Abstract
In some societies, studies involving blood draws, oral vaccinations, or supplementation are surrounded by myths and disbeliefs. If not clarified, they may affect study implementation and negatively impact the outcome of well-intended studies from inadequate participation. Through participatory action research, this paper suggests how future trials could be enhanced with reference to community mobilization, drawing from the experience of two interventions in Zambian children with nutritionally enhanced, biofortified orange maize conducted by the National Food and Nutrition Commission and Tropical Diseases Research Center (Zambia), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). The preparatory phase included site visits, signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, equipment inventory, hiring staff, and community meetings. Prior results were shared before the second intervention. After Institutional Review Boards' approval of procedures, written informed consent was obtained from caregivers. There was overwhelming community participation attributed to the demystification that the project was run by satanists prior to and during the study. Participation led to excellent compliance with 92.8 and 96.4% of subjects completing the final blood draw in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The results of the trials were successfully shared with the district officials and communities from where the study participants were drawn. The positive response by partners and communities, including information sharing, suggests that community mobilization, with the use of varied methods, is effective for full participation of the target groups in feeding trials and would be the case in similar trials if effectively carried out. Community participation in research studies may result in long-term adoption of biofortified foods.
Highlights
Research involving blood draws, oral vaccinations, supplementation, or a new food product is often surrounded by myths and disbeliefs, especially in rural communities
Two community-based research studies were undertaken over the course of four years with the primary objective of measuring vitamin A efficacy of orange maize, a biofortified staple crop with enhanced levels of provitamin A carotenoids, as a food intervention [2,3,4,5]
This is especially true because food sources containing readily available vitamin A, such as eggs and liver, are not always accessible or are too expensive for low-income groups [12], similar to the community in which these trials were undertaken in Zambia
Summary
Oral vaccinations, supplementation, or a new food product is often surrounded by myths and disbeliefs, especially in rural communities. Considering the widespread consumption of staple crops by rural-based populations who are at risk for micronutrient deficiencies, biofortification is a promising option to effectively and sustainably address the problem of micronutrient malnutrition [9,10,11]. This is especially true because food sources containing readily available vitamin A, such as eggs and liver, are not always accessible or are too expensive for low-income groups [12], similar to the community in which these trials were undertaken in Zambia. Agricultural interventions to improve nutrition are gaining momentum [13], and describing successes and failures can assist other researchers
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