Impact Evaluation of the WFP-Implemented Nutrition Program in Malawi

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

556 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-01-31

Study Completion Date

2017-05-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The goal of this evaluation is to assess the impact of a 3.5 year, World Food Program (WFP) supplemental child feeding and nutrition services program in reducing stunting and improving linear growth in children from 6 through 24 months of age in a rural district of Malawi.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

An Intervention for Primary Caregivers to Improve Outcomes in Children With Severe Malnutrition

NCT03072433

Child Malnutrition

COMPLETED NA

Nutrition Education Package for Infants and Young Child Feeding and Health in Rural Tanzania

NCT02249754

Growth Retardation Malnutrition

UNKNOWN NA

School-based Health Programs on Children's Wellbeing in Lusaka, Zambia

NCT03607084

Acute Disease Morbidity

COMPLETED NA

Effectiveness of SNF, Cash and BCC to Prevent Stunting Among Children 6-24 Months in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

NCT03299218

Stunting

COMPLETED NA

The Impact of Family Financial Support on Child Health

NCT02770144

Child Overall Health Related Quality of Life

COMPLETED NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

The prevalence of child stunting is high (\~47%) in Malawi. In response, the Government of Malawi, with technical support from WFP, launched a 3.5 year of comprehensive nutrition program that provides a small quantity of Lipid-based Nutrient Supplement (LNS) and a comprehensive infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and water and sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) social and behavior change communications (SBCC) package.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the comprehensive nutrition program in reducing stunting and improving linear growth in children from 6 through 24 months of age and improving infant and young child feeding knowledge and practices in rural Malawi. The study design is quasi-experimental with one program district and one comparison district. The program impact will be evaluated using three rounds of cross-sectional panel data at baseline (January-March, 2014), midline (January-March, 2015), and endline (January-March, 2017). Required sample size for cross-sectional panel is (n = 2400; 1200 per district at each time point) and for pregnant and lactating Women (n = 1200; 600 per district at each time point).

The study also includes the following components:

* Longitudinal study: Two longitudinal cohorts of children (derived from children aged 6-7 months assessed at baseline and mid-line) are followed every 6 months through 24 months of age. Sample size will be \~132; 66 per district in each cohort. As children in the main study, this group will be assessed for their anthropometry.
* Qualitative study: this qualitative study aims to better understand facilitators and barriers to program participation, and factors that influence behavior change among target households. In-depth interviews (IDI) with mothers (n=34) and household members (n=15), and focus group discussions (FGD) with community leaders (n=1 of 11 village chiefs) and program staff (n=1 with 12 community leaders of actions on nutrition (CLAN) and n=2 with a total of 21 care group volunteers \[CGV\]) will elucidate their perceptions of the program, the Nutributter (NB), and the SBCC messages.
* Process evaluation: The process evaluation will focus on describing and testing the program's implementation theory by evaluating and documenting program inputs, implementation processes and delivery, and outputs. The process evaluation will begin with a broad collection and review of available program documents and data, which are used for the development of the implementation and program theories. To the extent possible, this study will use existing coverage and utilization data from the program's monitoring systems, and will collect additional data needed to fully diagram and understand program implementation activities, procedures, and fidelity to program design. As a final step, the results of the process evaluation will be used to illustrate the program implementation activities that may be expected to contribute to program impacts.
* Cost effectiveness study: In addition to calculating the cost per child covered by the nutrition program in Ntchisi, Malawi, the investigators will use an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) approach to report on cost per case of stunting averted and cost per 0.1 unit change in mean length-for-age z-score (LAZ).

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Undernutrition

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Observational Model Type

OTHER

Study Time Perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Comparison district

Existing routine community health services by government

No interventions assigned to this group

Program district

In addition to existing routine community health services by the government, daily 20g Nutributter (Lipid-based Nutrient Supplement, LNS) will be provided to children 6 to 24 month of age and caregivers will participate in Social and Behavior Change Communications (SBCC) activities including the promotion of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) behaviors and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) behaviors will be conducted with caregivers.

Nutributter

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Daily 20g Nutributter provided to children 6 to 24 month of age

Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) activity focused on improving infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors through community groups.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Nutributter

Daily 20g Nutributter provided to children 6 to 24 month of age

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC)

Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) activity focused on improving infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors through community groups.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Lipid-based nutrient supplement

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Children who live in villages sampled for the cross-sectional survey
* Children between 6.0 and 23.9 months of age
* Pregnant and lactating women who live in villages sampled for the cross-sectional survey
* Pregnant or lactating women with a child between the age of 0 to 5.9 months