Behavior Change of Mothers/Caretakers after an Educational Intervention in the Title II Supplementary Feeding Program in Malawi.
Hemler, Elena C.
2015
- Malnutrition is a serious global health concern that is linked to nearly half of all child deaths worldwide. Supplementary feeding programs that distribute food to families of malnourished children have been shown to be effective in treating malnutrition. However, the feeding practices of the Beneficiary Mothers/Caretakers (BMCs) of the malnourished children often do not align with program ... read morerecommendations, which may reduce programmatic impact. This study investigated a behavior change intervention designed to improve BMC compliance with feeding recommendations in the Title II Supplementary Feeding Program in Malawi. BMCs from two geographically separate areas were randomly sampled to form a group that received the educational intervention plus supplementary food and a usual care group that received only supplementary food. Eight behaviors were assessed in the areas of food preparation, food consumption, and hygiene practices. Data from an interviewer-administered, post-intervention questionnaire were analyzed from BMCs in the intervention group (n = 239) and usual care group (n = 163.) The intervention group showed significantly higher (p < .01) rates of compliance for all three food preparation behaviors and two of three consumption behaviors in the intervention group compared to the usual care group. However, neither of the two hygiene behaviors had different rates of compliance among the groups. These results indicate that behavior change interventions can enhance the effectiveness of supplementary feeding programs, but more of an emphasis on hygiene behaviors may be needed for maximum impact.read less
- ID:
- xs55mq251
- Component ID:
- tufts:sd.0000249
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
