Culturally Customised Maternal Nutrition Education for Health Professionals

NCT07070206 | Completed

• 4 other identifiers: CMHS, BDU2024CMHS,BDUBDU
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 174
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: Inadequate dietary consumption is a primary risk factor contributing to undernutrition during pregnancy and adversely affect birth outcomes. Despite this, in Ethiopia, 59.9% to 84.8% of pregnant women have inadequate dietary intake. Maternal nutrition education on healthy diet during pregnancy is one of the cost-effective interventions to improve dietary intake of pregnant women. However, nutrition education during pregnancy is not properly implemented in the country. Objectives: The aim of this project is to investigate effectiveness of culturally customized maternal nutrition education for health professionals in improving their counseling capacity in Ethiopia. Methods: A two arm parallel cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted in Bahir Dar city adminstration and Bahir Dar Zuria district, Ethiopia, from 08/01/2024-8/20/2025. A Nonadjacent cluster (health institutions) will be selected using cluster sampling technique and randomized into the intervention and control groups. Data will be collected before and after the intervention using a structured questionnaire. Effect of the intervention will be assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models. Intervention strategies: The intervention will be in-service training about culturally customized maternal nutrition education for health professionals working at antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care units in the capacity building group. It will be given for five days monthly for four months using education guide. Health professionals in the routine capacity building group will receive routine capacity building training that will be given by the health system. Project outcomes: Maternal nutrition counselling practices of health professionals will be the primary outcome.

Conditions

Randomized Controlled Trial

Keywords

Counseling practice; Health professionals; In-service training

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Knowledge of the health professionals on diet during pregnancy will be the primary outcome of this study.

  Health professionals' knowledge will be assessed using twenty four " yes/no " type questions on counselling and maternal diet. Health professionals who scored above 80% of knowledge assessment questions will be knowledgable, otherwise not knowledgeable.

  One year

• Nutrition counselling practices of the health professionals will be the primary outcome of this study.

  Counselling practices of health professionals will also be assessed using eighteen " yes/no " type questions that will be filled by observing health professionals nutrition counseling practices. Health professionals who properly practiced more than 80% practice related activities will have good counselling practice, otherwise not.

  One year

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Birth weight

  one year

Study Arms (2)

capacity building arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Health professionals in the capacity building arm will receive capacity building in-service training for the health professionals.

Behavioral: The health professionals in the capacity building arm will receive in-service training about culturally customized maternal nutrition education.

routine capacity building arm

OTHER

Health professionals in the routine capacity building arm will receive capacity building in-service training given through the health care system.

Behavioral: The health professionals in the capacity building arm will receive in-service training about culturally customized maternal nutrition education.

Interventions

The health professionals in the capacity building arm will receive in-service training about culturally customized maternal nutrition education. BEHAVIORAL

The health professionals in the routine capacity building arm will receive in-service training given through the health are system.

Also known as: Routine capacity building in-service training

capacity building arm; routine capacity building arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may not qualify if:

• On annual leave during enrolment of the study participants

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bahir Dar University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Bahir Dar University

Bahir Dar, Amhara, 79, Ethiopia

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, de Onis M, Ezzati M, Grantham-McGregor S, Katz J, Martorell R, Uauy R; Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2013 Aug 3;382(9890):427-451. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X. Epub 2013 Jun 6.

  PMID: 23746772 BACKGROUND

• Wakwoya EB, Belachew T, Girma T. Determinants of nutritional status among pregnant women in East Shoa zone, Central Ethiopia. Front Nutr. 2022 Dec 15;9:958591. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.958591. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 36590215 BACKGROUND

• Fite MB, Tura AK, Yadeta TA, Oljira L, Roba KT. Factors associated with undernutrition among pregnant women in Haramaya district, Eastern Ethiopia: A community-based study. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 9;18(3):e0282641. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282641. eCollection 2023.

  PMID: 36893154 BACKGROUND

• Demilew YM, Alene GD, Belachew T. Dietary practices and associated factors among pregnant women in West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020 Jan 6;20(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2702-z.

  PMID: 31906981 BACKGROUND

• Demilew YM, Alene GD, Belachew T. Effect of guided counseling on dietary practices of pregnant women in West Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia. PLoS One. 2020 May 26;15(5):e0233429. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233429. eCollection 2020.

  PMID: 32453774 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Getu D Alene

  Bahir Dar University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Outcome assessors willnot be aware about the objective of this intervention.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate professor

Model Details: A two arm parallel cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted in Bahir Dar city adminstration and Bahir Dar Zuria district, Ethiopia.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 28, 2025
• First Posted: July 17, 2025
• Study Start: August 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: August 20, 2025
• Study Completion: August 20, 2025
• Last Updated: September 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations

ET (1)