Enhancing the Health Extension Workers Capacity for Promotion of Maternal and Child

Enhancing the Health Extension Workers Capacity for Promotion of Maternal and Child Nutrition in Northwest Ethiopia: Applying the Pender's Health Promotion Model

Background: Maternal and child nutrition is a lingering public health concern, affecting the lives of the most vulnerable individuals, in particular mothers and children. To counteract the burden, the Ethiopian government has applied various strategies, including incorporating the promotion of nutrition as one package of primary health care provided by the health extension workers (HEWs). However, the provider's knowledge, promotion skill, and competency for promoting maternal and child nutrition have not been examined. Moreover, health extension workers have been promoting using the traditional model of education and indicating the need for continuous professional development to strengthen the workforce. Thus, the study is aimed to assess and enhance the health extension worker's capacity in promoting maternal and child nutrition through comprehensive and evidence-based capacity-building training.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study will be employed among 92 health extension workers. A baseline study, involving both qualitative and quantitative studies will be conducted to identify the gaps in maternal and child nutrition promotion. The knowledge, promotion as well as counseling skills of the HEWs will be assessed using a self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist, respectively. The intervention will involve training, supportive supervision, and coaching in a real environment. A four-day training will be given, which will be followed by supportive supervision of expert supervisors. Further, the greet, ask, listen, identify, discuss, recommend, and agree counseling model with Pender's health promotion model will be applied to enhance HEWs promotion skill. A post-test aimed at assessing the knowledge and counseling competency will be conducted and the pretest and posttest results will be compared using a t-test. Factors affecting both knowledge and counseling capacity will be assessed using binary logistic and linear regression, respectively. Similarly, a qualitative study will be used to explore promotion skills.

Discussion: Given there are problems associated with the knowledge and counseling skills of HEWs in Ethiopia, nutrition education using a well-designed and comprehensive strategy would bring a positive impact on professionals' promotion capacity thereby improving mothers/caregivers' behavior regarding child and maternal nutrition. The evidence will also enforce nutrition programmers and the Amhara regional health bureau to end maternal and child undernutrition.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Behavior Problem
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Capacity building

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 92
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Wubet Takele, MPH; Phone Number: 251988020054; Email: wubetakele380@gmail.com

Study Locations

• Ethiopia
  • Gondar, Ethiopia, 196
    • Recruiting
    • Central Gondar Zone
    • Contact: Chalie Tsehay, MPH; Phone Number: 2519049528; Email: chatadie78@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

-All health extension workers working in the study area will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not any

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Training; There will be one arm, intervention group.	Behavioral: Capacity building; Four days of training on the promotion of maternal and child nutrition will be given. The training will be based on Pender's health promotion model. Supportive supervision will be conducted.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changed the knowledge of community health workers about maternal and child nutrition	They will be expected to be knowledgeable about maternal and child nutrition. It will be measured using self-administer questionnaire.	Four weeks
Changed the community health workers counseling capacity.	The professionals counseling skill is expected to be improved through the training. This outcome will be measured using observational checklist. Participants will be expected to counsel pregnant women, children on breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and data collectors will fill out the checklist accordingly.	Four weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Gondar
• Collaborators: International Institute for Primary Health Care-Ethiopia (IIfPHC-E)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 5, 2021
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): December 31, 2021
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 9, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 30, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): August 31, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 31, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 30, 2021
• Last Verified: August 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Community health workers; Maternal and Child nutrition
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Problem Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: V/P/RCS/05/837/21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No