Effectiveness of social and behavioral change communication intervention to promote the use of 7.1% chlorhexidine for umbilical cord care in hard-to-reach rural Bangladesh
A mixed method study
Bibliographic Data
BACKGROUND: Developing countries account for 99.0% of the 2.7 million neonatal deaths occurring worldwide each year. Umbilical cord infection contributes greatly to this predicament, but evidence shows that 7.1% chlorhexidine solution (CHX) can substantially reduce the risk of infection. To address this challenge, this study aimed to determine the effect of a social and behavioral change communication (SBCC) intervention on promoting the use of WHO recommended CHX as well as on improving the knowledge, attitude, and practices of rural communities regarding umbilical cord care in hard-to-reach areas of Bangladesh. METHODS: values less than 0.05 at 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented. RESULTS: < 0.001) improvements were observed in the intervention group with regards to the primary objective: CHX use increased from 1.07% to 57.80%, while CHX use decreased from 1.6% to 0.0% in the control group. Meaningful improvements were also observed in relation to knowledge (29.0% to 43.0%), attitude (53.0% to 90.0%), and practices (25.0% to 70.0%) of rural communities regarding cord care. Marked improvements were also observed in the intervention group related to understanding causes of cord infections; importance of cord cleanliness; use of antiseptic and other preventive measures; care-seeking behavior; and ensuring hygienic childbirth. CONCLUSIONS: This pioneer study revealed that SBCC interventions led to an increase in CHX use and improved the knowledge, attitude and practices of Bangladeshi communities regarding cord care and cord infection. This indicates that SBCC intervention is indeed an effective and feasible method for reducing infant mortality rates in hard-to-reach populations and achieving SDG goal 3.2
Behavior change communication · Chlorhexidine · Confidence interval · Environmental health · Family medicine · Population · Umbilical cord · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Demography · Dentistry · Medicine · Neonatal Respiratory Health Research · Neonatal skin health care · Nursing · Internal Medicine
Effect of community-based behaviour change management on neonatal mortality in Shivgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Million Neonatal Deaths
Every Newborn
Implementation outcomes of the national scale up of chlorhexidine cord cleansing in Bangladesh’s public health system
Trends and predictors of optimal breastfeeding among children 0–23 months, South Asia
Clean cord care practices and neonatal mortality
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |