Peer-reviewed article
Community Health Center Innovations for Stunting Prevention and Management: Cross-Case Analysis of Contributions to Human Capital and Development in Kerinci
Elsa Maiyora, Andre Gromiko, Marcuanto, Stella Juwita Munalisty, Deni Morlela ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at eight service innovations for preventing and managing stunting, run by seven Community Health Centers (Puskesmas) in Kerinci Regency. The researchers reviewed project documents such as proposals, activity reports and beneficiary data, and grouped the innovations into four themes. The innovations reach adolescent girls, pregnant women, infants and young children, with most focused on pregnancy and early childhood. The authors describe the innovations as complementary primary health-care responses to stunting risks. The documents mostly report activities and outputs, so they cannot show whether stunting fell.
Key points
- Eight innovations in seven Community Health Centers were examined using document review.
- Four cross-case themes emerged: life-course prevention and early risk detection; maternal-risk monitoring and safe delivery; breastfeeding support and nutrition education; local food-based supplementary feeding.
- Interventions were most concentrated during pregnancy and early childhood.
- Service mechanisms included home visits, high-risk pregnancy monitoring, midwife and traditional birth attendant collaboration, digital nutrition education, breastfeeding support and local food-based supplementary feeding.
- Available documents do not provide sufficient evidence to establish causal effects on stunting prevalence.
Limitations
The study relies on programme documents that report activities and outputs, not outcomes, so it cannot show whether the innovations reduced stunting. Maturity scores indicate implementation readiness, not effectiveness.
Abstract
This study examines Community Health Center (Puskesmas) service innovations for stunting prevention and management in Kerinci Regency and explains their potential contribution to human capital formation and local development. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach using a multiple-case study design. Eight innovations implemented across seven Community Health Centers were examined through document review of innovation proposals, activity reports, beneficiary data, and available implementation evidence. The analysis combined within-case analysis, cross-case thematic analysis, life-cycle mapping, and a Theory of Change framework. Innovation maturity scores were used descriptively to indicate implementation readiness rather than programme effectiveness. Four cross-case themes emerged: life-course prevention and early risk detection; maternal-risk monitoring and safe delivery; breastfeeding support and nutrition education; and local food-based supplementary feeding and child nutrition support. The innovation portfolio covered adolescent girls, pregnant women, childbirth, infants, and young children, with the strongest concentration of interventions during pregnancy and early childhood. Service mechanisms included home visits, monitoring of high-risk pregnancies, collaboration between midwives and traditional birth attendants, digital nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and local food-based supplementary feeding. The findings show complementary primary health-care responses to stunting risks. Nevertheless, the available documents primarily report activities and programme outputs; they do not yet provide sufficient evidence to establish causal effects on stunting prevalence.