Report

Small grants program: Assessing the cost and effectiveness of training and supervision of frontline workers on early breastfeeding practices in Bangladesh

27 Oct 14
Author(s)Shamim Hayder Talukder,
Topic(s): Research, Small Grants Program
Location: Bangladesh
Audience: Program designers and implementers
Organization: Eminence Associates for Social Development
Programs: Interpersonal communication, Strategic use of data
Downloadable PDF(s)
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    Small-Grants-Eminence-Bangladesh.pdf 1.12 MB

The goal of this project was to determine if traditional birth attendant (TBA) and community volunteer (CV) training could improve early breastfeeding (BF) practices, and if so, whether the impact was substantially greater if the relatively expensive component of post-training supervision was included. Traditional birth attendants and community volunteers and their supervisors received a 5-day breastfeeding training based on the WHO/UNICEF BF counseling training course, with extra attention to early birthing and feeding practices. Pregnant women and women with young infants received weekly home visits from TBAs/CVs for 6 months. TBAs/CVs attended the births of the pregnant women whenever possible. Rates of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), avoidance of prelacteal feeds (PLFs), and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) were compared between groups using mixed model logistic regression. Cluster was accounted for in all analyses.

The goal of the Alive & Thrive (A&T) Grants Program (2009 to 2014) was to identify new solutions for scaling up effective and sustainable interventions to improve infant and young child feeding by linking research to program delivery. A&T awarded eight two-year grants in 2010 and four in 2011. The Grants Program was managed by the University of California, Davis.

 
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