A Community Health Worker-Based Intervention on Anthropometric Outcomes of Children Aged 3 to 21 Months in Urban Pakistan, 2019-2021.
Am J Public Health
; 113(1): 105-114, 2023 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2162731
ABSTRACT
Objectives. To evaluate the impact of a community health worker-based "in-home growth monitoring with counseling" (IHGMC) intervention on anthropometric outcomes in Pakistan, where 38% of children younger than 5 years are stunted. Methods. We used an individual, single-blind, step-wedge randomized controlled trial and a pure control group recruited at endline. We based the analysis on an intention-to-treat estimation using the coarsened exact matching (CEM) method for sample selection among treatments and the control. We conducted the baseline in July 2019 and completed endline in September-October 2021. We recruited 1639 households (treated 1188; control 451) with children aged 3 to 21 months who were residing in an urban informal settlement area. The CEM sample used for analysis numbered 1046 (treated 636; control 410). The intervention continued for 6 months. Results. Compared with the control group, the height-for-age z-score in the IHGMC group increased by 0.58 SD (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.33, 0.83; P = .001) and the weight-for-age z-score by 0.43 SD (95% CI = 0.20, 0.67; P < .01), measured at endline. Conclusions. IHGMC substantially improved child anthropometric outcomes in disadvantaged localities, and this impact persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial Registration. AER-RCT registry (AEARCTR-0003248). (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(1)105-114. https//doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307111).
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Community Health Workers
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Public Health
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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