Peer-reviewed article
Effect of Integrating Social and Behavior Change Communication Strategies in Nutrition-Sensitive Social-Protection Programs on Specific Nutritional Outcomes: A Systematic Review.
Kashif Shafique, Zaeema Ahmer, Sohel Reza Choudhury, Nilofer Fatimi Safdar, Syed Mahbubul Alam et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined 15 studies on combining social and behavior change communication (SBCC) with nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs in developing countries. The review found that integrating SBCC into these programs significantly improved maternal and child dietary diversity, reduced child stunting, wasting, and underweight, and improved breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. The included studies were mostly high-quality randomized or cluster-randomized trials with low risk of bias. However, the sustainability of these benefits depended on how long programs were followed up after completion.
Key points
- Integrating SBCC into nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs led to significant improvements in maternal and child dietary diversity and household food consumption
- Stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence in children decreased significantly with meaningful public health effect sizes
- Knowledge and practices around exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding improved substantially
- The review included 7 randomized controlled trials, 5 cluster-randomized trials, and 3 descriptive studies, with none exhibiting high risk of bias
- Sustainability of outcomes depended on follow-up duration, indicating the need for further research on optimal messaging and communication channels
Limitations
This is a systematic review that synthesizes existing studies; it cannot itself conduct new data collection or testing. The review acknowledges that further research is needed to identify optimal entry points, messaging strategies, and communication channels, particularly for lower- and middle-income country contexts.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Achieving adequate nutrition for vulnerable populations is central to the second Sustainable Development Goal. Nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs combined with social and behavior change communication (SBCC) interventions can support this goal, particularly in developing countries. However, systematic evidence on the impact of integrating SBCC strategies into these programs is limited, especially concerning anthropometric outcomes, dietary diversity, food consumption, and food security. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to assess the importance of integrating SBCC interventions into nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs for optimal nutritional outcomes. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases were searched for original research articles before December 2024. DATA EXTRACTION: A total of 15 publications, involving data from multiple households, mothers, and children, were identified. All extracted data were compiled, compared, and critically analyzed. DATA ANALYSIS: The review included 7 randomized controlled trials, 5 cluster-randomized trials, and 3 descriptive studies. Most studies demonstrated significant improvements in maternal and child dietary diversity, household food consumption, and minimum meal frequencies. Knowledge and practices around exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding also improved substantially. Among children, stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence decreased significantly, with effect sizes indicating meaningful public health impacts. However, the sustainability of these outcomes depended on the follow-up duration. Notably, none of the included studies exhibited a high risk of bias, reinforcing the reliability of the findings. CONCLUSION: Integrating SBCC into nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs is effective in achieving clinically significant nutritional outcomes for vulnerable populations. While the findings suggest sustained benefits, further research is needed to determine optimal entry points, effective messaging, advocacy strategies, and communication channels. This is particularly critical for lower-and middle-income countries, where malnutrition remains a critical challenge. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42023452510.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Integration of social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies into nutrition-sensitive social-protection programs
- Population
- Vulnerable populations including households, mothers, and children in developing countries
Key finding
Significant improvements in maternal and child dietary diversity and household food consumption