Peer-reviewed article
Measuring the intangible resources caregivers need to provide nurturing care during the complementary feeding period: a scoping review in low- and lower-middle-income countries
Stephanie Martin, Amanda A. Zongrone, Hope C. Craig, Kate Litvin, Peyton Fort et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view ·Key points
Limitations
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Caregivers require tangible (e.g. food and financial) and intangible resources to provide care to ensure child health, nutrition and development. Intangible resources include beliefs and knowledge, education, self-efficacy, perceived physical health, mental health, healthy stress levels, social support, empowerment, equitable gender attitudes, safety and security and time sufficiency. These intangible caregiver resources are included as intermediate outcomes in nutrition conceptual frameworks yet are rarely measured as part of maternal and child nutrition research or evaluations. To facilitate their measurement, this scoping review focused on understudied caregiver resources that have been measured during the complementary feeding period in low- and lower-middle-income countries. DESIGN: We screened 9,232 abstracts, reviewed 277 full-text articles and included 163 articles that measured caregiver resources related to complementary feeding or the nutritional status of children 6 months to 2 years of age. RESULTS: 54) most frequently. Psychometric properties were often reported for mental health measures, but less commonly for other constructs. Few studies reported adapting measures for specific contexts. Existing measures for mental health, equitable gender attitudes, safety and security and time sufficiency were commonly used; other constructs lacked standardised measures. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of caregiver resources during the complementary feeding period is limited. Measuring caregiver resources is essential for prioritising caregivers and understanding how resources influence child care, feeding and nutrition.