Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
IMA World Health Tanzania, Dar es Saalam 14111, Tanzania.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 23;19(9):5149. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095149.
Stunting remains a prevalent issue in Tanzania. The consequences of stunting include reduced height, greater susceptibility to disease, and diminished cognitive ability throughout the lifespan. Lack of psychosocial stimulation is associated with increased stunting, particularly in terms of its cognitive impact. The Addressing Stunting in Tanzania Early (ASTUTE) program was a large social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention that aimed to reduce childhood stunting in the region by targeting early childhood development (ECD) behaviors. The purpose of this study is to report on the extent to which exposure to ASTUTE might be related to ECD behaviors. ASTUTE disseminated program messages via a mass media campaign and interpersonal communication (IPC). Logistic regression models were used to explore the relationship between exposure to TV, radio, IPC messages, and key ECD behaviors of female primary caregivers and male heads of household. Among primary caregivers, IPC was positively associated with all ECD behaviors measured. Radio was associated with all behaviors except drawing with their child. TV was associated with all behaviors except playing with their child. Among heads of household, only the radio was positively associated with the ECD behaviors measured. Findings indicate that SBCC interventions that include mass media and IPC components may be effective at promoting parental engagement in ECD behaviors. We know that ECD is important for a child's development. We know that parents play a critical role in promoting ECD behaviors. We are still exploring ways to influence parents so that they are more involved in ECD behaviors. The results presented here provide evidence for successful mass media and IPC efforts to improve parents' ECD behaviors. We hope this study will add more evidence for large interventions such as these to the literature, and we are very hopeful that governments and large international NGOs will prioritize SBCC approaches in the future, especially in locations where face-to-face interventions may be challenging.
在坦桑尼亚，发育迟缓仍然是一个普遍存在的问题。发育迟缓的后果包括身高降低、更容易患病以及整个生命周期认知能力下降。缺乏心理社会刺激与发育迟缓的增加有关，特别是在认知方面。坦桑尼亚早期解决发育迟缓问题（ASTUTE）项目是一项大型社会和行为改变传播（SBCC）干预措施，旨在通过针对儿童早期发展（ECD）行为来减少该地区的儿童发育迟缓。本研究旨在报告接触 ASTUTE 可能与 ECD 行为相关的程度。ASTUTE 通过大众媒体运动和人际传播（IPC）传播项目信息。使用逻辑回归模型探讨了初级保健者和男性户主接触电视、广播、IPC 信息与关键 ECD 行为之间的关系。在初级保健者中，IPC 与所有测量的 ECD 行为呈正相关。广播与除与孩子一起画画外的所有行为相关。电视与除与孩子一起玩耍外的所有行为相关。在户主中，只有广播与测量的 ECD 行为呈正相关。研究结果表明，包括大众媒体和 IPC 组成部分的 SBCC 干预措施可能有效地促进父母参与 ECD 行为。我们知道 ECD 对儿童的发展很重要。我们知道父母在促进 ECD 行为方面起着关键作用。我们仍在探索影响父母的方法，以使他们更积极地参与 ECD 行为。这里提出的结果为改善父母 ECD 行为的成功大众媒体和 IPC 努力提供了证据。我们希望这项研究将为这类大型干预措施在文献中增添更多证据，我们非常希望政府和大型国际非政府组织将在未来优先考虑 SBCC 方法，特别是在面对面干预可能具有挑战性的地方。
