An mHealth voice messaging intervention to improve infant and young child feeding practices in Senegal

Bibliographic Data

ID15537245
AuthorsShauna Downs (0000-0003-2161-3343, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author), Joachim Sackey (0000-0002-8159-7050, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey), Jozefina Kalaj (George Washington University), Stephen Smith (0000-0002-7591-243X, Department of Economics George Washington University Washington District of Columbia), Stephen M Smith (0000-0001-8166-069X, George Washington University), Jessica Fanzo (0000-0002-6760-1359, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics)
Year2019
Volume15
Issue4
Pagese12825-e12825
Publication date2019-04-05
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMaternal and Child Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1740-8695 • E-ISSN: 1740-8709
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/mcn.12825
PMID30950190
OpenAlexW2925925337
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited15

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have the potential to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices; however, gaps in the literature remain regarding their design, implementation, and effectiveness. The aims of this study were to design an mHealth voice messaging intervention delivered to mothers and fathers targeting IYCF practices and examine its implementation and impact in households with children 6-23 months in three rural villages in Senegal. We conducted focus groups (n = 6) to inform the intervention development. We then conducted a pilot study (n = 47 households) to examine the impact of the intervention on IYCF practices of children 6-23 months. Voice messages were sent to the children's mothers and fathers over a period of 4 weeks (two messages per week; eight messages in total), and 24-hr dietary recalls and food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) were conducted before and immediately after the implementation of the mHealth intervention to examine its impact on IYCF practices. Overall, three of the eight behaviours increased and one decreased. There was a significant increase in the number of children that consumed fish (60% vs. 94%; p = .008) as measured by the 24-hr recall after the completion of the intervention. We also found significantly higher frequency of egg (p = .026), fish (p = .004), and thick porridge (p = .002) consumption in the previous 7 days measured by the FFQ. Our findings suggest that voice messaging IYCF interventions in Senegal have the potential to improve IYCF behaviours among young children in the short term. Future research should entail scaling-up the intervention and examining its sustainability over the long-term

Behavior change communication · Environmental health · Family medicine · Intervention (counseling · mHealth · Population · Psychological intervention · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing

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