Translating Adoption of Improved Varieties Into Nutritional Impact
- Conditions
- Malnutrition
- Interventions
- Other: Adoption Encouragement TreatmentOther: Consumption Encouragement Treatment
- Registration Number
- NCT02710760
- Lead Sponsor
- Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
- Brief Summary
The purposes of this study are (1) to determine whether child nutrition-focused adoption encouragement messages focused on Quality Protein Maize (QPM) and the availability of small quantities of QPM seed can be effective at increasing QPM adoption and health outcomes for young children, and (2) to determine whether consumption encouragement messages and techniques (e.g., containers for earmarking) can be effective at increasing QPM targeting to and health outcomes for young children.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 978
Households with at least one child in the 6-35 month age range in August 2015, who had at least one household member attend a field day demonstrating Quality Protein Maize, and who provided informed consent for participation and data collection were eligible for inclusion.
Households in the study areas that do not have a member who attends a field day demonstrating Quality Protein Maize or who do not have a child in the appropriate age range are excluded from the study. Furthermore, households where the mother or children did not intend on staying in the region for the study duration (until the completion of the endline survey) were excluded from the study. Finally, we excluded participants who do not have access to land for crop cultivation.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- FACTORIAL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Consumption Encouragement Treatment Consumption Encouragement Treatment In addition to receiving the Adoption Encouragement Treatment, households in the Consumption Encouragement Treatment group received additional information, targeted to the caregiver, and tools for separating Quality Protein Maize and targeting it to young children in the household in August 2015. They will additionally receive further guidance in February 2016. Adoption Encouragement Treatment Adoption Encouragement Treatment Households in the Adoption Encouragement Treatment group were visited between March and April 2015 and offered "child nutrition focused" adoption encouragement. Both the male household head and the primary female caregiver were invited to attend these meetings (though the household head is the primary target), where the nutritional benefits of Quality Protein Maize (QPM) adoption for children were emphasized along with the agronomic properties. In addition, the fact that only small amounts of QPM are necessary to nourish children was highlighted and small seed bag sizes were offered. During the adoption encouragement visit, we offered the option to order up to three 2 kg bags of QPM for free. Consumption Encouragement Treatment Adoption Encouragement Treatment In addition to receiving the Adoption Encouragement Treatment, households in the Consumption Encouragement Treatment group received additional information, targeted to the caregiver, and tools for separating Quality Protein Maize and targeting it to young children in the household in August 2015. They will additionally receive further guidance in February 2016.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Consumption of any QPM by the index child in the last 24 hours 10-11 months Amount of QPM consumed by the index child in the last 24 hours 10-11 months Consumption of any QPM by the index child in the last week 10-11 months Index child's proportion of total maize consumption that was QPM in the last 24 hours 10-11 months Number of days in the last week that caregiver cooked a QPM-based food that was primarily for target children 10-11 months Mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months Change in Weight-for-height Z-score of index child 10-11 months Change in Mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months Weight-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months Amount of QPM reserved for home consumption 10-11 months Hectares of QPM planted 6-7 months Height-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months Weight-for-height Z-score of index child 10-11 months Insulin-like growth factor I (continuous measurement) 6-7 months Serum transthyretin 6-7 months Change in Weight-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months Number of days in the last week that the index child ate any QPM 10-11 months Change in Height-for-age Z-score of index child 10-11 months
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Serum lysine 6-7 months Serum tryptophan 6-7 months