Stunting as a serious health problem thaht affect children’s growth and development, especially in developing countries like Indonesia. The prevalence child's life. Behavior change interventions involving nutrition education and good feeding practices for pregnant and lactating women have been shown to be effective in improving nutritional status and preventing stunting. This review used a systematic review method to identify and analyze various behavior change interventions in Indonesia that aim to improve maternal and child nutrition and prevent stunting. The study showed that community-based interventions, such as education at posyandu and increased access to health information through social media, had a positive impact on mothers' understanding of the importance of balanced nutrition. These findings demonstrate the importance of behavioral and community-based approaches in reducing stunting in Indonesia
Devy Febrianti, Zulkarnain Sulaiman, Mardhatillah Mardhatillah et al.
Child stunting remains one of the most pervasive and devastating forms of malnutrition in Timor-Leste, affecting nearly half of all children under five years of age. This community service-research study reports the design, implementation, and outcomes of a six-month participatory nutrition intervention conducted across three rural subdistricts—Ermera, Ainaro, and Manufahi—engaging 64 households with children aged six to 59 months. The program integrated responsive feeding counselling, agricultural homestead food production, micronutrient supplementation, and community health worker capacity building within a culturally adapted, co-designed framework developed in partnership with village councils, traditional birth attendants, and local health post personnel. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a matched control group, the study measured changes in anthropometric indices, dietary diversity, and haemoglobin levels. Results indicate significant reductions in stunting prevalence within the intervention group (from 73.4% to 51.6%) compared to negligible change in the control group, alongside marked improvements in dietary diversity scores and mid-upper arm circumference. These findings underscore the efficacy of contextually grounded, multi-component nutrition interventions in high-burden, resource-constrained settings.
José Manuel da Silva, Maria Teresa Soares, Domingos Pereira
Background: Food-assisted maternal and child health and nutrition (FA-MCHN) programs may foster child growth during the first 1000 d (pregnancy and the first 2 y of a child's life), but evidence is scant. Objective: We evaluated the impact of an FA-MCHN program, PROCOMIDA, on linear growth (stunting [length-for-age z score (LAZ) < -2] and length-for-age difference [LAD]) among children aged 1-24 mo. PROCOMIDA was implemented in Guatemala by Mercy Corps and was available to beneficiaries throughout the first 1000 d. Methods: We used a longitudinal, cluster-randomized controlled trial with groups varying in family ration sizes [full (FFR), reduced (RFR), and none (NFR)] and individual ration types provided to mothers (pregnancy to 6 mo postpartum) and children (6-24 mo of age) [corn-soy blend (CSB), lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS), micronutrient powder (MNP)]: 1) FFR + CSB (n = 576); 2) RFR + CSB (n = 575); 3) NFR + CSB (n = 542); 4) FFR + LNS (n = 550); 5) FFR + MNP (n = 587); 6) control (n = 574). Program impacts compared with control, and differential impacts between groups varying family ration size or individual ration type, were assessed through the use of linear mixed-effects models and post hoc simple effect tests (significant if P < 0.05). Results: PROCOMIDA significantly reduced stunting at age 1 mo in FFR + CSB, RFR + CSB, and FFR + MNP groups compared with control [5.05, 4.06, and 3.82 percentage points (pp), respectively]. Stunting impact increased by age 24 mo in FFR + CSB and FFR + MNP relative to control (impact = 11.1 and 6.5 pp at age 24 mo, respectively). For CSB recipients, the FFR compared with RFR or NFR significantly reduced stunting (6.47-9.68 pp). CSB reduced stunting significantly more than LNS at age 24 mo (8.12 pp). Conclusions: FA-MCHN programs can reduce stunting during the first 1000 d, even in relatively energy/food-secure populations. Large family rations with individual rations of CSB or MNP were most effective. The widening of impact as children age highlights the importance of intervening throughout the full first 1000 d. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01072279.
Deanna Kelly Olney, Jef L J P Leroy, Lilia Bliznashka et al.
Aim: To analyse the trends and patterns of stunted only and stunted-underweight children in Malawi between the 2000 and 2015. Methods: The study used the 2000 and 2015 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data and employed bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis techniques to explore the difference in the levels of stunted only and stunted-underweight children and key socio-economic factors between 2000 and 2015 and identify key attributes of being stunted only and being stunted-underweight. Results: The percentage of stunted only was 37.2% in 2000 and 26.8% in 2015 and the stunted-underweight percentage was 14.5% in 2000 and 8.8% in 2015. Out of the 6.9% children classified as wasted, 2.4% were also underweight and stunted, 2.4% were underweight and 2.1% did not have any other forms of undernutrition. The analysis did not identify any children that were both stunted and wasted. Only 0.7% in 2000 and 0.4% in 2015 were underweight and free of any other forms of undernutrition. There were improvements in mother education level and mother weight during this time-period which may explain the improvements in child nutritional status. Conclusion: The most common form of undernutrition is stunting and nearly all children that are underweight are also stunted. Child nutrition practitioners and health professionals should consider focusing on tackling child stunting.
The primary objective of this scoping review is to systematically summarize and synthesize existing evidence on how child well-being is defined in empirical studies examining children who experience child maltreatment and/or child welfare system involvement.
KEY POINTS• Service member's and at-home parent/caregiver's psychological health is related to child well-being.• Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms in parents were all found to have a significant relationship to child outcomes.• Military families navigating the deployment experience require increased support both throughout the deployment cycle and at a family level.
Leah Cook, Nastassia Hajal, Sybil Adrienne Cutler et al.
This blog reviews a hackathon event at Child Trends, where data science programmers and researchers jointly develop products that use AI to advance Child Trends’ mission to improve child and family well-being.
As individuals’ living standards increase, the needs for the well-being of individuals are becoming more complicated, especially among children. Even though multidimensional methods for researching child well-being in Vietnam have made some progress, analyses of single dimensions of child well-being remain common. The research analyzes the relationship between social assistance, household welfare and child well-being on both objective and subjective aspects by applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through the secondary data collected from the Vietnam Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for Children and Women survey in the period 2020-2021 by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) of Vietnam. The research results emphasize the mediating role of household welfare as high social assistance increases household welfare, thereby improving child well-being in Vietnam. Based on the research results, the research proposes several recommendations for the management and improvement of social assistance programs, thereby improving child well-being in Vietnam.
Hoang Thi Hue, Phuong Thi Xuan Ngo, Yen Thi Bao Le et al.
‘Well-being’ is increasingly used in child rights discourses and early childhood education (ECE) policy contexts as a desirable outcome for young children. In spite of its ubiquitous use, however, child well-being remains largely under-theorised, thereby contributing to implicit understandings within policy arenas. This paper contributes to attempts to address this gap by proposing a theoretical framework of child well-being. The framework is developed in stages. First, two prominent approaches to well-being are described: distributive and relational approaches. Distributive approaches are subdivided into primary goods theory and capability theory. These theories focus on differential approaches to resource distribution. Relational approaches to well-being are then considered. These focus on the intrinsic importance of the processes of well-being. Second, the concepts privileged by each of these well-being theories are further developed into a framework by reflecting on children’s rights to provision, protection and participation as promoted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Following this, the framework is used to analyse ECE policy with a specific focus on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum and measurement requirements. Academic literatures examining ECE policy is then reviewed to extrapolate understandings of the potential implications of this policy for young children’s well-being. The findings suggest that the EYFS theorises well-being in ways that are limited and may be limiting of young children’s well beings and doings. The associated measurement practices and curriculum goals, in particular, may undermine practice supportive of young children’s well-being.
Even though several studies link access to infrastructure and wellbeing, very few clearly examine the impact of this relationship on children. so, does enhanced access to infrastructures improve child well-being? Thus, the study examines the contribution of access to infrastructure on children's well-being. It uses the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) on 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2020.. Results of the study show that access to education, healthcare, electricity and sanitation helps reduce child mortality and anemia. Thus, authorities in developing countries should Improve the construction and development of these infrastructures. Furthermore, public policies should ensure that infrastructures are accessible to all children, including those with special needs or living in rural or disadvantaged areas.
