scholarly journals Caregivers’ nutrition knowledge and attitudes are associated with household food diversity and children’s animal source food intake across different agro-ecological zones in Ghana

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron K. Christian ◽  
Grace S. Marquis ◽  
Esi K. Colecraft ◽  
Anna Lartey ◽  
Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Household Dietary Diversity ◽  
Agro Ecological Zones

AbstractCaregivers’ nutrition knowledge and attitudes may influence the variety of foods available in the household and the quality of children’s diets. To test the link, this study collected data on caregivers’ (n 608) nutrition knowledge and feeding attitudes as well as the diets of their household and of their 2–5-year-old children in twelve rural communities nested in the three main agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Household foods and children’s animal source foods (ASF) consumed in the past 7 d were categorised into one of fourteen and ten groups, respectively. About 28 % of caregivers believed that their children needed to be fed only 2–3 times/d. Reasons for having adult supervision during child meal times, feeding diverse foods, prioritising a child to receive ASF and the perceived child benefits of ASF differed across zones (P<0·001). Households with caregivers belonging to the highest tertile of nutrition knowledge and attitude scores consumed more diverse diets compared with those of caregivers in the lowest tertile group (11·2 (sd 2·2) v. 10·0 (sd 2·4); P<0·001). After controlling for the effect of agro-ecological zone, caregivers’ nutrition knowledge and feeding attitudes positively predicted household dietary diversity and the frequency and diversity of children’s ASF intakes (P<0·001). The number of years of formal education of caregivers also positively predicted household dietary diversity and children’s ASF diversity (P<0·001). A key component to improving child nutrition is to understand the context-specific nutrition knowledge and feeding attitudes in order to identify relevant interventions.

scholarly journals Cash transfers and child nutritional outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. e003621
Author(s):  
James Manley ◽  
Yarlini Balarajan ◽  
Shahira Malm ◽  
Luke Harman ◽  
Jessica Owens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundCash transfer (CT) programmes are implemented widely to alleviate poverty and provide safety nets to vulnerable households with children. However, evidence on the effects of CTs on child health and nutrition outcomes has been mixed. We systematically reviewed evidence of the impact of CTs on child nutritional status and selected proximate determinants.MethodsWe searched articles published between January 1997 and September 2018 using Agris, Econlit, Eldis, IBSS, IDEAS, IFPRI, Google Scholar, PubMed and World Bank databases. We included studies using quantitative impact evaluation methods of CTs with sample sizes over 300, targeted to households with children under 5 years old conducted in countries with gross domestic product per capita below US$10 000 at baseline. We conducted meta-analysis using random-effects models to assess the impact of CT programmes on selected child nutrition outcomes and meta-regression analysis to examine the association of programme characteristics with effect sizes.ResultsOut of 2862 articles identified, 74 articles were eligible for inclusion. We find that CTs have significant effects of 0.03±0.03 on height-for-age z-scores (p<0.03) and a decrease of 2.1% in stunting (95% CI −3.5% to −0.7%); consumption of animal-source foods (4.5%, 95% CI 2.9% to 6.0%); dietary diversity (0.73, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.19) and diarrhoea incidence (−2.7%, 95% CI −5.4% to −0.0%; p<0.05). The effects of CTs on weight-for-age z-scores and wasting were not significant (0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to 0.08; p<0.42) and (1.2%, 95% CI: −0.1% to 2.5%; p<0.07), respectively. We found that specific programme characteristics differentially modified the effect on the nutrition outcomes studied.ConclusionWe found that CT programmes targeted to households with young children improved linear growth and contributed to reduced stunting. We found that the likely pathways were through increased dietary diversity, including through the increased consumption of animal-source foods and reduced incidence of diarrhoea. With heightened interest in nutrition-responsive social protection programmes to improve child nutrition, we make recommendations to inform the design and implementation of future programmes.

scholarly journals Household dietary diversity and Animal Source Food consumption in Ethiopia: evidence from the 2011 Welfare Monitoring Survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulhalik Workicho ◽  
Tefera Belachew ◽  
Garumma Tolu Feyissa ◽  
Beyene Wondafrash ◽  
Carl Lachat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Monitoring Survey ◽  
Household Dietary Diversity ◽  
Animal Source Food

scholarly journals Impact of Farm and Non-Farm Micro-Enterprise Diversifications on Household Dietary Diversity in Malawi

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
A. K. Edriss ◽  
A. W. Mehare
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Food Access ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Nutrition Status ◽  
Healthy Population ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
Household Dietary Diversity ◽  
Micro Enterprises

Micro-enterprising is crucial for improving rural households’ food and nutrition status in subsistence agrarian economy like Malawi. There are no studies that have concurrently analyzed the roles of farm and non-farm micro-enterprise diversity on household dietary diversity (proxy measure of household food access) in Malawi. With the following objectives, the study jointly (1) analyzed the effects of farm and non-farm micro-enterprises diversifications on rural household food access, and (2) analyzed relevant socio-economic and institutional factors on household dietary diversity in selected districts of Malawi. Data were collected from 1827 households; whereby 779 households were engaged in some kind of farm and non-farm micro-enterprises in six districts with high concentration of micro-businesses and population densities. Both parametric and parametric descriptive statistics, Poisson and Negative Binomial regressions were used for estimations. Of all the factors associated with household dietary diversity, farm and non-farm enterprise diversity, as well as expenditure on food items had played major roles in influencing household dietary diversity. Increasing farm and non-farm micro-enterprise diversity by one micro-business group is associated with the possibility of consuming or having access to all 12 groups of food by the households. Holding other things constant, it is surprisingly found that nutrition education (34.2%, ρ=0.000<0.001) influenced household food dietary diversity more than household heads with formal education (average 5 years of schooling); suggesting that nutrition education, if directly delivered to the household heads regardless of their formal education level, is one of the major factors that can positively and significantly affect household dietary diversity in Malawi. These results also resonate to the Government of Malawi’s overarching policy goal of furthering income-generating social and economic activities in order to become less reliant on hand-outs and donors at large. Besides increasing only starchy staple food or monotonous cereal-based diet through various agricultural subsidy programmes, such micro-enterprising programs are also needed to enhance by targeting energy and nutritious food supply that are essential if the country is aiming to expand its industry and service sector with healthy population.

scholarly journals Determinants of dietary diversity among women of reproductive age in two different agro-ecological zones of Rongai Sub-County, Nakuru, Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Wanjiru Gitagia ◽  
Rose Chepchirchir Ramkat ◽  
Dorothy M Mituki ◽  
Celine Termote ◽  
Namukolo Covic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Women Of Reproductive Age ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Agro Ecological Zones

scholarly journals Determinants of household food security and dietary diversity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Satyajit Kundu ◽  
Md. Hasan Al Banna ◽  
Abu Sayeed ◽  
Mst. Sadia Sultana ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Household Dietary Diversity

Abstract Objectives: The study aimed to determine the associated factors of household food security (HFS) and household dietary diversity (HDD) during the COVID−19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Design: Both online survey and face-to-face interviews were employed in this cross-sectional study. The Household Food Security Scale and Household Dietary Diversity Score were used to access HFS and HDD, respectively. The HDD scores were derived from a 24-h recall of food intake from 12 groups. Setting: Bangladesh. Participants: A total sample of 1876 households were recruited. Results: The overall mean scores of HFS and HDD were 31·86 (sd 2·52) and 6·22 (sd 5·49), respectively. Being a rural resident, having no formal education, occupation of household head other than government job and low monthly income were potential determinants of lower HFS and HDD. Approximately 45 % and 61 % of Bangladeshi households did not get the same quantity and same type of food, respectively, as they got before the pandemic. Over 10 % of respondents reported that they lost their job or had to close their businesses, and income reduction was reported by over 70 % of household income earners during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn was negatively associated with HFS and HDD. Conclusion: Household socio-economic variables and COVID-19 effects on occupation and income are potential predictors of lower HFS and HDD scores. HFS and HDD deserve more attention during this pandemic particularly with reference to low-earning households and the households whose earning persons’ occupation has been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Planning, design and implementation of the enhancing child nutrition through animal source food management (ENAM) project

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (49) ◽  
pp. 5687-5708
Author(s):  
Esi. K Colecraft ◽  
◽  
A Lartey ◽  
G. S Maequis ◽  
O Sakyi-Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Project Model

The Global-Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program’s (GL-CRSP) Child Nutrition Project, a controlled feeding trial in rural Kenya, demonstrated the importance of Animal Source Foods (ASF) for children’s micronutrient status and cognitive development. These findings prompted research efforts to understand the constraints to ASF in children’s diets in Africa so as to design targeted interventions to improve the ASF quality of children’s diets. The Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Management (ENAM) project (2004-2009) emanated from participatory formative research that identified six principal constraints to the inclusion of Animal Source Foods (ASF) in children’s diets in Ghana, including low income of caregivers, poor producer-consumer linkages, inadequate nutrition knowledge and skills of extension staff and caregivers, cultural beliefs, and inequitable household food distribution. To address these constraints, the ENAM project undertook a multidisciplinary community development, research and capacity building initiative with the goal of augmenting caregivers’ access to and use of ASF in children’s diets. Participatory processes were used to implement an integrated microcredit, entrepreneurship and nutrition education intervention with 181 caregivers of children 2- to5-years old in six rural communities across three agro-ecological zones (Guinea Savannah, Forest-Savannah Transitional and Coastal Savannah) of Ghana. Six matched communities from the same ecological zones served as comparison sites. Quantitative methods that included surveys, child anthropometry, and dietary assessment as well as qualitative case studies were used to assess the effect of the intervention on household, caregiver and child outcomes of interest. This paper presents the key features of the planning, design and implementation of the community intervention and the research processes undertaken to assess the project’s impacts. The ENAM project model presents a unique approach for addressing caregivers’ income and knowledge barriers to improve child nutrition in rural Ghana and may be a promising intervention model for scale-up in Ghana and other African countries.

scholarly journals Relationship between caregivers' income generation activities and their children's animal source food intake

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (49) ◽  
pp. 5746-5758
Author(s):  
AK Christian ◽  
◽  
A Lartey ◽  
EK Colecraft ◽  
GS Marquis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Income Generation ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Food Record ◽  
Wealth Status ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Animal Source Food

Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project provided financial and technical support for caregivers’ Income Generation Activities (IGA) with the aim of increasing their access to Animal Source Foods (ASF) for improved child nutrition. Using baseline data from the ENAM project, this study assessed the relationship between the type of caregivers’ IGA -whether it is related to ASF [ASF-R] or unrelated [ASF-U] - and the quantity and diversity of ASF consumed by their children. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on household socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and children’s ASF consumption in the past week from 530 caregivers of children 2-to5 years old in 12 communities in three agro-ecological zones of Ghana. A weighed food record of children’s dietary intakes was also completed during two 12-hour home observations on a randomly selected sample of 117 children. Approximately 6% (n=32) of caregivers were not engaged in any IGA. Of the caregivers who were involved in an IGA (n=498), approximately one-third of them were engaged in an ASF-R IGA, such as selling smoked fish, selling eggs and the selling cooked food that included ASF. Caregivers (67%) were engaged in ASF-U IGA, such as crop farming, petty trading in non ASF items and artisanal work. The quantity and diversity of ASF consumed by the children did not differ (p=0.988 and p=0.593, respectively) by the type of caregiver IGA. However, after accounting for agro-ecological zone, being involved in an ASF-R IGA positively predicted children’s ASF diversity (p<0.001). The number of children in the household negatively predicted children’s ASF diversity (p=0.011) whereas high/medium household wealth status tended to be positively associated with ASF diversity (p=0.064).The study suggested that there is need to promote ASF-R IGA among caregivers to increase the ability to purchase more varied and nutritious food items for improving children’s growth.

Welfare Effects of the Production of Indigenous Food Crops in Farming Communities in the Northern Region of Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
Alhassan Andani
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Welfare Effects ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Household Dietary Diversity

Aims: Maintaining diverse diets through diversified farming systems presents opportunities for better nutrition and greater health status for peasant families in rural communities around the globe. This study explores the welfare effects of the adoption of indigenous food crops by farming communities in the Northern Region of Ghana. Study Design: The study followed a multi-stage sampling procedure and utilized primary data collected. Methodology: Using a standard treatment effect estimation approach, the study examined the effect of the production of indigenous food crops on household dietary diversity using primary data collected from 405 households in farming communities in Ghana’s Northern Region for the 2016/17 crop season. Results: Descriptive results reveal a mean dietary diversity score of 8.5 for producer households which is significantly different from the score of 6.2 for non-producer households. Also, the results show a high proportion of indigenous crop-producing households in the medium and high dietary diversity scores compared to non-producing households. Empirical results reveal a positive and significant impact of the production of indigenous food crops on household dietary diversity. The study also finds that household head education, non-farm work, livestock ownership, age and number of children have a positive effect on household dietary diversity. Conclusion: The study concludes that the production of indigenous food crops promotes the consumption of diverse foods among farm families and recommends that policies aimed at diverse food consumption and improved nutrition security among rural farming communities should consider promoting increased production of indigenous food crops.

scholarly journals Towards Understanding Variability in Droughts in Response to Extreme Climate Conditions over the Different Agro-Ecological Zones of Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6910
Author(s):  
Adil Dilawar ◽  
Baozhang Chen ◽  
Arfan Arshad ◽  
Lifeng Guo ◽  
Muhammad Irfan Ehsan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Precipitation Extremes ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Climate Extreme ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Agro Ecological Zones

Here, we provided a comprehensive analysis of long-term drought and climate extreme patterns in the agro ecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan during 1980–2019. Drought trends were investigated using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at various timescales (SPEI-1, SPEI-3, SPEI-6, and SPEI-12). The results showed that droughts (seasonal and annual) were more persistent and severe in the southern, southwestern, southeastern, and central parts of the region. Drought exacerbated with slopes of −0.02, −0.07, −0.08, −0.01, and −0.02 per year. Drought prevailed in all AEZs in the spring season. The majority of AEZs in Pakistan’s southern, middle, and southwestern regions had experienced substantial warming. The mean annual temperature minimum (Tmin) increased faster than the mean annual temperature maximum (Tmax) in all zones. Precipitation decreased in the southern, northern, central, and southwestern parts of the region. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a robust increase in temperature extremes with a variance of 76% and a decrease in precipitation extremes with a variance of 91% in the region. Temperature and precipitation extremes indices had a strong Pearson correlation with drought events. Higher temperatures resulted in extreme drought (dry conditions), while higher precipitation levels resulted in wetting conditions (no drought) in different AEZs. In most AEZs, drought occurrences were more responsive to precipitation. The current findings are helpful for climate mitigation strategies and specific zonal efforts are needed to alleviate the environmental and societal impacts of drought.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document