Qualitative

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 […]

A rapid assessment and response approach for socially marketed nutrition commodities in Viet Nam. BACKGROUND: The leading cause of death in children in developing countries is protein-energy malnutrition. In Viet Nam, 25.9% of children under 5 experience stunted growth and 6.6% are moderately wasted. Iron deficiency anaemia and vitamin A deficiency contribute to these and […]

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, […]

Family experiences of infant and young child feeding in lower-income countries: protocol for a systematic review of qualitative studies. BACKGROUND: Infant and young child feeding practices, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding of children under 2 years old, are crucially influenced by parent and family perceptions and experiences. Given the urgent need to improve nutrition of young […]

A formative study to inform mHealth based randomized controlled trial intervention to promote exclusive breastfeeding practices in Myanmar: incorporating qualitative study findings. BACKGROUND: Undernutrition is a major concern for Myanmar children with low exclusive breastfeeding rate (24%). A formative study was conducted to explore the perceptions and practices relating to exclusive breastfeeding, and barriers and […]

Public and Private Sector Dynamics in Scaling Up Rice Fortification: The Colombian Experience and its Lessons. BACKGROUND: Fortification of cereal grains with at least iron or folic acid is legislated in 85 countries worldwide. Relative to wheat and maize flour, rice fortification is relatively new and provides an opportunity to deliver essential micronutrients to populations that […]

Translating formative research findings into a behaviour change strategy to promote antenatal calcium and iron and folic acid supplementation in western Kenya. The World Health Organization now recommends integrating calcium supplements into antenatal micronutrient supplementation programmes to prevent pre-eclampsia, a leading cause of maternal mortality. As countries consider integrating calcium supplementation into antenatal care (ANC), […]

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 […]

Perceptions of antenatal iron-folic acid supplements in urban and rural Pakistan: a qualitative study. BACKGROUND: In Pakistan, 51% of women are anaemic in pregnancy yet only 44% of women use antenatal iron-folic acid (IFA) supplements. Little information exits on the perception and barriers to the use of IFA supplements during pregnancy in Pakistan. The aim of […]