Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare
Abstract An important cause of stunting is limited consumption of complementary foods, in terms of both quantities and nutrients. Although existing studies show a positive association between fathers' engagement and children's diet, programmes designed to improve complementary feeding prac...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024-04-01
|
| Series: | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13628 |
| _version_ | 1797234087643054080 |
|---|---|
| author | Yaeeun Han John Hoddinott JiEun Kim David Pelletier |
| author_facet | Yaeeun Han John Hoddinott JiEun Kim David Pelletier |
| author_sort | Yaeeun Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract An important cause of stunting is limited consumption of complementary foods, in terms of both quantities and nutrients. Although existing studies show a positive association between fathers' engagement and children's diet, programmes designed to improve complementary feeding practices often only target mothers. In response to this, maternal behaviour change communication (BCC), paternal BCC and food voucher programmes were designed and implemented in Ethiopia using a clustered randomized controlled trial design. The paternal BCC programme included gender‐equal messages to increase fathers' participation in childcare, household labour and decision making. The research reported in this paper is an examination of the BCC programmes, characterizing the behavioural, normative and control beliefs of both mothers and fathers in BCC households compared to those in control households. In this study, a total of 40 participants were included, with 13 mother–father pairs in the BCC + food voucher group, and seven pairs in the control group. Each participant was interviewed separately. We found that BCC mothers showed more gender‐equal tendencies than the control mothers despite being more rural in location. By contrast, the beliefs of BCC and control fathers were similar overall, suggesting men are more resistant to gender‐equal BCC. More work is needed to develop and test effective methods for changing fathers' beliefs and practices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:26:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1933f86eb100492e9b3d8086efaa1513 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1740-8695 1740-8709 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:26:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-1933f86eb100492e9b3d8086efaa15132024-03-30T17:45:18ZengWileyMaternal and Child Nutrition1740-86951740-87092024-04-01202n/an/a10.1111/mcn.13628Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcareYaeeun Han0John Hoddinott1JiEun Kim2David Pelletier3Department of International Studies Kyung Hee University Seoul South KoreaDepartment of Global Development, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management Cornell University Ithaca New York USADepartment of Healthcare Management and Policy, Graduate School of Public Health Seoul National University Seoul South KoreaDivision of Nutritional Sciences Cornell University Ithaca New York USAAbstract An important cause of stunting is limited consumption of complementary foods, in terms of both quantities and nutrients. Although existing studies show a positive association between fathers' engagement and children's diet, programmes designed to improve complementary feeding practices often only target mothers. In response to this, maternal behaviour change communication (BCC), paternal BCC and food voucher programmes were designed and implemented in Ethiopia using a clustered randomized controlled trial design. The paternal BCC programme included gender‐equal messages to increase fathers' participation in childcare, household labour and decision making. The research reported in this paper is an examination of the BCC programmes, characterizing the behavioural, normative and control beliefs of both mothers and fathers in BCC households compared to those in control households. In this study, a total of 40 participants were included, with 13 mother–father pairs in the BCC + food voucher group, and seven pairs in the control group. Each participant was interviewed separately. We found that BCC mothers showed more gender‐equal tendencies than the control mothers despite being more rural in location. By contrast, the beliefs of BCC and control fathers were similar overall, suggesting men are more resistant to gender‐equal BCC. More work is needed to develop and test effective methods for changing fathers' beliefs and practices.https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13628behaviour change communicationchildren's dietcomplementary feeding practicesEthiopiafather involvementgender role |
| spellingShingle | Yaeeun Han John Hoddinott JiEun Kim David Pelletier Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare Maternal and Child Nutrition behaviour change communication children's diet complementary feeding practices Ethiopia father involvement gender role |
| title | Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| title_full | Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| title_fullStr | Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| title_short | Behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia: Couples' beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| title_sort | behaviour change communication to improve complementary feeding practices in ethiopia couples beliefs concerning paternal involvement in childcare |
| topic | behaviour change communication children's diet complementary feeding practices Ethiopia father involvement gender role |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13628 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yaeeunhan behaviourchangecommunicationtoimprovecomplementaryfeedingpracticesinethiopiacouplesbeliefsconcerningpaternalinvolvementinchildcare AT johnhoddinott behaviourchangecommunicationtoimprovecomplementaryfeedingpracticesinethiopiacouplesbeliefsconcerningpaternalinvolvementinchildcare AT jieunkim behaviourchangecommunicationtoimprovecomplementaryfeedingpracticesinethiopiacouplesbeliefsconcerningpaternalinvolvementinchildcare AT davidpelletier behaviourchangecommunicationtoimprovecomplementaryfeedingpracticesinethiopiacouplesbeliefsconcerningpaternalinvolvementinchildcare |