Role of Social Support in Improving Infant Feeding Practices in Western Kenya: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: We designed and tested an intervention that used dialogue-based groups to engage infants' fathers and grandmothers to support optimal infant feeding practices. The study's aim was to test the effectiveness of increased social support by key household influencers on improving mothers' complementary feeding practices. METHODS: Using a quasi-experimental design, we enrolled mothers, fathers, and grandmothers from households with infants 6-9 months old in 3 rural communities (1 intervention arm with fathers, 1 intervention arm with grandmothers, and 1 comparison arm) in western Kenya. We engaged 79 grandmothers and 85 fathers in separate dialogue groups for 6 months from January to July 2012. They received information on health and nutrition and were encouraged to provide social support to mothers (defined as specific physical actions in the past 2 weeks or material support actions in the past month). We conducted a baseline household survey in December 2011 in the 3 communities and returned to the same households in July 2012 for an endline survey. We used a difference-in-difference (DiD) approach and logistic regression to evaluate the intervention. RESULTS: We surveyed 554 people at baseline (258 mothers, 165 grandmothers, and 131 fathers) and 509 participants at endline. The percentage of mothers who reported receiving 5 or more social support actions (of a possible 12) ranged from 58% to 66% at baseline in the 3 groups. By endline, the percentage had increased by 25.8 percentage points (P=.002) and 32.7 percentage points (P=.001) more in the father and the grandmother intervention group, respectively, than in the comparison group. As the number of social support actions increased in the 3 groups, the likelihood of a mother reporting that she had fed her infant the minimum number of meals in the past 24 hours also increased between baseline and endline (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.30; P=.047). When taking into account the interaction effects of intervention area and increasing social support over time, we found a significant association in the grandmother intervention area on dietary diversity (OR, 1.19; CI, 1.01 to 1.40; P=.04). No significant effects were found on minimum acceptable diet. CONCLUSION: Engaging fathers and grandmothers of infants to improve their knowledge of optimal infant feeding practices and to encourage provision of social support to mothers could help improve some feeding practices. Future studies should engage all key household influencers in a family-centered approach to practice and support infant feeding recommendations.

What motivates maternal and child nutrition peer educators? Experiences of fathers and grandmothers in western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Peer-led dialogue groups (i.e., support or self-help groups) are a widely used community-based strategy to improve maternal and child health and nutrition. However, the experiences and motivation of peer educators who facilitate these groups are not well documented. OBJECTIVE: We implemented eight father and ten grandmother peer dialogue groups in western Kenya to promote and support recommended maternal dietary and infant and young child feeding practices and sought to understand factors that influenced peer educator motivation. METHODS: After four months of implementation, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews with peer educators as part of a process evaluation to understand their experiences as group facilitators as well as their motivation. We analyzed the interview transcripts thematically and then organized them by level: individual, family, peer dialogue group, organization, and community. RESULTS: Father and grandmother peer educators reported being motivated by multiple factors at the individual, family, dialogue group, and community levels, including increased knowledge, improved communication with their wives or daughters-in-law, increased respect and appreciation from their families, group members' positive changes in behavior, and increased recognition within their communities. This analysis also identified several organization-level factors that contributed to peer educator motivation, including clearly articulated responsibilities for peer educators; strong and consistent supportive supervision; opportunities for social support among peer educators; and working within the existing health system structure. CONCLUSION: Peer educator motivation affects performance and retention, which makes understanding and responding to their motivation essential for the successful implementation, sustainability, and scalability of community-based, peer-led nutrition interventions.

Using national health and nutrition surveys for policy and programs: experiences from the demographic and health surveys.

National health and nutrition surveys have proved invaluable for policy and programs internationally, nationally and locally. With internationally comparable data, decisions can be made on trends and to monitor progress towards improving the nutritional status of women and children. In addition, the iterative process of survey and indicator development ensures that the use of the findings are fed back into the survey for improved design, data collection and measurements. Researchers, policy makers, program managers and surveyors work together for maternal child health.