Engaging family members in maternal, infant and young child nutrition activities in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic scoping review

Sl, Martin; McCann, Juliet; Gascoigne, Emily; Allotey, Diana; Fundira, Dadirai; Dickin, Katherine L.

doi:10.1111/mcn.13158

Cited by 24 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Inclusion of fathers has positively influenced retention and engagement of mothers [ 62 ] and maternal and infant health indicators [ 63 ] in parenting programs. Thus, strategies should be explored to involve more fathers in PICNIC, as well as grandparents or other family members who may influence child nutrition practices [ 64 , 65 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online reach and engagement of a child nutrition peer-education program (PICNIC): insights from social media and web analytics

et al. 2022

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Background Parents frequently seek parental advice online and on social media; thus, these channels should be better utilized in child health interventions. The Parents in Child Nutrition Informing Community (PICNIC) program aims to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing of evidence-based child feeding information and support parents within their social networks. The present study aimed to explore web and social media analytics to evaluate reach and user engagement with the PICNIC online components. Methods Online user activity data from the PICNIC Facebook closed group and public Page were collected through Facebook Insights, and program-specific website traffic data through Google Analytics. Analytics data from Nov-2019 to April-2021 was evaluated through visualisation and summary statistics to obtain insights into program growth and current reach in Australia, compare demographics of audience reached through the online channels, and explore parents’ use and engagement in PICNIC content. Results Results showed steady program growth in the 18 months of recruitment; participant numbers grew from 102 to 261 peer educators while the Facebook Page audience increased threefold, totalling 1615 followers. Intervention posts shared on Facebook (4–5 posts/week) typically reached only a portion of PICNIC Page followers each week, but also reached a wider audience through their friends. Throughout the evaluated period, Facebook users actively engaged in PICNIC posts, although the level of engagement varied considerably from post to post. Furthermore, results from this study suggest the strategy of directing potentially interested parents from social media to the website for program sign-up was successful. Finally, the explored data gave insights into users’ availability, demographics and engagement, which will be used to inform refinement of the PICNIC website and social media strategies. Conclusions Our findings confirm the benefits of using a peer education approach and existing social network channels to disseminate evidence-based child feeding information to parents. This study also demonstrates the usefulness of web and social media analytics to be used as part of a continuous evaluation for gaining insight to inform further development and improvement of program strategies. Trial registration The PICNIC project was retrospectively submitted for registration with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), ACTRN12622000230752 (09/02/2022).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online reach and engagement of a child nutrition peer-education program (PICNIC): insights from social media and web analytics

et al. 2022

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“…However, the complexity of these interventions as well as the lack of information on implementation processes advocate for further studies that provide this additional detail on community mobilization’s implications for ANC/PNC support and uptake. Reviews published as recently as 2021 perpetuate the same pattern by labeling one-sided didactic programs as “community participation” or failing to describe what comprised the community mobilization component of a program [ 73 , 74 ]. Furthermore, while the reviews show a large geographic range in terms of countries and SDG regions included, the relevance of context in community-based interventions emphasizes the importance of considering localized and country/region-specific findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community mobilization to strengthen support for appropriate and timely use of antenatal and postnatal care: A review of reviews

et al. 2021

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Background Antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) are critical opportunities for women, babies and parents/families to receive quality care and support from health services. Community-based interventions may improve the accessibility, availability, and acceptance of this vital care. For example, community mobilization strategies have been used to involve and collaborate with women, families and communities to improve maternal and newborn health. Objective To synthesize existing reviews of evidence on community mobilization strategies that strengthen support for appropriate and timely use of ANC and PNC. Methods Six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, PROSPERO) were searched for published reviews that describe community mobilization related strategies for ANC and/or PNC. Reviews were eligible for inclusion if they described any initiatives or strategies targeting the promotion of ANC and/or PNC uptake that included an element of community mobilization in a low- or middle-income country (LMIC), published after 2000. Included reviews were critically appraised according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses. This review of reviews was conducted following JBI guidelines for undertaking and reporting umbrella reviews. Results In total 23 papers, representing 22 reviews were included. While all 22 reviews contained some description of community mobilization and ANC/PNC, 13 presented more in-depth details on the community mobilization processes and relevant outcomes. Seventeen reviews focused on ANC, four considered both ANC and PNC, and only one focused on PNC. Overall, 16 reviews reported at least one positive association between community mobilization activities and ANC/PNC uptake, while five reviews presented primary studies with no statistically significant change in ANC uptake and one included a primary study with a decrease in use of antenatal facilities. The community mobilization activities described by the reviews ranged from informative, passive communication to more active, participatory approaches that included engaging individuals or consulting local leaders and community members to develop priorities and action plans. Conclusions While there is considerable momentum around incorporating community mobilization activities in maternal and newborn health programs, such as improving community support for the uptake of ANC and PNC, there is limited evidence on the processes used. Furthermore, the spectrum of terminology and variation in definitions should be harmonized to guide the implementation and evaluation efforts.

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“…Most MCN research and interventions in low-and middle-income countries are not based on in-depth analysis of family systems (Martin, McCann, et al, 2021) and often assume universality of the nuclear family structure. This assumption is based in part on the fact that the household is taken as the unit of analysis and also on the erroneous assumption that household and family are synonymous.…”

Section: Family Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A scoping review to identify interventions that engaged family members in maternal and child nutrition reported a substantial increase in the number of studies about interventions to engage family in peer reviewed literature since 2010 (Martin, McCann, et al, 2021). The authors identified 63 unique nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions or projects that sought to engage fathers, grandmothers, or other family members in lowand middle-income countries.…”

Section: Articles In This Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is wide agreement that intervention design should be preceded by formative research, however, a scoping review reported that in most cases it is not carried out (Martin, McCann, et al, 2021). Furthermore, when formative investigation is conducted, most often the focus is primarily on KAP of risk groups, and only sometimes involves other family members.…”

Section: Importance Of Formative Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introduction: A family systems approach to promote maternal, child and adolescent nutrition

Aubel¹,

Cunningham

2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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In all cultures, women and children are embedded in family systems that determine roles, relationships, patterns of communication and authority between family members. Especially in non‐western societies, maternal and child nutrition practices are determined not only by the biological parents but also by other influential family members. Most maternal and child nutrition research and interventions do not consider the constellation of family roles and influence on women and children and continue to focus on the mother–child dyad and individual knowledge, attitudes and practices. There is growing agreement on the need to adopt an ecological framework to address public health issues, including those dealing with maternal and child nutrition. This special issue presents examples of research from a variety of settings that employed an ecological, family systems approach either to investigate maternal, child or adolescent nutrition issues or to design interventions that engaged various actors within family settings. These 11 articles contribute to a growing body of evidence supporting the relevance of a wider family systems perspective for nutrition research and interventions. Key themes across studies include the limitations of using a nuclear family model for research and intervention design, the need for formative research that comprehensively explores family systems, increasing recognition of the extensive involvement and support provided by grandmothers, and the importance of engaging men in culturally appropriate ways based on community dialogue and women's perspectives. Future maternal and child nutrition research and interventions can be strengthened by systems thinking that acknowledges that individuals are situated within family and community systems.

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Engaging family members in maternal, infant and young child nutrition activities in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic scoping review

Cited by 24 publications

References 141 publications

Online reach and engagement of a child nutrition peer-education program (PICNIC): insights from social media and web analytics

Online reach and engagement of a child nutrition peer-education program (PICNIC): insights from social media and web analytics

Community mobilization to strengthen support for appropriate and timely use of antenatal and postnatal care: A review of reviews

Introduction: A family systems approach to promote maternal, child and adolescent nutrition

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