Peer-reviewed article
Assessing the impact of the Aarambh nurturing care model on the capacity & support structures for caregiver empowerment: A qualitative study
R. Naveen Shyam Sundar, Pranali Kothekar, Abhishek V. Raut, Subodh Saran Gupta ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated the Aarambh nurturing care model, which uses existing child development services in Central India to improve how carers support children from pregnancy to age three. Researchers observed anganwadi workers (community health workers) and interviewed caregivers in intervention and control areas. Workers in the intervention group showed significant improvements in guiding parents on age-appropriate play, communication, and child development activities. The study suggests that training service providers in soft skills leads to better caregiver support and child development outcomes.
Key points
- Anganwadi workers in intervention blocks showed substantial improvements in providing age-appropriate guidance, play, and communication activities
- The model leveraged existing Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and healthcare facilities rather than creating new systems
- The study included both intervention areas (Ralegaon, Yavatmal) and control areas (Deoli, Wardha) in Maharashtra
- Soft skills of service providers were identified as critical for achieving sustainable outcomes
- Improvements were observed through house visits, mothers' meetings, and community-based events
Limitations
The study is qualitative and observational without quantitative outcome measures for child development, making it unclear how much children's actual development improved. The document provides limited detail on the specific contents of the intervention or how results compared between intervention and control groups.
Abstract
Background & objectives The provision of nurturing care during the crucial developing phase from pregnancy to three years is essential for enduring health. The Aarambh project, executed in specific districts of Central India, utilised existing Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and healthcare facilities to improve nurturing care. This study assessed the influence of loving care interventions on the skills, functionality, and support systems of anganwadi workers (AWWs) to enhance the capabilities of primary carers. Methods This qualitative study evaluated the competencies of AWWs by observing house visits and mothers' meetings in both control (Deoli, Wardha) and intervention blocks (Ralegaon, Yavatmal), Maharashtra. Comprehensive interviews were performed with AWWs, primary carers, ICDS supervisors, CDPOs, ASHAs, and parents. Results AWWs in the intervention group exhibited substantial enhancements in providing age-appropriate guidance, play, and communication activities along with effective community-based events. Interpretation & conclusions The findings of this study suggest empowerment of beneficiaries and child development through this discussed programme framework. In light of this, it is apparent that the soft skills of service providers hold paramount importance for achieving sustainable outcomes.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Aarambh nurturing care model: training and support for anganwadi workers to provide age-appropriate guidance, play activities, and communication strategies to parents, delivered through house visits, mothers' meetings, and community events using existing ICDS and healthcare infrastructure
- Population
- Anganwadi workers and primary caregivers in intervention districts (Ralegaon, Yavatmal) and control districts (Deoli, Wardha) in Maharashtra, Central India
Key finding
Anganwadi workers in intervention group exhibited substantial enhancements in providing age-appropriate guidance