Impact Evaluation of a Social Franchise Model for Improving Infant and Young Child Feeding and Child Nutrition in Vietnam

Conditions

Child Nutrition, Complementary Feeding, Exclusive Breastfeeding, Stunting

Keywords

Child nutrition, Stunting, Exclusive breastfeeding, Complementary feeding, Social franchise, Mass media, Counseling, Facility-based

Brief summary

Alive & Thrive is an initiative that aims to improve infant and young child feeding practices and reduce childhood stunting. In Vietnam, Alive & Thrive's primary intervention is implemented through a social franchise linked with the government's health system. The impact evaluation is conducted using a cluster-randomized design in which 20 commune health centers (CHC) were assigned to the social franchise model, and 20 CHC were assigned to routine government services. Repeated cross-sectional baseline and endline surveys will be used to assess the public health impact of this intervention. The baseline was in 2010 and an endline survey in the same communities will be conducted in 2014. Mixed methods process evaluation will be conducted in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to study the pathways through which the program impact is achieved.

Detailed description

Link provided to journal manuscript describing design of evaluation provides additional detail: http://fnb.sagepub.com/content/34/3\_suppl2/S195.full.pdf

Kim SS, Nguyen PH, Tran LM, Alayon S, Menon P, Frongillo EA.

2019-12-0932 citations

10.1093/cdn/nzz140

Intervention Design Elements Are Associated with Frontline Health Workers' Performance to Deliver Infant and Young Child Nutrition Services in Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Nguyen PH, Kim SS, Tran LM, Menon P, Frongillo EA.

2019-07-108 citations

10.1093/cdn/nzz070

Social Franchising and a Nationwide Mass Media Campaign Increased the Prevalence of Adequate Complementary Feeding in Vietnam: A Cluster-Randomized Program Evaluation.

Rawat R, Nguyen PH, Tran LM, Hajeebhoy N, Nguyen HV, Baker J, Frongillo EA, Ruel MT, Menon P.

2017-02-0837 citations

10.3945/jn.116.243907

Impacts on Breastfeeding Practices of At-Scale Strategies That Combine Intensive Interpersonal Counseling, Mass Media, and Community Mobilization: Results of Cluster-Randomized Program Evaluations in Bangladesh and Viet Nam

Purnima Menon, Phuong Hong Nguyen, Kuntal Kumar Saha, Khaled Adiba, Andrew Kennedy et al. (15 authors)

PLoS Medicine2016-10-25135 citations

10.1371/journal.pmed.1002159

Interventions

BEHAVIORALStandard government health services

This intervention will be basic preventive and curative health services provided by the commune health centers. This includes antenatal care, postnatal care and basic nutrition related counseling.

BEHAVIORALAlive & Thrive IYCF franchise services

This intervention includes intensive behavioral counseling to improve infant and young child feeding. A package of 15 counseling contacts that are quality assured and branded will be offered to families of infants and young children. Services might also include user fees.

BEHAVIORALMass media campaign

Alive & Thrive is implementing a nationwide mass media campaign in 2011, 2012 and 2013, with a focus on improving breastfeeding practices. The mass media intervention includes TV and radio spots as well as an internet site and a telephone hotline.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

No minimum to 60 Months

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Children 0-60 months of age

Exclusion criteria

* None

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Exclusive breastfeeding among children 0-6 months of age	4 years	Exclusive breastfeeding in children 0-6 months of age is one of the eight WHO-recommended IYCF core indicators will be measured to capture breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. It is measured using survey based recall by interviewing mothers of children in the age group for the indicator.
Child heights and weights (children 24-60 months of age)	4 years	Heights and weights of children in the intervention and comparison communes covered by the CHCs in the study will be assessed in 2014. A new sample of children 24-60 months will be measured in the repeated cross-sectional endline survey to measure these outcomes and compute height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores based on the WHO growth reference standards.
Complementary feeding for children 6-23.9 months of age	4 years	Indicators of complementary feeding - diet diversity, minimum acceptable diet, and minimum meal frequency, measured in children 6-23.9 months of age are one of the eight WHO-recommended IYCF core indicators will be measured to capture breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. These are measured using survey based recall by interviewing mothers of children in the age group for the indicator.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Early initiation of breastfeeding in children 0-24 months of age	4 years	Early initiation of breastfeeding (in the first hour after birth) is measured in children 0-23.9 months of age and it is one of the eight WHO-recommended IYCF core indicators will be measured to capture breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. These are measured using survey based recall by interviewing mothers of children in the age group for the indicator. Samples for children 0-6 months and 6-23.9 are combined to calculate this indicator

Countries

Vietnam

Outcome results

None listed