Continuing maternal and child health (MCH) services during COVID-19: activities, challenges and the lessons learnt

Silva, Chithramalee De; Batuwanthudawe, Ranjith; Lokubalasooriya, Ayesha; Jayaratne, Kapila; Mapitigama, Nethanjalie; Moonasinghe, Loshan; Kasturiaratchi, Kaushalya; Vithana, C; Godakandage, Sanjeewa; Jayawickrama, Hiranya; Thenuwara, N; Thalagala, Neil; Silva, Dileep De; Fonseka, Nishani; Perera, Nadeeka; Ambagahawita, Anjana; Ariyadasa, Gayan; Perera, E

doi:10.4038/jccpsl.v26i5.8347

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The health and nutrition service providers regularly delivered health and nutrition awareness and education programs amidst difficulties. They faced challenges while providing healthcare services amidst the pandemic, with fewer human resources, and physical and distance barriers leading to difficulties in hosting antenatal clinics, delivering sessions regularly, and growing caseloads causing an intense burden on the health sector [14,15]. This necessitated identifying alternative means of delivering nutrition-related messages.…”

Section: Need For Nutrition Education Through a Personalised Approach...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Phone-Based Nutrition Education Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers in Sri Lanka

Peiris¹,

Wijesinghe²,

Gunawardana³

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Introduction: A woman’s nutrition during pregnancy and nursing affects the mother and the growing child. Similarly, the first two years of a child’s life are critical to their growth and development and are facilitated by optimum nutrition. Women’s nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices influence household food and nutrition security. Mobile health (mHealth) is a potentially effective health intervention in pandemic situations when physical gatherings are restricted. Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of a mobile phone-based nutrition education intervention targeting pregnant and nursing mothers in six Sri Lankan divisional secretariat areas. Method: This intervention was evaluated using a before and after within-subjects design. The intervention included 19 messages over four weeks sent via mobile phone, covering nutrition themes such as pregnancy care, infant and young child-feeding, diet, family care for mother and child, and cash management. The intervention was evaluated based on a quantitative survey using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and qualitative interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study population was pregnant and nursing mothers. The objective of the qualitative interviews was to identify how respondents used messages and how satisfied they were with the project. The outcome measures were awareness/knowledge, attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy, behaviour intentions, and practices of pregnant and nursing mothers. Trained enumerators collected data using a mobile phone. Results: A total of 996 pregnant and nursing mothers participated in the pre-assessment survey, of which 720 completed the post-assessment. Most were nursing mothers (84.2% pre- and 78.9% post-assessment). Participants provided positive feedback on the intervention. Knowledge/awareness (t = −18.70, p < 0.01) and attitudes (t = −2.00, p < 0.05) increased when exposed to the intervention. Favourable improvements in the practices were also observed. Mothers’ practices related to breastfeeding and 24-h dietary diversity showed a statistically significant improvement. However, social norms and behaviour intentions did not significantly improve. The qualitative component also revealed favourable responses. Conclusion and Recommendations: The mobile intervention improved participants’ knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practices, but not social norms or behaviour intentions. This approach is recommended to be used on a larger scale in community settings. In addition, mobile technology could drive intervention in pandemic-related situations.

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Section: Need For Nutrition Education Through a Personalised Approach...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Phone-Based Nutrition Education Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers in Sri Lanka

Peiris¹,

Wijesinghe²,

Gunawardana³

et al. 2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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A qualitative exploration of the COVID‐19 pandemic on health and nutrition behaviours during the first 1000 days in Sri Lanka

Schwendler,

Senarath,

Jayawickrama

et al. 2024

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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This study sought to understand reported impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on maternal and child health and nutrition behaviours during the first 1000 days of life. This qualitative and participatory substudy was embedded within mixed methods formative research conducted during 2020–2022 across two urban, three rural and one estate sector site in Sri Lanka. Semi‐structured interviews among caregivers of children aged 6–23 months (n = 34), influencers of caregivers, such as health workers (n = 37), leaders (n = 10) and pregnant women (n = 20) were conducted. Participatory workshops (n = 14) triangulated interview findings. Interview data were analyzed to identify salient themes using Dedoose. Numerical data from voting conducted in workshops were summed and triangulated with interview data. Findings suggest that the COVID‐19 pandemic and imposed restrictions shaped maternal and child health and nutrition behaviours through a complex interplay of factors. Imposed restrictions and changes to the food system contributed to temporary unemployment for wage workers and reduced purchasing power to maintain food security for vulnerable households. While deciding whether to seek care, fears of infection prevented usual care‐seeking decisions. Also, reduced incomes and disrupted public transportation made transport to health care facilities for antenatal care services difficult. Once women reached facilities, medical services and quality of care were negatively impacted. Implementing expanded community‐based services during home visits focused on the first 1000 days and beyond was one effective strategy to maintain maternal and child health and nutrition during the early pandemic in Sri Lanka.

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Continuing maternal and child health (MCH) services during COVID-19: activities, challenges and the lessons learnt

Cited by 2 publications

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Mobile Phone-Based Nutrition Education Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers in Sri Lanka

Mobile Phone-Based Nutrition Education Targeting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers in Sri Lanka

A qualitative exploration of the COVID‐19 pandemic on health and nutrition behaviours during the first 1000 days in Sri Lanka

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