RR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.78-5.86], and reduced the risk of late initiations by 19 percentage points [RR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.83-4.37]. The complementary food initiation survival curve for the control group after 6 months was constantly above the curve than for the intervention group. The median age at the introduction of complementary food for infants was 6 months in the intervention group, and 6.7 months in the control group and the difference was statistically significant (P-value < 0.001).ConclusionsComplementary feeding behavior change communication improved the rate of timely initiation of complementary foods and reduced the risk of late initiations.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03488680 . Registered 5 April 2018-Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03488680 .

Project description:BACKGROUND:Attaining the recommended level of adequacy of the infant's diet remains a serious challenge in most developing countries. Complementary foods, particularly in developing countries, are inadequate in quality and quantity that can result in adverse health and nutrition consequences in infants. This could be not only because of lack of food but also associated with caregiver's poor knowledge, harmful cultural norms and behaviors on infant feeding. The promotion of optimal complementary feeding through behavior change interventions is a global health priority. However, many of the interventions targeted only mothers/caregivers of infants, and studies that engaged other family members are limited worldwide. Moreover, such interventions are scarce in developing countries, including Ethiopia. This trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of complementary feeding behavior change communication delivered through community-level actors on the dietary adequacy of infants. METHODS:We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural communities of West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Trial participants in the intervention clusters received complementary feeding behavior change communication for 9 months whereas those in the control clusters received only the usual care. Trained women development army leaders delivered the intervention. A pre-tested, structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Generalized estimating equations regression analyses adjusted for baseline covariates and clustering were used to test the intervention effects. RESULTS:The intervention showed positive statistically significant effects on the consumption of dairy products [RR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.04-3.13], eggs [RR = 3; 95% CI: 1.35-6.56], vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables [RR = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.17-6.1], other fruits and vegetables [RR = 5; 95% CI: 2.49-10.58] and animal-source foods [RR = 2; 95% CI: 1.39-2.87]. The proportions of infants who achieved minimum dietary diversity [RR = 3; 95% CI: 1.34, 7.39], minimum meal frequency [RR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.37-4.29], and minimum acceptable diet [RR = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.13-7.23] were significantly higher in the intervention as compared to control groups. CONCLUSIONS:Complementary feeding behavior change communication delivered through community-level actors significantly improved the dietary adequacy of infants. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03488680. Registered 5 April 2018- Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03488680.

Dataset Information

Behavior Change Interventions Delivered through Interpersonal Communication, Agricultural Activities, Community Mobilization, and Mass Media Increase Complementary Feeding Practices and Reduce Child Stunting in Ethiopia.

Publications

Behavior Change Interventions Delivered through Interpersonal Communication, Agricultural Activities, Community Mobilization, and Mass Media Increase Complementary Feeding Practices and Reduce Child Stunting in Ethiopia.

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