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Background: To operationalize the post-MDG agenda, there is a need to evaluate the effects of health interventions on equity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect on equity in neonatal survival of the NeoKIP trial (ISRCTN44599712), a population-based, cluster-randomized intervention trial with facilitated local stakeholder groups for improved neonatal survival in Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all mothers experiencing neonatal mortality and a random sample of 6% of all mothers with a live birth in the study area during the study period (July 2008-June 2011). Multilevel regression analyses were performed, stratifying mothers according to household wealth, maternal education and mother’s ethnicity in order to assess impact on equity in neonatal survival. Findings: In the last year of study the risk of neonatal death was reduced by 69% among poor mothers in the intervention area as compared to poor mothers in the control area (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15–0.66). This pattern was not evident among mothers from non-poor households. Mothers with higher education had a 50% lower risk of neonatal mortality if living in the intervention area during the same time period (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.28–0.90), whereas no significant effect was detected among mothers with low education. Interpretation: The NeoKIP intervention promoted equity in neonatal survival based on wealth but increased inequity based on maternal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the benefits of breastfeeding are well‐documented, little is known about how best to encourage fathers to support breastfeeding. A quasi‐experimental study of a community‐based intervention was designed to examine whether health education to promote fathers' involvement in supporting women is associated with early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices. At baseline, 802 couples of fathers with pregnant wives from 12 to 27 weeks of gestational age were recruited to either the intervention group (n = 390) or a control group (n = 412) consisting of couples seeking care through routine maternal and child health services. Fathers in the intervention area received breastfeeding education and counselling services in health facilities and at home visits during the antenatal, delivery, and post‐partum periods. Peer education and social exchange concerning breastfeeding were organized in fathers' clubs. After 1 year of the intervention, mothers in the intervention group were more likely to initiate early breastfeeding 49.2 and 35.8% in the intervention and control group respectively, P < 0.001. At 1, 4, and 6 months after birth, 34.8, 18.7, and 1.9% of the mothers in the intervention group were exclusively breastfeeding their children because of birth, respectively, compared with 5.7, 4.0, and 0.0% of those in the control group (P < 0.001). Those practices were associated with the intervention in bivariate and multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses. Intervention targeting fathers at antenatal and postnatal periods may positively influence the breastfeeding practices of mothers, and it should be an important component of breastfeeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]