1. Program changes are effective and cost-effective in increasing the amount of oil used in preparing corn soy blend porridge for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in Malawi.
- Author
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Rogers, Beatrice Lorge, Wilner, Lauren B., Maganga, Gray, Walton, Shelley Marcus, Suri, Devika J., Langlois, Breanne K., Chui, Kenneth Kwan Ho, Boiteau, Jocelyn M., Vosti, Stephen A., and Webb, Patrick
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CAREGIVER education , *ENRICHED foods , *MALNUTRITION , *ANALYSIS of variance , *CHI-squared test , *CHILD nutrition , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *CORN , *COST effectiveness , *FOOD chemistry , *INFANTS , *INTERVIEWING , *LIPIDS , *RESEARCH methodology , *NUTRITIONAL requirements , *PROBABILITY theory , *REGRESSION analysis , *RESEARCH funding , *SOYBEAN , *LOGISTIC regression analysis , *COST analysis , *STATISTICAL power analysis , *EFFECT sizes (Statistics) , *CROSS-sectional method , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *ODDS ratio , *KRUSKAL-Wallis Test , *INTRACLASS correlation , *CHILDREN - Abstract
Corn Soy Blend (CSB) porridge is commonly prepared with oil for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). A recent review recommended that 30 g of oil be used with 100 g of CSB to increase energy density and micronutrient absorption. This study assessed the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of program changes aimed at achieving that target oil:CSB ratio in prepared porridge. Caregivers of children in MAM supplementary feeding programs were assigned to three groups: a control group received monthly rations of 1 L oil, 8 kg CSB in bulk, and social and behavior change communication (SBCC); intervention groups received 2.6 L oil, 8 kg CSB provided either in bulk (Group 1) or four 2-kg packages with printed messages (Group 2), and enhanced SBCC emphasizing the target oil:CSB ratio. Compared to the control, both intervention groups had higher mean added oil per 100 g CSB (18 g, p < 0.01, and 13 g, p= 0.04, higher in groups 1 and 2, respectively), and greater odds of meeting or exceeding the target ratio (28.4, p< 0.01, and 12.7, p= 0.02, in groups 1 and 2, respectively). Cost per caregiver reaching the target ratio was most favorable in Group 1 ($391 in Group 1, $527 in Group 2, and $1,666 in the control). Enhanced SBCC combined with increased oil ration resulted in increased use of oil in CSB porridge in a supplementary feeding program. Modified packaging did not improve effectiveness. However, both interventions were more cost-effective than standard programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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