Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Background The Nutrition Embedded Evaluation Programme Impact Evaluation (NEEP-IE) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the impact of a childcare centre-based integrated nutritional and agricultural intervention on the diets, nutrition and development of young children...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Springer
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147819 |
| _version_ | 1855516969172729856 |
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| author | Gelli, Aulo Margolies, Amy Santacroce, Marco Sproule, Kathryn Theis, Sophie Roschnik, Natalie Twalibu, Aisha Chidalengwa, George Cooper, Amrik Moorhead, Tyler Gladstone, Melissa Kariger, Patricia Kutundu, Mangani |
| author_browse | Chidalengwa, George Cooper, Amrik Gelli, Aulo Gladstone, Melissa Kariger, Patricia Kutundu, Mangani Margolies, Amy Moorhead, Tyler Roschnik, Natalie Santacroce, Marco Sproule, Kathryn Theis, Sophie Twalibu, Aisha |
| author_facet | Gelli, Aulo Margolies, Amy Santacroce, Marco Sproule, Kathryn Theis, Sophie Roschnik, Natalie Twalibu, Aisha Chidalengwa, George Cooper, Amrik Moorhead, Tyler Gladstone, Melissa Kariger, Patricia Kutundu, Mangani |
| author_sort | Gelli, Aulo |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Background The Nutrition Embedded Evaluation Programme Impact Evaluation (NEEP-IE) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the impact of a childcare centre-based integrated nutritional and agricultural intervention on the diets, nutrition and development of young children in Malawi. The intervention includes activities to improve nutritious food production and training/behaviour-change communication to improve food intake, care and hygiene practices. This paper presents the rationale and study design for this randomised control trial. Methods Sixty community-based childcare centres (CBCCs) in rural communities around Zomba district, Malawi, were randomised to either (1) a control group where children were attending CBCCs supported by Save the Children’s Early Childhood Health and Development (ECD) programme, or (2) an intervention group where nutritional and agricultural support activities were provided alongside the routine provision of the Save the Children’s ECD programme. Primary outcomes at child level include dietary intake (measured through 24-h recall), whilst secondary outcomes include child development (Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT)) and nutritional status (anthropometric measurements). At household level, primary outcomes include smallholder farmer production output and crop-mix (recall of last production season). Intermediate outcomes along theorised agricultural and nutritional pathways were measured. During this trial, we will follow a mixed-methods approach and undertake child-, household-, CBCC- and market-level surveys and assessments as well as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with project stakeholders. Discussion Assessing the simultaneous impact of preschool meals on diets, nutrition, child development and agriculture is a complex undertaking. This study is the first to explicitly examine, from a food systems perspective, the impact of a preschool meals programme on dietary choices, alongside outcomes in the nutritional, child development and agricultural domains. The findings of this evaluation will provide evidence to support policymakers in the scale-up of national programmes. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace147819 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1478192025-12-08T10:29:22Z Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial Gelli, Aulo Margolies, Amy Santacroce, Marco Sproule, Kathryn Theis, Sophie Roschnik, Natalie Twalibu, Aisha Chidalengwa, George Cooper, Amrik Moorhead, Tyler Gladstone, Melissa Kariger, Patricia Kutundu, Mangani child development school feeding agriculture nutrition impact assessment Background The Nutrition Embedded Evaluation Programme Impact Evaluation (NEEP-IE) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the impact of a childcare centre-based integrated nutritional and agricultural intervention on the diets, nutrition and development of young children in Malawi. The intervention includes activities to improve nutritious food production and training/behaviour-change communication to improve food intake, care and hygiene practices. This paper presents the rationale and study design for this randomised control trial. Methods Sixty community-based childcare centres (CBCCs) in rural communities around Zomba district, Malawi, were randomised to either (1) a control group where children were attending CBCCs supported by Save the Children’s Early Childhood Health and Development (ECD) programme, or (2) an intervention group where nutritional and agricultural support activities were provided alongside the routine provision of the Save the Children’s ECD programme. Primary outcomes at child level include dietary intake (measured through 24-h recall), whilst secondary outcomes include child development (Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT)) and nutritional status (anthropometric measurements). At household level, primary outcomes include smallholder farmer production output and crop-mix (recall of last production season). Intermediate outcomes along theorised agricultural and nutritional pathways were measured. During this trial, we will follow a mixed-methods approach and undertake child-, household-, CBCC- and market-level surveys and assessments as well as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with project stakeholders. Discussion Assessing the simultaneous impact of preschool meals on diets, nutrition, child development and agriculture is a complex undertaking. This study is the first to explicitly examine, from a food systems perspective, the impact of a preschool meals programme on dietary choices, alongside outcomes in the nutritional, child development and agricultural domains. The findings of this evaluation will provide evidence to support policymakers in the scale-up of national programmes. 2017 2024-06-21T09:23:21Z 2024-06-21T09:23:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147819 en Springer Gelli, Aulo; Margolies, Amy; Santacroce, Marco; Sproule, Kathryn; Theis, Sophie; Roschnik, Natalie; Twalibu, Aisha; Chidalengwa, George; Cooper, Amrik; Moorhead, Tyler; Gladstone, Melissa; Kariger, Patricia; and Kutundu, Mangani. 2017. Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 18 (284): https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2003-7 |
| spellingShingle | child development school feeding agriculture nutrition impact assessment Gelli, Aulo Margolies, Amy Santacroce, Marco Sproule, Kathryn Theis, Sophie Roschnik, Natalie Twalibu, Aisha Chidalengwa, George Cooper, Amrik Moorhead, Tyler Gladstone, Melissa Kariger, Patricia Kutundu, Mangani Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title | Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full | Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title_short | Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| title_sort | improving child nutrition and development through community based childcare centres in malawi the neep ie study study protocol for a randomised controlled trial |
| topic | child development school feeding agriculture nutrition impact assessment |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147819 |
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