Extrait

Background and study aims Complementary feeding practices (that is, feeding infants additional food when breast milk alone is no longer providing them with all the nutrients and energy they need) are often inadequate in developing countries, resulting in infants becoming malnourished at between 6 and 24 months of age. In Ethiopia, the number of children under five that are underweight and suffer from stunted growth is 25% and 40% respectively and the dietary diversity score (that is, a score that looks at how much variety there is in the diet) is as low as 4%. Despite Agriculture Extension Workers (AEWs) being involved in livestock and crops production there is no information on interventions (that is, programmes) to help them promote food consumption including promotion of complementary feeding for infants and young children. The purpose of this study was to test the performance of a complementary feeding promotion using AEWs in addition to existing Health Extension Workers (HEWs), compared with the work done by HEWs alone, on improving both the care givers complementary feeding practices and how nourished the children are (nutritional status) in the Wonchi Woreda Oromia region of southwestern Ethiopia. Who can participate? Children aged 6-12 months and their caregivers living in a kebele (or neighbourhood) enrolled in the study. What does the study involve? Each kebele included in the study is randomly allocated to either the control or the intervention group. Participants in the intervention group receive information in the form of messages on different aspects of complementary feeding, including how much to give and when, thickness, variety and how to prepare it by trained agriculture extension workers (AEWs) every two weeks. Participants in the control group do not receive this information from AEWs. All participants are followed up at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months to assess how nourished the infants are, how much complementary feeding are they getting, whether they are eating a varied diet and how much they have grown. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? There are no risks associated with the study. However, caregivers that participate in the study will benefit from complementary feeding messages that was provided through AEWs. Implementing the complementary feeding messages could help their infants to grow well and better nourished. Where is the study run from? The study is run in one of the World Vision Ethiopia program areas and takes place in six kebeles in the Oromia region Wonchi Woreda. When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? March 2014 to March 2015 Who is funding the study? Investigator initiated and funded Who is the main contact? Dr Sisay Sinamo

Critère d'inclusion

• Infants nutritional status

Liens

• ictrp
• isrctn