Clinical trial NCT04579328: Impact of Life-size Growth Charts on Understanding of Stunting
Official title: Budikadidi: Making Stunting Visible Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stunting
Keywords: stunting
height-for-age
behavior change
malnutrition
Lead sponsor: Tufts University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Catholic Relief Services
name: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
First posted: 2020-10-08
Enrollment: 1019
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participants are assigned to intervention and control groups. At the end of a 3-month intervention, differences in comprehension of messages on stunting will be measured. Additionally, focus groups in the general community will collect information on perceptions of the messages and growth mats.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Randomized control trial testing whether exposure to a wall hanging (growth mat) enabling parents to physically compare their children's height against the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for height-for-age in combination with normal messaging on stunting increases parents' understanding and retention of those messages. Both intervention and control groups will receive messages about stunting over a 3-month period, but the intervention group will also be exposed to the growth mats during the 3-month intervention period. Parents in both groups will be tested post intervention on the messages about stunting and scores will be compared.

Detailed description: This study is embedded within a development program implemented by a consortium led by Catholic Relief Services. The program aims to improve child nutrition, in part, through behavior change messaging. Parents have difficulty understanding that stunting is a problem because the high prevalence (57%) means the entire population curve has shifted to the left - a stunted child appears normal when compared to others in the community.

Through previous work, we have designed a wall-hanging like a life-size, color coded growth chart. Using 2 stage sampling, with parents clustered in neighbor groups, neighbor groups have been randomly assigned to intervention or control. Both groups will receive standard lessons on stunting while only the intervention group will have the growth mats incorporated into the lessons. After 3 months of exposure to the lessons, parents will be tested on their understanding of the key lesson points. Scores between groups will be tested for statistical differences. Qualitative focus groups throughout the intervention period will collect information on perception of the message delivery and the utility of the growth mats.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* membership and regular participation in the selected neighbor groups

Exclusion Criteria:

* extended absence from the village during the intervention period

Primary outcomes:
measure: Understanding of key messages on stunting
timeFrame: after 3 months of exposure to the lessons
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Willingness to change behavior
timeFrame: after 3 months of exposure to the lessons
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: Tufts University
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Tufts University
name: Merry Fitzpatrick, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: