Community-based Nutrition Program Effectiveness Evaluation in Afghanistan

FHI 360

Status: Terminated

Conditions: Child Malnutrition; Breast Feeding; Nutrition

Treatments: Behavioral: Community Based Nutrition Package (CNBP)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT04133766

1407870

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study will be a mixed methods, two-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial. The primary aim of this evaluation is to measure the effectiveness of the Community-Based Nutrition Package intervention on child feeding practices among parents/caregivers to children 6 to 23 months of age in Afghanistan.

Full description

The study will be a mixed methods, two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial (CRT). Health facilities eligible to implement the CBNP in their catchment areas will serve as the unit of implementation and be randomly allocated to treatment or control groups. For each health facility, up to four health posts, among the 6-10 health posts typically attached to a health facility, will be randomly selected. Households in communities served by selected health posts will be mapped and a list of households with eligible participants will generated from which a random sample will be selected. Structured questionnaires will be administered to separate samples of women with children 6-23 months of age at baseline then approximately 18 months later. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews will also be conducted with a sub-set of selected women and samples of their husbands and mothers-in-law at baseline and endline.

Enrollment: 4,076 patients

Sex: Female

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Married adult woman (all married women are considered adults in Afghanistan, regardless of age)
• Has a child between 6 and 23 months of age. For women with more than one living child between ages 6 and 23 months, questions will be asked regarding dietary experiences for the elder of the two. For twins or multiple order siblings, the eldest will be selected based on birth order.
• Resident in the household

Exclusion criteria

No specific exclusion criteria.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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4,076 participants in 2 patient groups

Community-Based Nutrition Package

Experimental group

Description:

The Community-Based Nutrition Package (CBNP) is a multi-level intervention that comprises: advocacy and training for government stakeholders and employees; selection and training of master trainers who then cascade the training at provincial level; and selection and training of community-level Nutrition Mobilizing Teams. The Nutrition Mobilizing Teams then organize a 2-day community mobilization session in the catchment areas of each health post to develop a community nutrition plan, which is then implemented by community health workers and two additional volunteers under the mentorship of the Nutrition Mobilizing Teams and with the support of the community members that participated in the community mobilization session.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Community Based Nutrition Package (CNBP)

Standard of care

No Intervention group

Description:

Current standard of existing community health services.