Abstract
BackgroundNutrition-sensitive interventions such as homestead production of diverse, nutrient-rich foods, coupled with behavior change communication, may have positive effects on the nutritional status and health of rural households engaged in agriculture, particularly among women and young children. Engagement of agriculture and health extension workers in these communities may be an effective way of delivering nutrition-sensitive interventions given the dearth of trained health care providers in many developing countries. This study aims to assess the effects of integrated homestead food production, food consumption and women’s empowerment interventions using a multi-sectoral approach on women’s and child’s health and nutrition.MethodsThis is a cluster-randomized community-based prospective study set in Rufiji district, a rural area in Eastern Tanzania. Ten randomly selected villages within the Rufiji Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS) in Eastern-Tanzania were paired and randomly assigned to the intervention or control arm. The Rufiji HDSS dataset was used to randomly sample households with women of reproductive age and children 6–36 months. The intervention includes provision of small agricultural inputs, garden training support, and nutrition and health counseling. This is delivered by community health workers and agriculture extension workers through home visits and farmer field schools. There are three time points for data collection: baseline, midline, and endline. Primary outcomes are women’s and children’s dietary diversity, maternal and child anemia status and growth (child stunting, child wasting, women’s BMI, and women and child hemoglobin).DiscussionThis integrated agriculture and nutrition intervention among rural farming households is a simple and innovative solution that may contribute to the reduction of undernutrition and disease burden among women and children in developing countries. Engaging already existing workforce in the community may facilitate sustainability of the intervention package.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03311698, Retrospectively registered on October 17, 2017.
Highlights
Nutrition-sensitive interventions such as homestead production of diverse, nutrient-rich foods, coupled with behavior change communication, may have positive effects on the nutritional status and health of rural households engaged in agriculture, among women and young children
This study evaluates the effects of integrated nutrition-sensitive interventions on the health and nutrition of children and women in rural Tanzania while exploring the incorporation of existing cadres of agricultural extension workers together with community health workers as a sustainable workforce for providing basic health and nutrition education in rural communities
Multi-sectoral cadres of extension workers may be effective in addressing malnutrition among rural women and children in Tanzania
Summary
Nutrition-sensitive interventions such as homestead production of diverse, nutrient-rich foods, coupled with behavior change communication, may have positive effects on the nutritional status and health of rural households engaged in agriculture, among women and young children. Maternal and child undernutrition remains one of the most challenging health problems in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) [1]. Together they account for more than 10% of the global burden of disease. It is vital to consider holistic interventions to address maternal and child undernutrition in LMICs for effective and maximum impact in health and economic development
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
