Comparison of Conditional and Marginal Models in Assessing a Child Nutrition Intervention in Armenia

Introduction Previous reviews of family-based interventions for childhood obesity treatment found that studies were of low methodological quality with inadequate details reported, especially related to intervention fidelity. The evaluation of fidelity is crucial to inform interpretation of the intervention outcomes. This study aimed to summarise intervention fidelity, participants’ acceptability and satisfaction with a 12-week family-focused technology-based child nutrition and weight management intervention. Methods Families with children aged 4–11 years participated in a telehealth intervention with complementary components: website, Facebook group and text messages. Intervention fidelity was reported using National Institutes of Health Treatment Fidelity Framework. Delivery was measured using a dietitian-reported evaluation survey. Google Analytics and Bitly platform were used to objectively track data on frequency and pattern of intervention use. Participants’ acceptability and satisfaction were measured using a process evaluation survey. Results Telehealth consultations delivered by trained dietitians had good adherence (≥83%) to the structured content. Process evaluation results indicated that parents ( n = 30; mean age 41 years, 97% were female, body mass index 30 kg/m2) found the intervention components easy to use/understand (87–100%), the programme had improved their family/child eating habits (93%), and they wanted to continue using telehealth and the website, as well as recommending it to other parents (90–91%). Discussion In summary, a family-focused technology-based child nutrition and weight management intervention using telehealth, website, Facebook and SMS can be delivered by trained dietitians with good fidelity and attain high acceptability and satisfaction among families with primary-school-aged children in New South Wales, Australia.

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Improving maternal and child nutrition in China: an analysis of nutrition policies and programs initiated during the 2000–2015 Millennium Development Goals era and implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Journal of Health Population and Nutrition ◽

10.1186/s41043-020-00221-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xin Huang ◽

Bo Yang ◽

Qin Liu ◽

Ruilin Zhang ◽

Shenglan Tang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Program Implementation ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Chinese Government ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Maternal And Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Policies ◽

Development Goals ◽

Policies And Programs

Abstract Background Although good progress was made in maternal and child nutrition during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era, malnutrition remains one of the major threats on global health. Therefore, the United Nation set several nutrition-related goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is much to be learned from individual countries in terms of efforts and actions taken to reduce malnutrition. China, as a developing country, launched a number of nutrition improvement policies and programs that resulted in dramatic progress in improving maternal and child nutrition during the MDGs era. This study explored the impact, experiences, and lessons learned from the nutrition policies and programs initiated in China during the MDGs era and implications to achieve the SDGs for China and other developing countries. Method The CNKI database and official websites of Chinese government were searched for reviews on nutrition-related policies and intervention programs. A qualitative study was conducted among key informants from the Chinese government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and universities for two major national nutrition intervention programs. Results The literature review documented that during the MDGs era, six nutrition policies and eight trans-province and nationwide nutrition intervention programs collectively made good progress in improving maternal and child nutrition in China. Nutrition policies tended to be targeted at infants and children, with less attention on reproductive and maternal nutrition. Nutrition intervention programs focused primarily on undernutrition and have achieved positive results, while for breastfeeding improvement and prevention and control on overweight and obesity were limited. Results from the qualitative study indicated that effective nutrition program implementation was facilitated through the cooperation of multiple sectors and by the government and NGO partnerships, however, still face challenges of insufficient operational funds from local governments and inadequacy of program monitoring and management. Conclusion Nutrition policies and intervention programs promulgated in China during the MDGs era have made major contributions to the rapid decline of undernutrition and are in line to achieve the SDGs related to child wasting, stunting, low birth weight, and anemia in reproductive-age women. However, appropriate policies and program implementation are needed to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates and reduce obesity to achieve the SDGs in years to come.

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A Community-Based Positive Deviance/Hearth Infant and Young Child Nutrition Intervention in Ecuador Improved Diet and Reduced Underweight

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.jneb.2016.10.007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 196-203.e1 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Marion L. Roche ◽

Grace S. Marquis ◽

Theresa W. Gyorkos ◽

Brittany Blouin ◽

Julieta Sarsoza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Positive Deviance ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Community Based ◽

Infant And Young Child

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Effects of a participatory agriculture and nutrition education project on child growth in northern Malawi

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980010002545 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (8) ◽

pp. 1466-1472 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Rachel Bezner Kerr ◽

Peter R Berti ◽

Lizzie Shumba

Keyword(s):

Nutrition Education ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Mixed Model ◽

Initial Conditions ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Child Growth ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Growth Scores

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate whether children in households involved in a participatory agriculture and nutrition intervention had improved growth compared to children in matched comparable households and whether the level of involvement and length of time in the project had an effect on child growth.DesignA prospective quasi-experimental study comparing baseline and follow-up data in ‘intervention’ villages with matched subjects in ‘comparison’ villages. Mixed model analyses were conducted on standardized child growth scores (weight- and height-for-age Z-scores), controlling for child age and testing for effects of length of time and intensity of village involvement in the intervention.SettingA participatory agriculture and nutrition project (the Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC) project) was initiated by Ekwendeni Hospital aimed at improving child nutritional status with smallholder farmers in a rural area in northern Malawi. Agricultural interventions involved intercropping legumes and visits from farmer researchers, while nutrition education involved home visits and group meetings.SubjectsParticipants in intervention villages were self-selected, and control participants were matched by age and household food security status of the child. Over a 6-year period, nine surveys were conducted, taking 3838 height and weight measures of children under the age of 3 years.ResultsThere was an improvement over initial conditions of up to 0·6 in weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ; from −0·4 (sd 0·5) to 0·3 (sd 0·4)) for children in the longest involved villages, and an improvement over initial conditions of 0·8 in WAZ for children in the most intensely involved villages (from −0·6 (sd 0·4) to 0·2 (sd 0·4)).ConclusionsLong-term efforts to improve child nutrition through participatory agricultural interventions had a significant effect on child growth.

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Improving maternal and child nutrition in China: An analysis of nutrition policies and programs initiated during the 2000-2015 Millennium Development Goals era, and implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

10.21203/rs.2.20122/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xin Huang ◽

Bo Yang ◽

Qin Liu ◽

Ruilin Zhang ◽

Shenglan Tang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Program Implementation ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Chinese Government ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Maternal And Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Policies ◽

Development Goals ◽

Policies And Programs

Abstract Background: Although good progress was made in maternal and child nutrition during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era, malnutrition remains one of the major threats on global health. Therefore, the United Nation set several nutrition-related goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is much to be learned from individual countries in terms of efforts and actions taken to reduce malnutrition in order to achieve the nutrition-related SDGs. China as a developing country launched a number of nutrition improvement policies and programs, that resulted in dramatic progress in improving maternal and child nutrition during the MDGs era. This study explored the impact, experiences and lessons learned from nutrition policies and programs initiated in China during the MDGs era, and implications to achieve the SDGs for China and other developing countries. Method: The CNKI database and official websites of Chinese Government were searched for reviews on nutrition-related policies and intervention programs. A qualitative study was conducted among key informants from the Chinese government, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Universities for two major national nutrition intervention programs. Results: The literature review documented that during the MDGs six nutrition policies and eight trans-province and nationwide nutrition intervention programs collectively made good progress in improving maternal and child nutrition in China. Nutrition Policies tended to be targeted at infants and children, with less attention on reproductive and maternal nutrition. Nutrition intervention programs focused primarily on undernutrition and achieved positive results, while for breastfeeding improvement and prevention and control on overweight and obesity were limited. Results from the qualitative study indicated that effective nutrition program implementation was facilitated through cooperation of multiple sectors and by government and NGOs partnerships, however, still face challenges of insufficient local working funds, monitoring and inadequate management. Conclusion: Nutrition policies and intervention programs promulgated in China during the MDGs era made major contributions to the rapid decline of undernutrition, and are in line to achieve the SDGs related to child wasting, stunting, low birth weight and anemia in reproductive-age women. However, policies and program implementation are needed to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates and reduce obesity to achieve the SDGs.

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Assessing program sustainability of two community‐based child nutrition intervention programs in the Peruvian rural highlands

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.108.7 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 25 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Sunny S. Kim ◽

Hilary Creed‐Kanashiro ◽

Rosario Bartolini ◽

Mark A. Constas ◽

Jean‐Pierre Habicht ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Program Sustainability ◽

Community Based

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“My husband is my family.” The culture of pregnancy disclosure and its implications on early pregnancy registration in a child nutrition intervention in rural Maharashtra, India

Midwifery ◽

10.1016/j.midw.2021.103141 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 103 ◽

pp. 103141

Author(s):

Samreen S Khan ◽

Nanda K Tawale ◽

Archana Patel ◽

Michael J Dibley ◽

Ashraful Alam

Keyword(s):

Early Pregnancy ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention

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Empowerment in Rural Viet Nam: Exploring Changes in Mothers and Health Volunteers in the Context of an Integrated Nutrition Project

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/15648265020234s212 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 23 (4_suppl2) ◽

pp. 83-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Julia L. Hendrickson ◽

Kirk Dearden ◽

Helena Pachón ◽

Ngyuyen Hoi An ◽

Dirk G. Schroeder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Information Sharing ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Future Research ◽

Viet Nam ◽

Community Members ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Union Leaders ◽

Promotion Strategies ◽

Qualitative Methodologies

Empowerment is often cited as a fundamental component of health promotion strategies. Anecdotes suggest that Save the Children's integrated nutrition project empowers local women and health volunteers. The aim of this research was to document the degree to which this is being accomplished. Using qualitative methodologies, we conducted a cross-sectional assessment to compare self-reported changes in identified empowerment domains among 17 program health volunteers and 20 mothers involved in a child nutrition intervention and among five Women's Union leaders and five mothers in a non-intervention comparison commune. Intervention mothers reported increased knowledge, confidence, and information sharing about child-care and feeding, while non-intervention mothers reported minimal changes in these domains. Both intervention health volunteers and non-intervention Women's Union leaders expressed improvements in knowledge, confidence, and relationships with community members. In this study we found that the relative increases in empowerment were greater for mothers than for health volunteers. Intervention mothers reported more sharing of information on child relationships with community members than Women's Union leaders. The increased information sharing has positive implications for spread of key messages to families that did not directly participate in intensive feeding and the sustainability of the intervention's impact. Future research should focus on developing culturally specific concepts of empowerment to better understand the effects of empowerment efforts. This study's identification of empowerment domains will inform future empowerment studies in Vietnam.

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An Integrated Child Nutrition Intervention Improved Growth of Younger, More Malnourished Children in Northern Viet Nam

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/15648265020234s208 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 23 (4_suppl2) ◽

pp. 50-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Dirk G. Schroeder ◽

Helena Pachón ◽

Kirk A. Dearden ◽

Tran Thu Ha ◽

Tran Thi Lang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Child Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Physical Growth ◽

Z Score ◽

Nutrition Program ◽

Malnourished Children ◽

Nutrition Programs ◽

Measured Weight ◽

Save The Children ◽

The Impact

Integrated nutrition programs are widely used to prevent and/or reverse childhood malnutrition, but rarely rigorously evaluated. The impact of such a program on the physical growth of young rural Vietnamese children was measured. We randomized six communes to receive an integrated nutrition program implemented by Save the Children. We matched six communes to serve as controls. Our sample consisted of 238 children ( n = 119 per group) who were 5 to 30 months old on entry. Between December 1999 and December 2000, we measured weight and height monthly for six months and again at month 12. Principle outcomes were weight-for-age Z score (WAZ), height-for-age Z score (HAZ), and weight-for-height Z score (WHZ), and the changes among these measures. As expected, anthropometric indicators relative to international references worsened as the children aged. Overall, children in the intervention communes who were exposed to the integrated nutrition program did not show statistically significant better growth than comparison children. Intervention children who were younger (15 months or less) and more malnourished (less than −2 Z) at baseline, however, deteriorated significantly less than their comparable counterparts. Between baseline and month four, for example, intervention children who were malnourished and less than 15 months old at entry lost on average 0.05 WAZ while similar comparison children lost 0.25 WAZ ( p = .02). Lack of overall impact on growth may be due to a lower than expected prevalence of malnutrition at baseline and/or deworming of comparison children. Targeting nutrition interventions at very young children will have the maximum impact on growth.

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