The roles of community nutrition scholars in changing mothers' child feeding, food preparation, and hygiene practices in southern Bangladesh

Frontiers in Public Health · 4 authors, 3 centres

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TL;DR

This qualitative study evaluated a community nutrition and hygiene education program for 5,000 mothers in Bangladesh, finding that the program led to self-reported improvements in child feeding, food preparation, and hygiene practices, supported by changes in family dynamics and male involvement.

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This qualitative study evaluated a nutrition and hygiene education program led by community nutrition scholars for mothers of young children in southern Bangladesh. Data were collected through 14 focus group discussions with 80 participants and 6 in-depth interviews. The findings indicate that the program facilitated behavior changes in child feeding, food preparation, and hygiene among women, their spouses, and family members. Many women reported increased self-confidence and independent decision-making regarding food allocation after gaining nutrition knowledge. Men played vital roles by purchasing nutritious food and supporting homestead gardens. The study highlights that women's increased bargaining power, combined with trust from spouses and mothers-in-law, was crucial for behavioral change. Limitations include the study's short-term, qualitative design, which could not measure direct child nutritional outcomes, and challenges in data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications suggest that engaging men and mothers-in-law can enhance the effectiveness of nutrition interventions.

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

nutrition

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

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100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10311016

The roles of community nutrition scholars in changing mothers' child feeding, food preparation, and hygiene practices in southern Bangladesh

Frontiers in Public Health

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ABSTRACT

Introduction This qualitative study evaluates a nutrition and hygiene education program led by trained community nutrition scholars for 5,000 mothers of small children in the Khulna and Satkhira districts in southern Bangladesh. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) understanding the processes and reasonings behind mothers' improvement in child feeding, food preparation, hygiene, and homestead garden production, (2) understanding men's roles in facilitating women's behavioral changes, and (3) assessing the degree of changes in subjective notions of self-confidence, decision-making, and recognition among mothers and nutrition scholars. Methods Data were collected through 14 focus group discussions with 80 participants and in-depth interviews with 6 women community nutrition scholars. Data was then analysed qualitatively by drawing on direct quotes from focus group discussions and interviews with detailed interpretation and account for respondents' behaviors and perceptions. Results Overall findings confirm behavior changes by women, their spouses, and other family members. Many women were able to independently decide to change food allocation and child feeding practices after gaining self-confidence through the training. Men performed vital roles, such as purchasing nutritious food in local markets, providing labor for land preparation of homestead gardens, and defending the women from the resistance to change by their mothers-in-law. Discussion While the study supports the literature that women's bargaining power in food/resource allocation is critical in child health and nutrition, the evaluation found that this process involves negotiations among family members. Engaging men and mothers-in-law in nutrition interventions have great potential to make nutrition interventions more effective.

CITATION EXPORT

Nozomi Kawarazuka, Farhana Ibrahim, Ebna Habib Md. Shofiur Rahaman et al.. The roles of community nutrition scholars in changing mothers' child feeding, food preparation, and hygiene practices in southern Bangladesh. Frontiers in Public Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1135214

AUTHORS

4 · 3 CENTRES

Nozomi Kawarazuka, Farhana Ibrahim, Ebna Habib Md. Shofiur Rahaman, Gordon Prain

1International Potato Center, The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Hanoi, Vietnam
2International Potato Center, The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Dhaka, Bangladesh
3Independent Consultant, The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Cambridge, United Kingdom