Pathways linking maternal mental health and child health in a dual burden context: Evidence from Galapagos, Ecuador.

Research in low-and-middle income countries links maternal depression to child undernutrition; conversely, maternal depression is a risk factor for child overweight in higher income settings. Less is known about impacts of maternal mental health in dual burden contexts or the environmental and behavioral pathways linking maternal mental health to child health outcomes. Consequently, we examine the association between maternal mental health and the dual burden of undernutrition/infectious disease and overweight/obesity in children and test whether pathogenic, dietary and caregiving exposures mediate this association. Data come from 113 mothers and their 204 children, aged 2 weeks to 15 years, participating in the Healthy Families Study in Galapagos, Ecuador from July 2018 to May 2019, with mental health, anthropometry, diet and household environmental measures. Path analyses were used to test for direct and indirect effects of maternal distress on the likelihood of children experiencing the dual burden. We found that maternal distress is directly associated with a greater risk of having a child in the household with the dual burden with significant indirect paths through the emotional climate of the household and child diet quality. Maternal distress also moderated the impact of exposure to pathogens and diet quality. Our results highlight the need to understand how maternal distress may shape care practices in environments that present challenges for mothers in acquiring adequate resources and support needed to promote healthy child growth.

Water, food, and the dual burden of disease in Galápagos, Ecuador.

OBJECTIVE: Rapid development in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) has led to changes in diet that have outpaced water and sanitation improvements, contributing to a dual burden of overweight and noncommunicable disease risk factors (OWT/NCD) and undernutrition and infectious disease symptoms (UND/ID) within individuals and households. Yet, little work has examined the joint impact of water and food exposures on the development of the dual burden. METHODS: We use data from Ecuador's nationally representative Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición (ENSANUT-ECU) to test whether water access and quality and diet quality and security are associated with OWT/NCD and UND/ID among 1119 children and 1582 adults in Galápagos. Adjusted multinomial and logistic models were used to test the separate and joint associations between water and food exposures and the dual burden and its components at the individual and household levels. RESULTS: The prevalence of the dual burden of OWT/NCD and UND/ID was 16% in children, 33% in adults, and 90% in households. Diet quality was associated with a higher risk of dual burden in individuals and households. Mild food insecurity was positively associated with the risk of dual burden at the household level. No water variable separately predicted the dual burden. Joint exposure to poor water access and food insecurity was associated with greater odds of dual burden in households. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that unhealthy diets and poor water quality contribute to the dual burden at the individual and household levels. Addressing both food and water limitations is important in LMIC.

Drinking water improvements and rates of urinary and gastrointestinal infections in Galápagos, Ecuador: Assessing household and community factors.

OBJECTIVES: The Galápagos provides an important setting to investigate the health impacts of a new drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in a limited resource environment. We examine how household perceptions and practices affect the relationship between water quality and infections before and after DWTP. METHODS: Ethnographic data and self-reported infections were collected from 121 mothers and 168 children ages 2 to 10 from Isla San Cristóbal. Household tap water samples were tested for levels of fecal contamination. Community level infection rates were estimated using discharge records from the Ministry of Public Health. The effects of the new DWTP and fecal contamination levels on infections were tested using logistic and Poisson models. RESULTS: Perceptions of water quality and household practices influenced exposures to contaminated tap water. We found minimal change in drinking water sources with 85% of mothers sampled before the DWTP and 83% sampled after using bottled water, while >85% from the pooled sample used tap water for cooking and hygiene practices. The DWTP opening was associated with lower odds of fecal contamination in tap water, reported urinary infections, and community level rates of urinary and gastrointestinal infections. The household practice of recently washing the cistern contributed to higher contamination levels after the DWTP opened. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure access to clean water, public health works need to consider how household perceptions and practices influence tap water use and quality, in addition to infrastructure improvements. Exposures to contaminated tap water contribute to the burden of infectious disease in environments with inadequate water infrastructure.

Rising rates of cesarean delivery in Ecuador: Socioeconomic and institutional determinants over two decades.

BACKGROUND: Ecuador's cesarean delivery rate far exceeds that recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Using data from three iterations of Ecuador's nationally representative, population-based survey Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición (ENSANUT/ENDEMAIN), spanning 23 years, this study examines women's mode of delivery outcomes by sociodemographic characteristics and hospital type (private, public, social security) in light of Ecuador's major health care reform over the past two decades. METHODS: Using data from the 1994, 2004, and 2012 iterations of the data set, we analyzed trends in cesarean delivery based on province, year, and institution of care. Logistic regression was used to test the odds of cesarean delivery based on hospital type, sociodemographics, and birth complications for the full sample and primiparous women. Predicted probabilities were derived from this model. RESULTS: Ecuador's cesarean rate increased from 22% in 1989 to 41% in 2012. From 2008 to 2012, the probability of cesarean delivery in private centers was significantly higher than in public centers, and from 2009 to 2012, the probability of cesarean delivery in social security centers was significantly higher than in public centers. Higher maternal age, income, education, and parity, earlier prenatal care initiation, and more prenatal visits were associated with risk for cesarean delivery. CONCLUSIONS: To decrease the adverse effects of cesarean delivery for women and their babies, cesarean delivery should be reduced. Future research should investigate how incentive structures are used and how medical indication is defined within health institutions in Ecuador.

Dietary Diversity, Food Security, and Body Image among Women and Children on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a study of the food environment and nutritional status among women and children living on a Galapagos Island. Anthropometric and body silhouette data give insight into body size perceptions for women and their young children. We frame our findings in the context of the nutrition transition. METHODS: A convenience sample was recruited via word-of-mouth for in-depth interviews and assessments of household food security, dietary intake, anthropometrics, and body image. Interviews took place in 2011 on San Cristobal Island, one of four inhabited islands in the Galapagos archipelago. Twenty women with children between the ages of one and six participated, all permanent residents of San Cristobal Island. RESULTS: Most women (60%) reported limited availability of fresh produce due to an unreliable food supply shipped from mainland Ecuador. Despite reported food insecurity in our sample (55%), more than half of the children (55%) experienced high dietary diversity measured by 24 h recall. Women tended to report less dietary diversity than their children, which may be linked to a stated desire to be thinner. Eighty percent of children were classified as normal weight, while 75% of women were overweight or obese. Conclusions for Practice: Results provide an initial survey of the food landscape on one Galapagos Island. By combining qualitative interviews with indicators of nutritional status, the narrative data allow an interpretation of issues of food security, dietary intakes, dietary diversity, and body size. This study forms the basis for a larger examination of these issues in the Galapagos islands.

Formative research to explore the acceptability and use of infant food grinders for the promotion of animal source foods and micronutrient powders in rural Peru.

According to global recommendations, quality diets for complementary feeding (CF) should include a diversity of foods including vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables and sources of high-quality proteins and essential nutrients, particularly animal-source foods (ASF). A key barrier to feeding ASF surrounds beliefs that the preparation of foods of a thicker consistency may cause problems of digestion, "heaviness" or stomach problems, swallowing, and choking. The objective of this study was to explore, through systematic formative research, the acceptability, use, and feasibility of a simple technology, commercial infant food grinders, in two rural Peruvian settings where there is delayed and low consumption of complementary foods of a thick consistency, including ASF. Phase I explored the barriers, constraints, and opportunities related to the provision of foods of a thicker consistency with a focus on ASF. Phase II encompassed household behavioural trials with mothers and infants to assess the acceptability and use of the grinders in the home setting, using key concepts and messages developed from the information obtained during Phase I. The technology was highly acceptable, used by the majority of mothers (87.8%), and led to changes in cultural perceptions, facilitating increased feeding of appropriate textures (thick purees), ASF, and multimicronutrient powders. Energy, protein, and micronutrient intakes were all significantly greater after the household behavioural trials. This simple technology, paired with systematic formative research to appropriately promote its use across cultures, may have a significant effect on improving CF practices globally, particularly for young infants beginning CF at 6 months.

Perceptions of Body Size in Mothers and Their Young Children in the Galapagos Islands.

Introduction Little specific information has been published about the health of people who live in the Galapagos Islands. As part of determining the status of the nutrition transition that may be occurring in the islands mothers of young children in the Galapagos perceptions of their child's body size and therefore health status was evaluated along with actual body size. Methods This paper presents data collected as part of a pilot study that used a mixed methods approach to identify and describe health and nutrition issues for mother-child pairs on Isla Isabela in Galapagos, Ecuador. It includes participant anthropometric assessment and self-perception of body size using silhouettes for themselves and one of their children along with open-ended questions to elicit further understanding of body size perceptions. Twenty mothers of children greater than 6 months of age but less than 6 years of age were interviewed. Results The women preferred a smaller body size for themselves but a larger body size for their children. Findings of different body size combinations between mothers and children in the same household demonstrated that the island is undergoing or may be post the nutrition transition. Discussion This dual burden of body weights (especially overweight or obese mothers) in the same household with underweight, normal and overweight or obese children and the potential nutrition related chronic disease burden in the future will require more educational resources and innovative health services than are currently available for the people of the Galapagos.

Drinking Water Quality Governance: A Comparative Case Study of Brazil, Ecuador, and Malawi.

Human health is greatly affected by inadequate access to sufficient and safe drinking water, especially in low and middle-income countries. Drinking water governance improvements may be one way to better drinking water quality. Over the past decade, many projects and international organizations have been dedicated to water governance; however, water governance in the drinking water sector is understudied and how to improve water governance remains unclear. We analyze drinking water governance challenges in three countries-Brazil, Ecuador, and Malawi-as perceived by government, service providers, and civil society organizations. A mixed methods approach was used: a clustering model was used for country selection and qualitative semi-structured interviews were used with direct observation in data collection. The clustering model integrated political, economic, social and environmental variables that impact water sector performance, to group countries. Brazil, Ecuador and Malawi were selected with the model so as to enhance the generalizability of the results. This comparative case study is important because similar challenges are identified in the drinking water sectors of each country; while, the countries represent diverse socio-economic and political contexts, and the selection process provides generalizability to our results. We find that access to safe water could be improved if certain water governance challenges were addressed: coordination and data sharing between ministries that deal with drinking water services; monitoring and enforcement of water quality laws; and sufficient technical capacity to improve administrative and technical management of water services at the local level. From an analysis of our field research, we also developed a conceptual framework that identifies policy levers that could be used to influence governance of drinking water quality on national and sub-national levels, and the relationships between these levers.

Provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements to Honduran children increases their dietary macro- and micronutrient intake without displacing other foods.

Inadequate energy intake and poor diet quality are important causes of chronic child undernutrition. Strategies for improving diet quality using lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) are currently being tested in several countries. To date, information on children's dietary intakes during LNS use is available only from Africa. In this study, we collected 24-h dietary recalls at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months on Honduran children (n = 298) participating in a cluster-randomised trial of LNS. Generalised estimating equations were used to examine differences in number of servings of 12 food groups in the LNS and control arms, and multi-level mixed effects models were used to compare macro- and micronutrient intakes. Models accounted for clustering and adjusted for child's age, season and breastfeeding status. Mean daily servings of 12 food groups did not differ by study arm at baseline and remained similar throughout the study with the exception of groups that were partially or entirely supplied by LNS (nuts and nut butters, fats, and sweets). Baseline intakes of energy, fat, carbohydrates, protein, folate and vitamin A, but not vitamin B12, iron and zinc were lower in the LNS than control arm. The change in all macro- and micronutrients from baseline to each study visit was larger for the LNS arm than the control, except for carbohydrates from baseline to 9 months. These findings indicate that LNS improved the macro- and micronutrient intakes of young non-malnourished Honduran children without replacing other foods in their diet.

Effect of supplementation with a lipid-based nutrient supplement on the micronutrient status of children aged 6-18 months living in the rural region of Intibucá, Honduras.

BACKGROUND: Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) have been effective in the treatment of acute malnutrition among children. We evaluated the use of LNS supplementation for improving the micronutrient status of young children. METHODS: A 12-month randomised controlled trial was conducted among children aged 6-18 months living in Intibucá, Honduras. Communities (n = 18) were randomised into clusters matched by poverty indicators (9 intervention, n = 160 and 9 controls, n = 140). Intervention participants received LNS. All children received food vouchers and nutrition education. Primary outcomes included measures of micronutrient status: at baseline, 6 and 12 months' blood were collected for assessment of folate, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and vitamin B12 status; haemoglobin was measured every 3 months; and dietary and anthropometry collected monthly. Longitudinal analyses were based on intent to treat and LNS adherence. Generalised estimating equations were used in the estimation of generalised linear regression models specified for the data. RESULTS: At 6-month follow-up, children in the intervention group had a lower proportion classified as deficient for B12 (43.6%) compared with the control (67.7%; P = 0.03). The intervention group had a higher mean concentration for folate at 6 months (P = 0.06), and improvements continued through 12 months for folate (P = 0.002) and vitamin A deficiency (P = 0.03). This pattern of results, with improved significance, remained in subanalysis based on LNS adherence. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that LNS improved select micronutrient status in young non-malnourished Honduran children.

Risk factors associated with the presence and severity of food insecurity in rural Honduras.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with the presence and severity of food insecurity among a sample of Honduran caregivers of young children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in which the dependent variable, household food insecurity, was measured using a fourteen-item questionnaire developed and validated in a population of similar cultural context. A predictive modelling strategy used backwards elimination in logistic regression and multinomial logit regression models to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for food insecurity. SETTING: Rural Honduras in the department of Intibucá, between March and April 2009. SUBJECTS: Two-hundred and ninety-eight Honduran caregivers of children aged 6-18 months. RESULTS: Ninety-three per cent of households were classified as having some degree of food insecurity (mild, moderate or severe). After controlling for caregiver age and marital status, compared with caregivers with more than primary-school education, those with less than primary-school education had 3·47 (95% CI 1·34, 8·99) times the odds of severe food insecurity and 2·29 (95% CI 1·00, 5·25) times the odds of moderate food insecurity. Our results also found that child anthropometric status was not associated with the presence or severity of food insecurity. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that among the sociodemographic factors assessed, food insecurity in rural Honduras is associated with maternal education. Understanding key factors associated with food insecurity that are unique to Honduras can inform the design of interventions to effectively mitigate the negative impact of food insecurity on children.

Formative research to develop a nutrition education intervention to improve dietary iron intake among women and adolescent girls through community kitchens in Lima, Peru.

Formative research was conducted with 26 women and 16 adolescent girls to develop an education intervention through community kitchens (CK) in Lima, to increase their dietary iron intake and improve their iron status. A combination of qualitative research methods was used to explore perceptions about foods, nutrition, health, anemia and body image. The women recognized that there was a close association among eating well, "alimentarse bien", their health and prevention and treatment of anemia. They perceived that the nutritive value of a meal is determined primarily by its content of "nutritious" foods and by its being "balanced". Using this information the conceptual model of the education intervention was developed. The vulnerability of women to anemia was presented with the relationship between anemia and diet as the central focus. Feasible ways of achieving a nutritious diet were introduced to the community kitchens through promoting local heme iron sources and the consumption of beans with a vitamin C source. Animal source foods were amongst those considered to be nutritious and were "best buys" for iron content. CK searched for ways of assuring accessibility to these foods. The use of animal source foods in the community kitchen menus increased during the intervention.

The social constructions of sexuality: marital infidelity and sexually transmitted disease-HIV risk in a Mexican migrant community.

OBJECTIVES: This article explores the social context of the migration-related HIV epidemic in western Mexico. METHODS: Data collection involved life histories and participant observation with migrant women in Atlanta and their sisters or sisters-in-law in Mexico. RESULTS: Both younger and older women acknowledged that migrant men's sexual behavior may expose them to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.Younger Mexican women in both communities expressed a marital ideal characterized by mutual intimacy, communication, joint decisionmaking, and sexual pleasure, but not by willingness to use condoms as an HIV prevention strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Migrant Mexican women's commitment to an illusion of fidelity will hinder HIV prevention initiatives targeted toward them. Furthermore, the changing meanings of marital sex may make it harder to convince young couples to use condoms as an HIV prevention strategy. If the chain of heterosexual marital HIV transmission is to be interrupted in this community, prevention programs must target men.