Abstract
Background: A woman’s nutrition and health at conception and during her pregnancy is crucial factors in defining both her own and her unborn child’s health and well-being at this crucial time in her life. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate the effect of Behavior Change and Communication (BCC) through the women development Army on optimal nutrition and health practices of pregnant women. Methods: From April 1, 2018 to October 30, 2019, a cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Ambo district of Ethiopia. Three hundred eighty-five women in the 24 intervention clusters and 385 women in the 24 control clusters were recruited at the start of the study. In the intervention group, health development armies delivered the BCC’s main messages for three months, from July 2018 to September 2018, and end point data were collected from pregnant women (n = 744, 372 in the intervention group, and 372 in the control group) in October 2018. The control group received the standard care provided by the healthcare system during an ANC visit. The researchers used a binary generalized linear model analysis. A p value of <0.05 is used to indicate statistical significance. Statistical analyses were conducted on a per protocol basis. Result: The overall optimal nutrition and health practice were higher in the intervention group than in the control group (62.6% vs. 38.7%, P<0.001). The control group had a larger absolute risk of suboptimal nutrition and health practice (0.613 vs. 0.374, p<0.001) than the intervention group. Pregnant women in the intervention group had an absolute risk difference of 23.9% for suboptimal nutrition and health. Pregnant women who received intervention were 30.9% less likely to have suboptimal nutrition and health practice compared to pregnant women who were in the control group (ARR=0.691, 95% CI: 0.594-0.804). Conclusions: Behavior change communication (BCC) through the women’s development army is effective in improving optimal nutrition and health practices of pregnant women. Therefore, to improve the optimal nutrition and health practices of pregnant women, BCC through the health development army is recommended.
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