Behaviour change interventions improve maternal and child nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Behaviour change interventions improve maternal and child nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Evidence that nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions can improve maternal and child nutrition status in sub-Saharan Africa is inconclusive. Using behaviour change theory and techniques in intervention design may increase effectiveness and make outcomes more predictable. This systematic review aimed to determine whether interventions that included behaviour change functions were effective. Six databases were searched systematically, using MeSH and free-text terms, for articles describing nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive behaviour change interventions published in English until January 2022. Titles, abstracts and full-text papers were double-screened. Data extraction and quality assessments followed Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. Behaviour change functions of interventions were mapped onto the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel. PROSPERO registered (135054). The search yielded 1193 articles: 79 articles met inclusion criteria, ranging from low (n = 30) to high (n = 11) risk of bias. Many that applied behaviour change theory, communication or counselling resulted in significant improvements in infant stunting and wasting, household dietary intake and maternal psychosocial measures. Interventions with >2 behaviour change functions (including persuasion, incentivisation, environmental restructuring) were the most effective. We recommend incorporating behaviour change functions in nutrition interventions to improve maternal and child outcomes, specifically drawing on the Behaviour Change Wheel, COM-B model (SORT B recommendation). To enhance the designs of these interventions, and ultimately improve the nutritional and psychosocial outcomes for mothers and infants in sub-Saharan Africa, collaborations are recommended between behaviour change and nutrition experts, intervention designers, policy makers and commissioners to fund and roll-out multicomponent behaviour change interventions.
e0000401
Watson, Daniella
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Mushamiri, Patience
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Beeri, Paula
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Rouamba, Toussaint
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Jenner, Sarah
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Proebstl, Simone
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Kehoe, Sarah H
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Ward, Kate A
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Barker, Mary
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Lawrence, Wendy
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30 March 2023
Watson, Daniella
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Mushamiri, Patience
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Beeri, Paula
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Rouamba, Toussaint
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Jenner, Sarah
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Proebstl, Simone
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Kehoe, Sarah H
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Ward, Kate A
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Barker, Mary
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Lawrence, Wendy
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Watson, Daniella, Mushamiri, Patience, Beeri, Paula, Jenner, Sarah, Proebstl, Simone, Kehoe, Sarah H, Ward, Kate A, Barker, Mary and Lawrence, Wendy
,
INPreP study group
(2023)
Behaviour change interventions improve maternal and child nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.
PLOS Global Public Health, 3 (3), .
(doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0000401).
Abstract
Evidence that nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions can improve maternal and child nutrition status in sub-Saharan Africa is inconclusive. Using behaviour change theory and techniques in intervention design may increase effectiveness and make outcomes more predictable. This systematic review aimed to determine whether interventions that included behaviour change functions were effective. Six databases were searched systematically, using MeSH and free-text terms, for articles describing nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive behaviour change interventions published in English until January 2022. Titles, abstracts and full-text papers were double-screened. Data extraction and quality assessments followed Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. Behaviour change functions of interventions were mapped onto the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel. PROSPERO registered (135054). The search yielded 1193 articles: 79 articles met inclusion criteria, ranging from low (n = 30) to high (n = 11) risk of bias. Many that applied behaviour change theory, communication or counselling resulted in significant improvements in infant stunting and wasting, household dietary intake and maternal psychosocial measures. Interventions with >2 behaviour change functions (including persuasion, incentivisation, environmental restructuring) were the most effective. We recommend incorporating behaviour change functions in nutrition interventions to improve maternal and child outcomes, specifically drawing on the Behaviour Change Wheel, COM-B model (SORT B recommendation). To enhance the designs of these interventions, and ultimately improve the nutritional and psychosocial outcomes for mothers and infants in sub-Saharan Africa, collaborations are recommended between behaviour change and nutrition experts, intervention designers, policy makers and commissioners to fund and roll-out multicomponent behaviour change interventions.
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journal.pgph.0000401
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 February 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 March 2023
Published date: 30 March 2023
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Copyright: © 2023 Watson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Local EPrints ID: 476652
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/476652
ISSN: 2767-3375
PURE UUID: 8f691a57-fda0-49d2-9d8e-464826bb602b
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Date deposited: 10 May 2023 17:09
Last modified: 10 Apr 2024 02:03
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Contributors
Author:
Patience Mushamiri
Author:
Paula Beeri
Author:
Toussaint Rouamba
Author:
Sarah Jenner
Author:
Simone Proebstl
Author:
Sarah H Kehoe
Corporate Author: INPreP study group
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