An Integrated Approach to Harmonize Nutrition Knowledge across Sectors in the Upper Manya Krobo District of Ghana

Abstract

Determinants of nutrition are addressed by multiple service delivery platforms, including government sectors such as agriculture, education, finance, and health, in addition to community members and volunteers. Consistent messages must be integrated across these platforms to make education efforts more effective, particularly among vulnerable communities. As part of the Building Capacity for Sustainable Livelihoods and Health in Ghana (Nutrition Links) project, a needs assessment was conducted to identify knowledge gaps among service providers in the Upper Manya Krobo District. An integrated, multi‐level approach was subsequently developed to address these needs: (i) training workshops (e.g., Community‐Based Growth Promotion, Mother‐to‐Mother Support Group) for health sector staff and community volunteers; (ii) workshops to harmonize nutrition promotion messages (e.g., Essential Nutrition Actions) for non‐health sector (agriculture and finance institutions) staff; and (iii) Lots Quality Assurance Sampling and data analysis workshops for staff from all government sectors (health, agriculture, education, social development, environmental health, and governance) and finance institutions. These training sessions allowed participants to interact with multiple sectors and use local data to examine specific district‐wide nutrition concerns. Each session had on average 26 people in attendance and ranged from 4 to 7 days in duration. A questionnaire was administered before and after each training session and the results were compared to determine if participant knowledge had improved. All pre‐ and post‐training comparisons demonstrated an increase in participants' knowledge (p<0.0001). Training sessions with the greatest improvement included Mother‐to‐Mother Support Group for community members (mean increase = 70 ± 11 %), Essential Nutrition Actions for staff from the agriculture sector and finance institutions (mean increase = 60 ± 15 %), and Lots Quality Assurance Sampling (mean increase = 50 ± 14 %). Integrated, multi‐sector training sessions can be useful in harmonizing nutrition knowledge and may provide opportunities for improving communication and coordination of services across sectors.Support or Funding InformationGlobal Affairs Canada, McGill University, World Vision