Effect of nutrition counseling on complementary feeding practices among mothers with children aged 6-23 months in West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.
Shiferaw Birhanu, Getu Degu Alene, Yeshalem Mulugeta Demilew
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In 30 seconds
This two-arm, parallel cluster-randomized controlled trial assessed Health Belief Model-based nutrition counseling for mothers of children aged 6–23 months in rural West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Thirty clusters were assigned to monthly counseling or routine education over nine months. The difference-in-differences in appropriate complementary feeding was 13.2 percentage points; after adjustment, intervention-group mothers had higher odds of appropriate feeding than controls (AOR 2.49, 95% CI: 1.40, 4.42). Counseling was also associated with better dietary diversity, meal frequency, and acceptable diet.
Key findings
- Appropriate complementary feeding improved by a difference-in-differences of 13.2 percentage points; adjusted odds were higher with counseling (AOR 2.49, 95% CI: 1.40, 4.42).
- Counseled mothers’ children had higher odds of minimum dietary diversity (AOR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.93).
- Counseling was associated with higher odds of minimum meal frequency (AOR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.61) and minimum acceptable diet (AOR 2.13, 95% CI: 1.26, 3.59).
Why it matters
Complementary feeding quality is important to child growth and development, yet practices were inadequate in the study area. The trial suggests that structured counseling delivered through community leaders can improve several feeding indicators compared with routine education. These outcomes provide evidence relevant to efforts to strengthen maternal and child nutrition services in similar rural settings.
What to keep in mind
The study was conducted in rural districts of one zone in Northwest Ethiopia, so findings may not generalize to other settings.