Appropriateness

Strengthening health services to deliver nutrition education to promote complementary feeding and healthy growth of infants and young children: formative research for a successful intervention in peri-urban Trujillo, Peru. Formative research is critical for developing effective nutrition-specific interventions to improve infant and young child (IYC) feedin g practices and promote healthy growth. Health workers interact […]

Community perceptions of behaviour change communication interventions of the maternal neonatal and child health programme in rural Bangladesh: an exploratory study. BACKGROUND: This qualitative study explored community perceptions of the components of the behaviour change communication (BCC) intervention of the BRAC Improving Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival (IMNCS) programme in rural Bangladesh. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews, […]

An assessment of maternal, newborn and child health implementation studies in Nigeria: implications for evidence informed policymaking and practice. BACKGROUND: The introduction of implementation science into maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) research has facilitated better methods to improve uptake of research findings into practices. With increase in implementation research related to MNCH world-wide, stronger […]

Perspectives and reflections on the practice of behaviour change communication for infant and young child feeding. Behaviour change communication (BCC) is a critical component of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) interventions. In this study we asked BCC practitioners working in low- and middle-income countries to participate in an examination of BCC practice. We focus […]

How can formative research inform the design of an iron-folic acid supplementation intervention starting in first trimester of pregnancy in Bangladesh? BACKGROUND: The study objective was to understand community preparedness for iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation early in pregnancy and to inform the design of a large-scale trial of early introduction of IFA supplementation in […]

Stakeholders’ perceptions of integrated community case management by community health workers: a post-intervention qualitative study. BACKGROUND: Integrated community case management (iCCM) involves delivery of simple medicines to children with pneumonia, diarrhea and/or malaria by community health workers (CHWs). Between 2010 and 2012, an iCCM intervention trial was implemented by Healthy Child Uganda. This study used qualitative […]

Promoting safe infant feeding practices – the importance of structural, social and contextual factors in Southern Africa. There has been significant progress towards the goal of eliminating vertical transmission of HIV by 2015. However, a question that remains is how we can most effectively prevent late postnatal transmission of HIV through infant feeding. Guidelines published […]

Scaling up of breastfeeding promotion programs in low- and middle-income countries: the “breastfeeding gear” model. Breastfeeding (BF) promotion is one of the most cost-effective interventions to advance mother-child health. Evidence-based frameworks and models to promote the effective scale up and sustainability of BF programs are still lacking. A systematic review of peer-reviewed and gray literature […]

Opportunities for improving maternal nutrition and birth outcomes: synthesis of country experiences. BACKGROUND: Undernutrition in women in poor countries remains prevalent and affects maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) outcomes. Improving MNCH outcomes requires better policies and programs that enhance women’s nutrition. OBJECTIVE: The studies aimed to better understand awareness, perceptions, barriers to intervention, and policy and […]

Community-led initiative for control of anemia among children 6 to 35 months of age and unmarried adolescent girls in rural Wardha, India. BACKGROUND: Studies in India have reported a high prevalence of nutritional anemia among children and adolescent girls. Nutritional anemia is associated with impaired mental, physical, and cognitive performance in children and is a significant […]