Impact of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend and Nutrition Education on Turkana Children's Health Outcomes

NCT ID: NCT06866626

Last Updated: 2025-03-10

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 602 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-06-12
• Study Completion Date: 2023-08-15

Brief Summary

The goal of this study was to test the effect of an intervention that Integrated supplemental feeding program for children aged 6-59 months with a caregiver intensive nutrition education intervention on the health outcomes of Turkan children aged 6-59 months.

The purpose of this study was fivefold: (i) to assess child nutrition status, food security status, child feeding practices, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) practices, and the associated factors in Turkana County, Kenya. (ii) To assess the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions towards recommended child feeding practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months. (iii) To assess the effect of a theory-based nutrition education intervention on nutrition knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions towards recommended child feeding practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months, (iv) to evaluate the effect of a theory-based nutrition education intervention on child feeding practices and WASH practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months, (v) and to assess the effect of consuming Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend combined with nutrition education intervention on the nutritional status of Turkana children aged 6 -59 months.

In this quasi-experimental study, children in the intervention group received a daily meal of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend (6 days/week) for eight weeks and their caregivers' received sessions of nutrition education on infant and young child feeding practices and WASH practices. The participants in the control group were only given one bag of supplemental food on the days of data collection to compensate for their time

Conditions

Malnutrition, Child

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Intervention group

This arm consisted of 171 children aged 6-59 months and 145 children's caregivers. Children received a daily meal of a supplemental food (Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend) six days a week for a total of eight weeks. Additionally, their caregivers received a theory-based nutrition education intervention on complementary feeding practices and water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) practices for eight weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Theory-Based Nutrition Education Intervention to Improve Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices and WASH Practices Among Turkana Caregivers

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

This nutrition education intervention was designed following the DESIGN procedure, informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, and employed health literacy principles. The nutrition education sessions were held Monday through Saturday for a total of 8 weeks in a community building. This nutrition education intervention had 4 modules, module one covered the recommended breastfeeding practices, including early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding. The second module was on the young child feeding practices, with a focus on the quality and quantity of the child's meal. The third module entailed WASH practices such as disinfection of drinking water, harms of open defecation, and other personal and household hygiene practices. The fourth module served as a comprehensive review of all previous modules.

Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend is a dehydrated supplemental food produced from natural ingredients namely, rice, carrots, lentils and onions. This product was prepared by mixing it with water and boiling the mixture for approximately 25-35 minutes to a mid-consistency. In this study we implemented a blanket supplementary feeding program where all the recruited children in the intervention group received a meal of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend. The feeding program was on-site, and participating children aged 6-12 months received three-quarters of a cup of the supplemental food, (\~ 52 kcal/d). Children aged 13-23 months received 1 cup of the supplemental food (∼69 kcal/d), whereas children aged 24-59 months received 2 cups of the supplemental food (∼138 kcal/d). The feeding was implemented for 6 days a week (Monday through Saturday) for a total of eight weeks.

Control group

This group consistent of 147 children aged 6-59 months and 139 children's caregivers. Children in the control group were given one bag of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend on the days of data collection while their caregivers received no nutrition education intervention.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Theory-Based Nutrition Education Intervention to Improve Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices and WASH Practices Among Turkana Caregivers

This nutrition education intervention was designed following the DESIGN procedure, informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, and employed health literacy principles. The nutrition education sessions were held Monday through Saturday for a total of 8 weeks in a community building. This nutrition education intervention had 4 modules, module one covered the recommended breastfeeding practices, including early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding. The second module was on the young child feeding practices, with a focus on the quality and quantity of the child's meal. The third module entailed WASH practices such as disinfection of drinking water, harms of open defecation, and other personal and household hygiene practices. The fourth module served as a comprehensive review of all previous modules.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend

Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend is a dehydrated supplemental food produced from natural ingredients namely, rice, carrots, lentils and onions. This product was prepared by mixing it with water and boiling the mixture for approximately 25-35 minutes to a mid-consistency. In this study we implemented a blanket supplementary feeding program where all the recruited children in the intervention group received a meal of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend. The feeding program was on-site, and participating children aged 6-12 months received three-quarters of a cup of the supplemental food, (\~ 52 kcal/d). Children aged 13-23 months received 1 cup of the supplemental food (∼69 kcal/d), whereas children aged 24-59 months received 2 cups of the supplemental food (∼138 kcal/d). The feeding was implemented for 6 days a week (Monday through Saturday) for a total of eight weeks.

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Children between 6-59 months
• no known allergy reactions to rice, lentils, carrots and onions
• being a permanent resident of nayada and sopel villages
• willingness to participate in the study

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Months
• Maximum Eligible Age: 59 Months
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Breedlove Foods Inc

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Texas Tech University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Mary Murimi

Professor of Nutrition

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Community Building

Sopel Village, Turkana County, Kenya

Countries

Kenya

Other Identifiers

IRB2023-381

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id