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SBC Communication - 14% Difference in Prevalence of Stunting

2 comments
Strategy researched
 
Unconditional cash transfer (UCT), lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS), and/or social and behaviour change communication (SBCC)
 
Impact achieved
 
 
Country of study
 
Pakistan
 
Research methodology
 
4-arm, community-based cluster RCT with 1,729 children
 
Journal
 
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2021
 
Journal paper title and link
 
Effectiveness of unconditional cash transfers combined with lipid-based nutrient supplement and/or behavior change communication to prevent stunting among children in Pakistan: a cluster randomized controlled trial
 
Excerpt from Abstract
 
"At 24 mo of age, children who received UCT + LNS [rate ratio (RR): 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.97; P = 0.015) and UCT + LNS + SBCC (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96; P = 0.007) had a significantly lower risk of being stunted compared with the UCT arm. No significant difference was noted among children who received UCT + SBCC (RR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.16; P = 0.675) in the risk of being stunted compared with the UCT arm. The pooled prevalence of stunting among children aged 6–23 mo was 41.7%, 44.8%, 38.5%, and 39.3% in UCT, UCT + SBCC, UCT + LNS, and UCT + LNS + SBCC, respectively. In pairwise comparisons, a significant impact on stunting among children in UCT + LNS (P = 0.029) and UCT + LNS + SBCC (P = <0.001) was noted compared with the UCT arm."
 
Translation - see line 23
 
Summary at this link

 

Comments

Submitted by Sergiy.Pro on Sun, 05/21/2023 - 23:13 Permalink

I understand that there is not enough of space, however, I suggest to write '14% decrease of stunting prevalence' (if it is correct) instead of '14% difference in the prevalence of stunting'. The word 'difference' doesn't immediately tell that it is a positive one. If we use 'decrease of stunting' it will help to focus on the positive change right away, not just on a change that we assume is positive but still need to open a link to get details.
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Submitted by Richard Morgan (not verified) on Mon, 07/17/2023 - 02:17 Permalink

So if I read it correctly, it was the nutrition supplements that made the difference in terms of stunting reduction - not the SBCC? If so, the headline appears misleading ... Also of interest: what was the cost per child of the effective treatment arms? (Cost per case of stunting averted). Not that is necessarily an over-riding consideration, but it bears on replicability. How applicable is this one-country result expected to be in other country settings?