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The Effects of a Nutrition‐Sensitive Agricultural Intervention on Social Support, Food Security and Maternal Self‐Efficacy in Complementary Feeding
Author(s) -
Toure Djeinam,
Rawat Rahul,
Harvey Danny,
Mwanamwenge Marjolein,
Pelletier David
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.898.19
Subject(s) - food security , intervention (counseling) , agriculture , environmental health , business , psychology , biology , medicine , ecology , psychiatry
The nexus between agriculture and nutrition has been the subject of much recent global interest, however, the empirical evidence linking agricultural interventions to nutritional outcomes and behaviors is scant. Maternal self‐efficacy (MSE) has an important influence on young child feeding practices but has not been studied in this context. We evaluated the impacts of a multi‐faceted intervention (home‐gardening, nutrition education and community gender sensitization) on MSE in complementary feeding and the mediating roles of social support and household food security. This group‐randomized, five‐year intervention, implemented by Concern Worldwide, targeted rural women in the Central province of Zambia. We administered a mid‐term survey to a sample of 759 women with children under 5 years in intervention and control groups. The analysis was done in STATA 13 using structural equation modeling. Women in the intervention group had significantly higher self‐efficacy scores, social support from spouse and food security scores. In single‐mediator models, both social support from the spouse and household food insecurity are significant partial mediators. In a full model, only household food security remains a statistically significant mediator. These results suggest a home‐gardening intervention coupled with nutrition education and gender sensitization may improve gender dynamics and food security, and the gains in food security may improve MSE for complementary feeding. Funding provided by NSF and USAID.