Lee James, Pelto Gretel H, Habicht Jean-Pierre, Bhuiyan Muhammad M I, S Jalal Chowdhury
Independent Research Consultant, USA.
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Curr Dev Nutr. 2019 Mar 8;3(5):nzz013. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzz013. eCollection 2019 May.
Focusing on adolescent schoolgirls in rural Bangladesh, this study aimed to describe the nutrition-relevant context required for effective intervention planning. It included attention to dietary behaviors, daily schedules and activities, and girls' beliefs and values. We placed a special emphasis on iron because anemia has been identified as a significant problem in adolescent girls in Bangladesh.
The study was undertaken to inform a larger project to develop a replicable model for integrating nutrition activities into the multiple social programs in BRAC, a large nongovernmental service delivery organization in Bangladesh.
Following an initial phase of exploratory key informant interviewing, data collection was conducted through the use of focused ethnographic methods in 2 additional phases. Phase II consisted of in-depth interviews with school-going adolescents in rural communities in Rangpur District ( = 23). Interview modules included sociodemographic information; a qualitative 24-h dietary recall; respondents' concepts of "health," "healthy foods," and "anemia"; exposure to nutrition messages and ratings of their importance and feasibility; and actions to maintain health. In phase III, ratings and other data were collected systematically from a separate sample of 20 adolescent girls. Analyses included thematic analysis of transcribed and translated text and quantitative analysis of numeric data.
Key findings include evidence that school-going girls consume a variety of foods and have substantial knowledge about good health and nutrition practices. However, we also found beliefs and practices that challenge the development of nutritionally sound food practices, including iron nutrition. The study revealed the importance of teachers and mothers as information sources, and the dietary and cultural roles of purchased snacks, which occur in connection with school attendance.
These findings, together with insights about girls' values, particularly conceptions related to "a healthy life," have implications for expanding BRAC activities to support the nutrition of adolescent school girls.
本研究聚焦于孟加拉国农村地区的青春期女学生，旨在描述有效干预规划所需的与营养相关的背景情况。这包括关注饮食行为、日常时间表和活动，以及女孩们的信念和价值观。我们特别强调了铁元素，因为贫血已被认定为孟加拉国青春期女孩中的一个重大问题。
开展这项研究是为了给一个更大的项目提供信息，该项目旨在开发一个可复制的模式，将营养活动纳入孟加拉国大型非政府服务提供组织BRAC的多个社会项目中。
在探索性关键 informant 访谈的初始阶段之后，通过在另外两个阶段使用重点人种志方法进行数据收集。第二阶段包括对朗布尔区农村社区的在校青少年进行深入访谈（n = 23）。访谈模块包括社会人口统计学信息；定性的24小时饮食回顾；受访者对“健康”“健康食品”和“贫血”的概念；接触营养信息及其重要性和可行性评级；以及保持健康的行动。在第三阶段，从另外20名青春期女孩的样本中系统收集评级和其他数据。分析包括对转录和翻译文本的主题分析以及对数字数据的定量分析。
主要发现包括证据表明，在校女孩食用各种食物，并且对良好的健康和营养做法有相当多的了解。然而，我们也发现了一些信念和做法，这些信念和做法对健康的饮食做法的发展构成挑战，包括铁营养方面。该研究揭示了教师和母亲作为信息来源的重要性，以及购买零食在与上学相关的饮食和文化方面的作用。
这些发现，连同对女孩价值观的见解，特别是与“健康生活”相关的观念，对扩大BRAC的活动以支持青春期女学生的营养具有启示意义。
