Assessing Health System Readiness for Scaling Antenatal MMS in Cambodia (TIPS-Cambodia)

Assessing Health System Readiness for Scaling Antenatal MMS in Cambodia: A Mixed-Methods Assessment

Malnutrition among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can cause micronutrient deficiencies that result in adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes. The World Health Organization has recently recommended antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) that includes iron and folic acid (IFA) to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. MMS likely provides additional antenatal benefits over IFA supplementation alone. The Cambodian government, in partnership with Helen Keller International, is piloting MMS implementation in Takeo Province, which will inform nationwide scale-up of MMS.

Study Purpose: The Takeo implementation must be evaluated to understand context-specific implementation of MMS and health system readiness for scale-up. This study assesses system readiness through four domains from the Intervention Scalability Assessment Tool (ISAT): (1) fidelity and adaptation, (2) reach and acceptability, (3) delivery setting and workforce capacity, and (4) implementation infrastructure.

Population: The pilot involves transitioning to MMS from IFA across all 86 health centers, all 6 referral hospitals, and the provincial hospital in Takeo province. This study includes pregnant women receiving antenatal care, antenatal healthcare providers and facilities, and hospital managers in Takeo. The study also includes national governing bodies for MMS delivery.

Methods: This mixed-methods study uses ISAT as a framework for developing data collection methods. Sampling strategies emphasize urban and rural representation across all operational districts in Takeo and diverse stakeholder perspectives at multiple levels of the health system. Data collection includes:

• 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) with health center providers to assess provider adherence to MMS delivery guidelines, perspectives on the transition to MMS, and additional resources needed for MMS delivery
• Workload assessment surveys at FGDs to quantify any burden on providers and resource gaps to deliver MMS
• MMS stockout monitoring at 18 health centers and 7 hospitals to assess supply chain reliability
• 15 key informant interviews with hospital managers to assess perspectives on the integration of MMS into antenatal services and facility readiness for MMS delivery
• Phone surveys with 630 pregnant women to assess acceptability and adherence to MMS at 90- and 180-days after MMS distribution
• One FGD with national-level stakeholders to assess national-level readiness, economic planning, and resource planning for sustainable MMS implementation and scale-up
• Rapid economic evaluation to estimate the cost of nationwide scale-up Potential Impact: This study will generate insights into real-world implementation of MMS in Cambodia. It will identify context-specific adaptations, implementation gaps, and resource planning frameworks needed for nationwide scale-up of MMS. Successful scale-up is anticipated to improve maternal and neonatal health in Cambodia. Findings can also be used to guide other LMICs seeking to transition to and sustainably implement MMS.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Anemia; Pregnancy; Adherence; Micronutrients; Supplement; Health Systems; Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Multiple micronutrient supplement (MMS) for pregnancy

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 710

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Meng Sokchea Program Manager, Helen Keller International, MD; Phone Number: +855 023 213 217; Email: MSokchea@hki.org
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Vannary Hun, MPH; Phone Number: +855 12 612 912; Email: vhun@hki.org

Study Locations

• Cambodia
  • Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    • Recruiting
    • Takeo province
    • Contact: Meng Sokchea Program Manager, Helen Keller International, MD; Phone Number: +855 023 213 217; Email: MSokchea@hki.org

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A total of 630 individuals will be enrolled in the pregnancy cohort regardless of gestational age to evaluate acceptability and adherence patterns across different pregnancy stages and reflect the real-world setting.

Description

For the cohort of pregnant individuals consuming MMS:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current pregnant
• At least 18 years of age
• Have attended at least one ANC visit at a health center or hospital in Takeo during the study period
• Can provide a functioning phone number for follow-up contact
• Willingness to participate and provide consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with diagnosed anemia who require iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation instead of MMS
• Individuals unable to communicate via telephone,;(3) individuals who withdraw consent at any point

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Focus group discussions (FGD) with health centre providers; 15 FGD (5 individuals each)
Key informant interviews with hospital managers; 17 hospital managers
Surveys with pregnant individuals who are consuming MMS; 630 pregnant individuals consuming MMS	Dietary supplement: Multiple micronutrient supplement (MMS) for pregnancy; Standard of care MMS during pregnancy (180 tablets total)
Focus group discussion (FGD) with national-level stakeholders in Cambodia; 1 FGD with 5 national-level stakeholders in Cambodia

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perspectives on the transition to MMS	12 FGD with health care providers	4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Additional resources needed for successful MMS delivery	12 FGD with health care providers	4 months
Provider adherence to MMS delivery guidelines	12 FGD with health care providers	4 months
Adherence of pregnant individuals to MMS supplementation	Adherence, %, of the total 180 tablets prescribed	6 months
Perspectives on the integration of MMS into antenatal services and facility readiness for MMS delivery	FGD with hospital managers (key informant interviews)	4 months
National-level readiness, economic planning, and resource planning for sustainable MMS implementation and scale-up	FGD with national-level stakeholders	4 months
Quantification of any burden on providers and resource gaps to deliver MMS	Workload assessment surveys among the 15 FGD with health center providers	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Crystal Karakochuk, PhD, University of British Columbia; Study Director: Hou Kroeun, MPH, Helen Keller International; Study Director: Mai Hoang, MPH, Helen Keller International

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: nutrition; anemia; dietary supplement; supplement; Cambodia; policy; micronutrient
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Hematologic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Anemia
• Other Study ID Numbers: TIPSCambodia2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

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