Measuring the intangible resources caregivers need to provide nurturing care during the complementary feeding period: a scoping review in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVE: Caregivers require tangible (e.g. food and financial) and intangible resources to provide care to ensure child health, nutrition and development. Intangible resources include beliefs and knowledge, education, self-efficacy, perceived physical health, mental health, healthy stress levels, social support, empowerment, equitable gender attitudes, safety and security and time sufficiency. These intangible caregiver resources are included as intermediate outcomes in nutrition conceptual frameworks yet are rarely measured as part of maternal and child nutrition research or evaluations. To facilitate their measurement, this scoping review focused on understudied caregiver resources that have been measured during the complementary feeding period in low- and lower-middle-income countries. DESIGN: We screened 9,232 abstracts, reviewed 277 full-text articles and included 163 articles that measured caregiver resources related to complementary feeding or the nutritional status of children 6 months to 2 years of age. RESULTS: We identified measures of each caregiver resource, though the number of measures and quality of descriptions varied widely. Most articles (77 %) measured only one caregiver resource, mental health (n 83) and social support (n 54) most frequently. Psychometric properties were often reported for mental health measures, but less commonly for other constructs. Few studies reported adapting measures for specific contexts. Existing measures for mental health, equitable gender attitudes, safety and security and time sufficiency were commonly used; other constructs lacked standardised measures. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of caregiver resources during the complementary feeding period is limited. Measuring caregiver resources is essential for prioritising caregivers and understanding how resources influence child care, feeding and nutrition.

Utilizing Ripple Effects Mapping to Assess the Impact of an Undergraduate Global Health Program.

Background: In the last ten years, there has been a dramatic rise in student interest in global health as an academic discipline and an increase in academic offerings in the field at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. However, information is limited on the impact of global health programming on students, alumni, and partners involved. Objective: The objective of this study was to utilize Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) to assess the impact of an undergraduate Global Health Program on students, alumni, and international partners. Methods: REM, a new, innovative, community-centered research methodology was employed in this research study whereby three REM focus group sessions, each with 10-11 participants, were facilitated. A multi-layered textual, thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from REM focus group sessions. Findings: After analysis, six thematic areas emerged, each with their own underlying qualities of growth, or sub-themes, which provide insight into the manner in which the major themes contributed to student learning. Furthermore, programmatic components were identified, which aided student growth and learning. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the undergraduate Global Health Program has promoted and facilitated student growth and learning in various capacities. This study fills a gap in existing research and current knowledge by outlining the impact of an undergraduate Global Health Program on students. Additional studies should be conducted to further explore the impact of Global Health Programming on students and stakeholders.

'Pamoja Tunaweza': A Collaborative Program Model for Global Health Training & Education.

The past two decades have seen unprecedented student demand for global health education through experiential and engaged learning within institutions of higher education in the United States. This demand created a need for innovative institutional partnerships. Since 2007, faculty from Cornell University's Global Health Program and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) have worked together to design, implement, and evaluate an innovative experiential learning program in global health and development policy. Since its inception, 176 Cornell undergraduates and 188 KCMUCo medical students have successfully engaged in the policy case study collaborative program and course, leading to the development of 75 policy case studies. This long-term partnership between Cornell and KCMUCo has led to an innovative cross-cultural teaching model, funding support, professional presentations for students and faculty, a visiting scholars program at Cornell, and new avenues for research and collaboration. Fifteen years of sustained partnership has required the navigation of several unique and complex challenges, providing the opportunity to reimagine and strengthen this program and partnership. The objective of this article is to share a powerful program model for global health training and education, and discuss the challenges, successes, and lessons learned through this continued collaboration.