Chama Cha MamaToto: a Pilot Study of Peer Support Groups in Kenya

Increasing Pregnancy Health Services Uptake Through Integrated Peer Support Groups in Kenya: A Prospective Cohort Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03188250

Enrollment

515

Registered

2017-06-15

Start date

2012-09-30

Completion date

2016-06-30

Last updated

2017-06-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Group, Peer, Pregnancy Related

Brief summary

Preventing maternal and newborn deaths remain high on the global agenda. To address this, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), in partnership with the Government of Kenya, launched Chama cha MamaToto, a community-led peer-support model that groups women together in pregnancy and infancy. Central to the chama approach is the integration of health, social and financial literacy education with a savings/loans program.

Detailed description

To evaluate the feasibility of chamas, we analysed group attendance rates, GISE participation, membership retention, and continuation of the groups beyond the one year. To evaluate the effect of chamas, the investigators compared data from a prospective cohort of women in chamas with a group of controls who did not belong to a chama, matched for age, parity, and location of prenatal care. To evaluate the acceptability of chamas, FGDs were carried out with chama and non-chama participants, health providers and community health workers.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALChama cha Mamtoto

Chama cha Mamatoto is a community-based model of peer support group in pregnancy and infancy that combines health education, relationship building and a savings and loans program, led by community health workers

Study design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

15 Years to 70 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Pregnant women in communities where chamas were taking place * Any woman attending chama

Exclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Facility delivery	22 months	Proportion of women giving birth in a health facility based on questionnaire

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
4 ANC visits	22 months	attendance at 4 or more ANC visits in pregnancy based on questionnaire
CHV homevisit	22 months	CHW homevisit within 48 hours of birth based on questionnaire
Exclusive breastfeeding	22 months	Initiation of solids to the infant after 6 months based on questionnaire

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 27, 2026