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Complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children's nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Malnutrition and intestinal parasitic infections are common among children in Burkina Faso and Nepal. However, specific health-related data in school-aged children in these two countries are scarce. In the frame of a larger multi-stakeholder project entitled "Vegetables go to School: Improving Nutrition through Agricultural Diversification" (VgtS), a study has been designed with the objectives to: (i) describe schoolchildren's health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal; and to (ii) provide an evidence-base for programme decisions on the relevance of complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions. METHODS/DESIGN:The studies will be conducted in the Centre Ouest and the Plateau Central regions of Burkina Faso and the Dolakha and Ramechhap districts of Nepal. Data will be collected and combined at the level of schools, children and their households. A range of indicators will be used to examine nutritional status, intestinal parasitic infections and WASH conditions in 24 schools among 1144 children aged 8-14 years at baseline and a 1-year follow-up. The studies are designed as cluster randomised trials and the schools will be assigned to two core study arms: (i) the 'complementary school garden, nutrition and WASH intervention' arm; and the (ii) 'control' arm with no interventions. Children will be subjected to parasitological examinations using stool and urine samples and to quality-controlled anthropometric and haemoglobin measurements. Drinking water will be assessed for contamination with coliform bacteria and faecal streptococci. A questionnaire survey on nutritional and health knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) will be administered to children and their caregivers, also assessing socioeconomic, food-security and WASH conditions at household level. Focus group and key-informant interviews on children's nutrition and hygiene perceptions and behaviours will be conducted with their caregivers and school personnel. DISCUSSION:The studies will contribute to fill a data gap on school-aged children in Burkina Faso and Nepal. The data collected will also serve to inform the design of school-based interventions and will contribute to deepen the understanding of potential effects of these interventions to improve schoolchildren's health in resource-constrained settings. Key findings will be used to provide guidance for the implementation of health policies at the school level in Burkina Faso and Nepal. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ISRCTN30840 (date assigned: 17 July 2015).

SUBMITTER: Erismann S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4784388 | biostudies-other | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children's nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol.

Erismann Séverine S Shrestha Akina A Diagbouga Serge S Knoblauch Astrid A Gerold Jana J Herz Ramona R Sharma Subodh S Schindler Christian C Odermatt Peter P Drescher Axel A Yang Ray-Yu RY Utzinger Jürg J Cissé Guéladio G

BMC public health 20160309

<h4>Background</h4>Malnutrition and intestinal parasitic infections are common among children in Burkina Faso and Nepal. However, specific health-related data in school-aged children in these two countries are scarce. In the frame of a larger multi-stakeholder project entitled "Vegetables go to School: Improving Nutrition through Agricultural Diversification" (VgtS), a study has been designed with the objectives to: (i) describe schoolchildren's health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal; and to (i ...[more]

PMID: 26957322

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Project description:BACKGROUND:It has been suggested that specific interventions delivered through the education sector in low- and middle-income countries might improve children's health and wellbeing. This cluster-randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of a school garden programme and complementary nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions on children's health and nutritional status in two districts of Nepal. METHODS:The trial included 682 children aged 8-17?years from 12 schools. The schools were randomly allocated to one of three interventions: (a) school garden programme (SG; 4 schools, n?=?172 children); (b) school garden programme with complementary WASH, health and nutrition interventions (SG+; 4 schools, n?=?197 children); and (c) no specific intervention (control; 4 schools, n?=?313 children). The same field and laboratory procedures were employed at the baseline (March 2015) and end-line (June 2016) surveys. Questionnaires were administered to evaluate WASH conditions at schools and households. Water quality was assessed using a Delagua kit. Dietary intake was determined using food frequency and 24-h recall questionnaire. Haemoglobin levels were measured using HemoCue digital device and used as a proxy for anaemia. Stool samples were subjected to a suite of copro-microscopic diagnostic methods for detection of intestinal protozoa and helminths. The changes in key indicators between the baseline and end-line surveys were analysed by mixed logistic and linear regression models. RESULTS:Stunting was slightly lowered in SG+ (19.9 to 18.3%; p?=?0.92) and in the control (19.7 to 18.9%). Anaemia slightly decreased in SG+ (33.0 to 32.0%; p?<?0.01) and markedly increased in the control (22.7 to 41.3%; p?<?0.01), a minor decline was found in the control (43.9 to 42.4%). Handwashing with soap before eating strongly increased in SG+ (from 74.1 to 96.9%; p?= 0.01, compared to control where only a slight increase was observed from 78.0 to 84.0%). A similar observation was made for handwashing after defecation (increase from 77.2 to 99.0% in SG+ versus 78.0 to 91.9% in control, p?=?0.15). CONCLUSIONS:An integrated intervention consisting of school garden, WASH, nutrition and health components (SG+) increased children's fruit and vegetable consumption, decreased intestinal parasitic infections and improved hygiene behaviours. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ISRCTN17968589 (date assigned: 17 July 2015).

Project description:There is consensus that policy coherence is necessary for implementing effective and sustainable approaches to tackle malnutrition. We look at whether policies and programmes provide a coherent pathway to address nutrition priorities and if programmes are designed to deliver interventions aligned to the nutrition policy agenda in Nigeria and Burkina Faso. A systematic desk review was performed on nutrition-relevant policy and programme documents, obtained through grey literature searches and expert recommendations. We developed a framework with an impact pathway structure that includes five process steps, which was used to guide coding, data reduction and synthesis and structure the analysis. We assessed internal coherence along process steps within a given document and external coherence across process steps for explicitly linked policy/programme pairs. The majority of policies and programmes had partial internal coherence for both countries. The identification of relevant nutrition interventions to address challenges and reach objectives was the strongest connection within policies (16 out of 45 had complete coherence) while among programmes the strongest connection was coverage indicators that measure interventions (9 out of 21 had complete coherence). Eight programmes explicitly referenced at least one nutrition-relevant policy with a total of 16 linked policy/programme pairs (13 pairs for Burkina Faso and 3 for Nigeria) across health, nutrition, agriculture, and social focus areas. However, none of the linked pairs were assessed to have complete external coherence suggesting that priorities at policy level are not fully realised nor translated at programme level. This study offers a new approach for assessment of policy and program coherence and specifically examines policy and program linkages. We conclude that improved leadership on country priority setting and better alignment for nutrition within and across sectors is needed to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition investments.

Project description:Child stunting and anemia are intractable public health problems in developing countries and have profound short- and long-term consequences. The Sanitation Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial is motivated by the premise that environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is a major underlying cause of both stunting and anemia, that chronic inflammation is the central characteristic of EED mediating these adverse effects, and that EED is primarily caused by high fecal ingestion due to living in conditions of poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). SHINE is a proof-of-concept, 2 × 2 factorial, cluster-randomized, community-based trial in 2 rural districts of Zimbabwe that will test the independent and combined effects of protecting babies from fecal ingestion (factor 1, operationalized through a WASH intervention) and optimizing nutritional adequacy of infant diet (factor 2, operationalized through an infant and young child feeding [IYCF] intervention) on length and hemoglobin at 18 months of age. Within SHINE we will measure 2 causal pathways. The program impact pathway comprises the series of processes and behaviors linking implementation of the interventions with the 2 child health primary outcomes; it will be modeled using measures of fidelity of intervention delivery and household uptake of promoted behaviors and practices. We will also measure a range of household and individual characteristics, social interactions, and maternal capabilities for childcare, which we hypothesize will explain heterogeneity along these pathways. The biomedical pathway comprises the infant biologic responses to the WASH and IYCF interventions that ultimately result in attained stature and hemoglobin concentration at 18 months of age; it will be elucidated by measuring biomarkers of intestinal structure and function (inflammation, regeneration, absorption, and permeability); microbial translocation; systemic inflammation; and hormonal determinants of growth and anemia among a subgroup of infants enrolled in an EED substudy. This article describes the rationale, design, and methods underlying the SHINE trial.NCT01824940.

Project description:Evidence is emerging from rigorous evaluations about the effectiveness of nutrition-sensitive agriculture programmes in improving nutritional outcomes. Additional evidence can elucidate how different programme components and pathways contribute and can be optimized for impact. The International Food Policy Research Institute, with Helen Keller International, designed a comprehensive framework to evaluate the delivery, utilization, and impact of Helen Keller International's enhanced homestead food production programme in Burkina Faso. After 18 months of implementation, a process evaluation was conducted to examine programme impact pathways, using key informant and semistructured interviews with implementing agents and beneficiaries, and with residents of control communities. Data were analyzed by International Food Policy Research Institute and reviewed with project managers and partners through multiple workshops to identify opportunities to strengthen implementation. Findings illuminated gaps between intended and actual delivery schemes, including input constraints, knowledge gaps among community agents in agriculture and young child nutrition practices, and lower than expected activity by community volunteers. In response, staff developed measures to overcome water constraints and expand vegetable and poultry production, retrained volunteers in certain techniques of food production and counselling for nutrition behaviour change, added small incentives to motivate volunteers, and shaped both immediate and long-term changes to the programme model. Working closely with International Food Policy Research Institute on the evaluation activities also expanded the repertoire of research methods and skills of Helen Keller International staff. Process evaluation can strengthen programme delivery, utilization, and design. Collaboration between researchers and implementers can improve programme effectiveness, project staff capacity, and advance delivery science.

Project description:Looking back at what has effectively improved nutrition may inform policy makers on how to accelerate progress to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. As under-five stunting declined substantially in Burkina Faso, we analyzed its nutrition story at the micro-level. We conducted a regression-decomposition analysis to identify demographic and health drivers associated with change in height-for-age using longitudinal, secondary, nationally-representative data. We triangulated results with findings from semi-structured community interviews (n = 91) in two "model communities" with a history of large stunting reduction. We found that improvement in immunization coverage, assets accumulation and reduction in open defecation were associated with 23%, 10% and 6.1% of the improvement in height-for-age, respectively. Associations were also found with other education, family planning, health and WASH indicators. Model communities acknowledged progress in the coverage and quality of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive sectoral programs co-located at the community level, especially those delivered through the health and food security sectors, though delivery challenges remained in a context of systemic poverty and persistent food insecurity. Burkina Faso's health sector's success in improving coverage of nutrition and healthcare programs may have contributed to improvements in child nutrition alongside other programmatic improvements in the food security, WASH and education sectors. Burkina Faso should continue to operationalize sectoral nutrition-sensitive policies into higher-quality programs at scale, building on its success stories such as vaccination. Community leverage gaps and data gaps need to be filled urgently to pressure for and monitor high coverage, quality delivery, and nutrition impact of agriculture, education, and WASH interventions.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12571-022-01274-z.

Project description:BackgroundIt is thought that improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) might reduce the transmission of schistosomes and soil-transmitted helminths, owing to their life cycles. However, few large-scale studies have yet assessed the real extent of associations between WASH and these parasites.Methodology/principal findingsIn the 2013-2014 Ethiopian national mapping of infections with these parasites, school WASH was assessed alongside infection intensity in children, mostly between 10 and 15 years of age. Scores were constructed reflecting exposure to schistosomes arising from water collection for schools, from freshwater sources, and the adequacy of school sanitation and hygiene facilities. Kendall's ?b was used to test the WASH scores against the school-level arithmetic mean intensity of infection with each parasite, in schools with at least one child positive for the parasite in question. WASH and parasitology data were available for 1,645 schools. More frequent collection of water for schools, from open freshwater sources was associated with statistically significantly higher Schistosoma mansoni infection intensity (Kendall's ?b = 0.097, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.011 to 0.18), better sanitation was associated with significantly lower Ascaris lumbricoides intensity (Kendall's ?b = -0.067, 95% CI: -0.11 to -0.023) and borderline significant lower hookworm intensity (Kendall's ?b = -0.039, 95% CI: -0.090 to 0.012, P = 0.067), and better hygiene was associated with significantly lower hookworm intensity (Kendall's ?b = -0.076, 95% CI: -0.13 to -0.020). However, no significant differences were observed when comparing sanitation and infection with S. mansoni or Trichuris trichiura, or hygiene and infection with A. lumbricoides or T. trichiura.Conclusions/significanceImproving school WASH may reduce transmission of these parasites. However, different forms of WASH appear to have different effects on infection with the various parasites, with our analysis finding the strongest associations between water and S. mansoni, sanitation and A. lumbricoides, and hygiene and hookworm.

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Complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children's nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol.

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Complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children's nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol.

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