Rasmi Avula
Biographic Data
| ID | 7179409 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rasmi Avula |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rasmi |
| FAMILY NAME | Avula |
| SIGNATURE | AVULA R |
| AFFILIATIONS | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0066-6964 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Assessing progress on the coverage of interventions in the first 1000 days in India: Role of national programs
BACKGROUND: High coverage of nutrition-specific interventions is critical to meet global nutrition targets, and it is imperative to understand how to attain it. We examined trends and inequalities in the coverage of interventions in India and the role of the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) in achieving improvements. METHODS: We conducted trends and equity analysis of 30 interventions using two rounds of National Family Health Survey data (2015-2…
Utilization of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and its linkages with undernutrition in India
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme has been the central focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan to combat maternal and child malnutrition under the national nutrition mission in India. This paper examined the linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6-59 months. The study utilized data from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4 [2015-2016] and NFHS-5 [2019-2021]). Descriptive a…
Can digitally enabling community health and nutrition workers improve services delivery to pregnant women and mothers of infants? Quasi-experimental evidence from a national-scale nutrition programme …
BACKGROUND: India's 1.4 million community health and nutrition workers (CHNWs) serve 158 million beneficiaries under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme. We assessed the impact of a data capture, decision support, and job-aid mobile app for the CHNWs on two primary outcomes-(1) timeliness of home visits and (2) appropriate counselling specific to the needs of pregnant women and mothers of children <12 months. METHODS: We us…
Using scenario‐based assessments to examine the feasibility of integrating preventive nutrition services through the primary health care system in Bangladesh
The National Nutrition Services of Bangladesh aims to deliver nutrition services through the primary health care system. Little is known about the feasibility of reshaping service delivery to close gaps in nutrition intervention coverage and utilization. We used a scenario-based feasibility testing approach to assess potential implementation improvements to strengthen service delivery. We conducted in-depth interviews with 31 service providers an…
Missed opportunities for delivering nutrition interventions in first 1000 days of life in India: Insights from the National Family Health Survey, 2006 and 2016
OBJECTIVES: Existing health and community nutrition systems have the potential to deliver many nutrition interventions. However, the coverage of nutrition interventions across the delivery platforms of these systems has not been uniform. We (1) examined the opportunity gaps between delivery platforms and corresponding nutrition interventions through the continuum of care in India between 2006 and 2016 and and (2) assessed inequalities in these op…
Using cognitive interviewing to bridge the intent‐interpretation gap for nutrition coverage survey questions in India
Designing survey questions that clearly and precisely communicate the question's intent and elicit responses based on the intended interpretation is critical but often undervalued. We used cognitive interviewing to qualitatively assess respondents' interpretation of and responses to questions pertaining to maternal and child nutrition intervention coverage. We conducted interviews to cognitively test 25 survey questions with mothers (N = 21) with…
The role of the state government, civil society and programmes across sectors in stunting reduction in Chhattisgarh, India, 2006–2016
INTRODUCTION: Childhood stunting has declined in India between 2006 and 2016, but not uniformly across all states. Little is known about what helped some states accelerate progress while others did not. Insights on subnational drivers of progress are useful not just for India but for other decentralised policy contexts. Thus, we aimed to identify the factors that contributed to declines in childhood stunting (from 52.9% to 37.6%) between 2006 and…
Maternal nutrition practices in Uttar Pradesh, India: Role of key influential demand and supply factors
Despite strong policy and program commitment, essential maternal nutrition services are not reaching enough women in many countries. This paper examined multifactorial determinants (personal, family, community, and health services) associated with maternal nutrition practices in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were from a household survey of pregnant (n = 667) and recently delivered women (n = 1,835). Multivariable regression analyses were conducted t…
It takes a village: An empirical analysis of how husbands, mothers‐in‐law, health workers, and mothers influence breastfeeding practices in Uttar Pradesh, India
Evidence on strategies to improve infant and young child feeding in India, a country that carries the world's largest burden of undernutrition, is limited. In the context of a programme evaluation in two districts in Uttar Pradesh, we sought to understand the multiple influences on breastfeeding practices and to model potential programme influence on improving breastfeeding. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,838 recently delivered wo…
Understanding the geographical burden of stunting in India: A regression‐decomposition analysis of district‐level data from 2015–16
India accounts for approximately one third of the world's total population of stunted preschoolers. Addressing global undernutrition, therefore, requires an understanding of the determinants of stunting across India's diverse states and districts. We created a district-level aggregate data set from the recently released 2015-2016 National and Family Health Survey, which covered 601,509 households in 640 districts. We used mapping and descriptive …
Progress and inequalities in infant and young child feeding practices in India between 2006 and 2016
Limited evidence exists on socio-economic status (SES) inequalities in infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in India. We examine trends and changes in inequalities for IYCF practices over 2006-2016 and identify factors that may explain differences in IYCF across SES groups. We use data from the 2015-2016 and 2005-2006 National Family Health Surveys (n = 112,133 children < 24 months). We constructed SES quintiles (Q) and assessed inequalities usi…
Acceptability of multiple micronutrient powders and iron syrup in Bihar, India
Nearly two thirds of young children are anaemic in Bihar, India. Paediatric iron and folic acid syrup (IFAS) and multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) are two evidence-based interventions to prevent anaemia. Using a randomized crossover design, we examined the acceptability of IFAS versus MNPs for children 6-23 months. In a catchment area of 2 health centres in Bihar, health front-line workers (FLWs) delivered either (a) IFAS twice weekly or (b) …
Understanding the role of intersectoral convergence in the delivery of essential maternal and child nutrition interventions in Odisha, India: A qualitative study
Congruent or shared priorities and regularity of actions between sectors across all levels will likely improve the quality of coordination, and clear roles and leadership and accountability are imperative. As convergence is a means to achieving effective coverage and delivery of services for improved maternal and child health and nutrition, focus should be on delivering all the essential services to the mother-child dyads through mechanisms that …
Reducing stunting in India: What investments are needed
India has among the highest rates of child malnutrition rates in the world, but these rates have been declining rapidly during the past decade. Between 2006 and 2014, stunting rates for children under five in India have declined from 48 to 38% (Global Nutrition Report, 2014). Despite this progress, child undernutrition rates in India are among the highest in the world, with nearly one-half of all children under 3 years of age being either underwe…
Positive Parenting Practices Associated with Subsequent Childhood Weight Change
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Positive Parenting Practices Associated with Subsequent Childhood Weight Change
Reducing stunting in India: What investments are needed
India has among the highest rates of child malnutrition rates in the world, but these rates have been declining rapidly during the past decade. Between 2006 and 2014, stunting rates for children under five in India have declined from 48 to 38% (Global Nutrition Report, 2014). Despite this progress, child undernutrition rates in India are among the highest in the world, with nearly one-half of all children under 3 years of age being either underwe…
Acceptability of multiple micronutrient powders and iron syrup in Bihar, India
Nearly two thirds of young children are anaemic in Bihar, India. Paediatric iron and folic acid syrup (IFAS) and multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) are two evidence-based interventions to prevent anaemia. Using a randomized crossover design, we examined the acceptability of IFAS versus MNPs for children 6-23 months. In a catchment area of 2 health centres in Bihar, health front-line workers (FLWs) delivered either (a) IFAS twice weekly or (b) …
Understanding the role of intersectoral convergence in the delivery of essential maternal and child nutrition interventions in Odisha, India: A qualitative study
Congruent or shared priorities and regularity of actions between sectors across all levels will likely improve the quality of coordination, and clear roles and leadership and accountability are imperative. As convergence is a means to achieving effective coverage and delivery of services for improved maternal and child health and nutrition, focus should be on delivering all the essential services to the mother-child dyads through mechanisms that …
Understanding the geographical burden of stunting in India: A regression‐decomposition analysis of district‐level data from 2015–16
India accounts for approximately one third of the world's total population of stunted preschoolers. Addressing global undernutrition, therefore, requires an understanding of the determinants of stunting across India's diverse states and districts. We created a district-level aggregate data set from the recently released 2015-2016 National and Family Health Survey, which covered 601,509 households in 640 districts. We used mapping and descriptive …
Progress and inequalities in infant and young child feeding practices in India between 2006 and 2016
Limited evidence exists on socio-economic status (SES) inequalities in infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in India. We examine trends and changes in inequalities for IYCF practices over 2006-2016 and identify factors that may explain differences in IYCF across SES groups. We use data from the 2015-2016 and 2005-2006 National Family Health Surveys (n = 112,133 children < 24 months). We constructed SES quintiles (Q) and assessed inequalities usi…
Maternal nutrition practices in Uttar Pradesh, India: Role of key influential demand and supply factors
Despite strong policy and program commitment, essential maternal nutrition services are not reaching enough women in many countries. This paper examined multifactorial determinants (personal, family, community, and health services) associated with maternal nutrition practices in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were from a household survey of pregnant (n = 667) and recently delivered women (n = 1,835). Multivariable regression analyses were conducted t…
It takes a village: An empirical analysis of how husbands, mothers‐in‐law, health workers, and mothers influence breastfeeding practices in Uttar Pradesh, India
Evidence on strategies to improve infant and young child feeding in India, a country that carries the world's largest burden of undernutrition, is limited. In the context of a programme evaluation in two districts in Uttar Pradesh, we sought to understand the multiple influences on breastfeeding practices and to model potential programme influence on improving breastfeeding. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,838 recently delivered wo…
The role of the state government, civil society and programmes across sectors in stunting reduction in Chhattisgarh, India, 2006–2016
INTRODUCTION: Childhood stunting has declined in India between 2006 and 2016, but not uniformly across all states. Little is known about what helped some states accelerate progress while others did not. Insights on subnational drivers of progress are useful not just for India but for other decentralised policy contexts. Thus, we aimed to identify the factors that contributed to declines in childhood stunting (from 52.9% to 37.6%) between 2006 and…
Missed opportunities for delivering nutrition interventions in first 1000 days of life in India: Insights from the National Family Health Survey, 2006 and 2016
OBJECTIVES: Existing health and community nutrition systems have the potential to deliver many nutrition interventions. However, the coverage of nutrition interventions across the delivery platforms of these systems has not been uniform. We (1) examined the opportunity gaps between delivery platforms and corresponding nutrition interventions through the continuum of care in India between 2006 and 2016 and and (2) assessed inequalities in these op…
Using cognitive interviewing to bridge the intent‐interpretation gap for nutrition coverage survey questions in India
Designing survey questions that clearly and precisely communicate the question's intent and elicit responses based on the intended interpretation is critical but often undervalued. We used cognitive interviewing to qualitatively assess respondents' interpretation of and responses to questions pertaining to maternal and child nutrition intervention coverage. We conducted interviews to cognitively test 25 survey questions with mothers (N = 21) with…
Can digitally enabling community health and nutrition workers improve services delivery to pregnant women and mothers of infants? Quasi-experimental evidence from a national-scale nutrition programme …
BACKGROUND: India's 1.4 million community health and nutrition workers (CHNWs) serve 158 million beneficiaries under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme. We assessed the impact of a data capture, decision support, and job-aid mobile app for the CHNWs on two primary outcomes-(1) timeliness of home visits and (2) appropriate counselling specific to the needs of pregnant women and mothers of children <12 months. METHODS: We us…
Using scenario‐based assessments to examine the feasibility of integrating preventive nutrition services through the primary health care system in Bangladesh
The National Nutrition Services of Bangladesh aims to deliver nutrition services through the primary health care system. Little is known about the feasibility of reshaping service delivery to close gaps in nutrition intervention coverage and utilization. We used a scenario-based feasibility testing approach to assess potential implementation improvements to strengthen service delivery. We conducted in-depth interviews with 31 service providers an…
Assessing progress on the coverage of interventions in the first 1000 days in India: Role of national programs
BACKGROUND: High coverage of nutrition-specific interventions is critical to meet global nutrition targets, and it is imperative to understand how to attain it. We examined trends and inequalities in the coverage of interventions in India and the role of the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) in achieving improvements. METHODS: We conducted trends and equity analysis of 30 interventions using two rounds of National Family Health Survey data (2015-2…
Utilization of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and its linkages with undernutrition in India
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme has been the central focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan to combat maternal and child malnutrition under the national nutrition mission in India. This paper examined the linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6-59 months. The study utilized data from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4 [2015-2016] and NFHS-5 [2019-2021]). Descriptive a…
Medicine (15 works) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (14 works) · Environmental health (11 works) · Global Maternal and Child Health (9 works) · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations (7 works) · Public health (7 works) · Demography (6 works) · Nursing (6 works) · Population (6 works) · Economic growth (5 works)