Effective delivery of social and behavior change communication through a Care Group model in a supplementary feeding program
Lauren Wilner, Devika J Suri, Breanne K Langlois, Shelley Marcus Walton, Beatrice Lorge Rogers, Lauren Wilner, Devika J Suri, Breanne K Langlois, Shelley Marcus Walton, Beatrice Lorge Rogers
Abstract
Background: In 2014, an intervention aimed at increasing the oil in corn soy blend (CSB) porridge prepared by caregivers of children with moderate acute malnutrition was implemented in Southern Malawi. This analysis describes the flow of key messages delivered through the Care Group model during this intervention.
Methods: The intervention provided a supplementary food ration of CSB and oil and used a Care Group model in which healthcare workers were trained to deliver social and behavior change communication (SBCC) to care group volunteers who then delivered messages to caregivers of beneficiary children. Healthcare workers also delivered messages to caregivers directly. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with all three groups in order to determine the exchange of key messages about ingredient use, storage, and purpose, which were analyzed descriptively.
Results: Analysis of SBCC flow and information exchange showed that 100% of caregivers reported learning about the amounts of oil and CSB to use while preparing porridge and over 90% of caregivers, healthcare workers, and care group volunteers reported talking about it. Focus groups confirmed an effective flow of communication among these three groups.
Conclusion: This analysis evaluated the flow of key SBCC messages through multiple, overlapping lines of communication among healthcare workers, care group volunteers, and caregivers; the effective transmission of these SBCC messages through this model may contribute to the success of a supplementary feeding intervention program.
Trial registration: The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01873196 ).
Keywords: Corn soy blend; Food aid; Moderate acute malnutrition; Social and behavior change communication; Supplementary feeding.
Conflict of interest statement
Ethics approval and consent to participateConsent was obtained from all study participants prior to their participation. The study protocol was approved by the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board at Tufts University in Boston, MA, and by the National Health Sciences Research Committee of the Malawi Ministry of Health in Lilongwe, Malawi [4].
Consent for publicationNot applicable; no personally identifiable information was reported.
Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher’s NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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Source: PubMed