The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya

Background Persistent prevalence of high malnutrition in poor households in developing countries calls for enhancement of cost-effective nutritioninterventions among the vulnerable groups. One responsive way is to promote regular consumption of home-grown biofortified foods, particularlyin the micro...

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Autores principales: Ojwang, S.O., Otieno, David Jakinda, Okello, J.J., Nyikal, R.A., Muoki, Penina Ngusye
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114869
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author Ojwang, S.O.
Otieno, David Jakinda
Okello, J.J.
Nyikal, R.A.
Muoki, Penina Ngusye
author_browse Muoki, Penina Ngusye
Nyikal, R.A.
Ojwang, S.O.
Okello, J.J.
Otieno, David Jakinda
author_facet Ojwang, S.O.
Otieno, David Jakinda
Okello, J.J.
Nyikal, R.A.
Muoki, Penina Ngusye
author_sort Ojwang, S.O.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Background Persistent prevalence of high malnutrition in poor households in developing countries calls for enhancement of cost-effective nutritioninterventions among the vulnerable groups. One responsive way is to promote regular consumption of home-grown biofortified foods, particularlyin the micronutrient-deficient groups. Previous nutrition interventions have targeted adults with behavior change education, but have rarelyexplored the potential of nutrition education of preschoolers as change agents. ObjectivesThis study sought to assess the effect of nutrition education targeting preschool children and their caregivers on their consumption ofvitamin A–biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in rural farm households in Homa Bay County, Kenya. Methods A total of 431 preschooler-caregiver pairs from 15 village-level clusters were recruited into a randomized controlled trial. The sample wasrandomized into 1 control (3 villages) and 3 treatment groups (4 villages each). Treatments involved channeling nutrition education to preschoolersthrough their learning materials (preschooler treatment); the caregivers through their mobile phones (caregiver treatment); and to bothpreschoolers and their caregivers simultaneously (integrated treatment). Baseline and follow-up household-level surveys were conducted with thecaregivers, and consumption data were collected from the preschoolers using a child dietary diversity register. Class teachers sought 24-hconsumption recalls of the preschoolers for 19 consecutive schooldays. Results The results of a zero-inflated Poisson regression showed that the phone-mediated and multichanneled nutrition education approachessignificantly increased the number of days of OFSP consumption. The integrated nutrition education approach significantly increased thepreschoolers’ likelihood to consume OFSP, number of OFSP consumption days, and likelihood to consume it more than once per week by 11%,77%, and 20%, respectively. Conclusions Nutrition education through OFSP-branded preschoolers’ learning materials and phone-mediated messages provides effectivenudges to the caregivers to feed their preschoolers regularly with OFSP. This could have implications for realizing sustainable nutrition programsinbiofortified crop-growing areas.
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spelling CGSpace1148692025-03-31T18:26:18Z The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya Ojwang, S.O. Otieno, David Jakinda Okello, J.J. Nyikal, R.A. Muoki, Penina Ngusye nutrition nutrition education vitamin a deficiency kenya Background Persistent prevalence of high malnutrition in poor households in developing countries calls for enhancement of cost-effective nutritioninterventions among the vulnerable groups. One responsive way is to promote regular consumption of home-grown biofortified foods, particularlyin the micronutrient-deficient groups. Previous nutrition interventions have targeted adults with behavior change education, but have rarelyexplored the potential of nutrition education of preschoolers as change agents. ObjectivesThis study sought to assess the effect of nutrition education targeting preschool children and their caregivers on their consumption ofvitamin A–biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in rural farm households in Homa Bay County, Kenya. Methods A total of 431 preschooler-caregiver pairs from 15 village-level clusters were recruited into a randomized controlled trial. The sample wasrandomized into 1 control (3 villages) and 3 treatment groups (4 villages each). Treatments involved channeling nutrition education to preschoolersthrough their learning materials (preschooler treatment); the caregivers through their mobile phones (caregiver treatment); and to bothpreschoolers and their caregivers simultaneously (integrated treatment). Baseline and follow-up household-level surveys were conducted with thecaregivers, and consumption data were collected from the preschoolers using a child dietary diversity register. Class teachers sought 24-hconsumption recalls of the preschoolers for 19 consecutive schooldays. Results The results of a zero-inflated Poisson regression showed that the phone-mediated and multichanneled nutrition education approachessignificantly increased the number of days of OFSP consumption. The integrated nutrition education approach significantly increased thepreschoolers’ likelihood to consume OFSP, number of OFSP consumption days, and likelihood to consume it more than once per week by 11%,77%, and 20%, respectively. Conclusions Nutrition education through OFSP-branded preschoolers’ learning materials and phone-mediated messages provides effectivenudges to the caregivers to feed their preschoolers regularly with OFSP. This could have implications for realizing sustainable nutrition programsinbiofortified crop-growing areas. 2021-07-12 2021-09-05T05:06:06Z 2021-09-05T05:06:06Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114869 en Open Access Elsevier Ojwang, S. O., Otieno, D. J., Okello, J. J., Nyikal, R. A., & Muoki, P. (2021). The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya. Current Developments in Nutrition. ISSN: 2475-2991. 11 p.
spellingShingle nutrition
nutrition education
vitamin a deficiency
kenya
Ojwang, S.O.
Otieno, David Jakinda
Okello, J.J.
Nyikal, R.A.
Muoki, Penina Ngusye
The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title_full The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title_fullStr The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title_short The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya
title_sort role of targeted nutrition education of preschoolers and caregivers on sustained consumption of biofortified orange fleshed sweetpotato in kenya
topic nutrition
nutrition education
vitamin a deficiency
kenya
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114869
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