Impact of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend and Nutrition Education on Turkana Children's Health Outcomes

The Effect of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend Combined with a Theory Based Nutrition Education Intervention on Turkana Children's Health Outcomes

The goal of this study was to test the effect of an intervention that Integrated supplemental feeding program for children aged 6-59 months with a caregiver intensive nutrition education intervention on the health outcomes of Turkan children aged 6-59 months.

The purpose of this study was fivefold: (i) to assess child nutrition status, food security status, child feeding practices, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) practices, and the associated factors in Turkana County, Kenya. (ii) To assess the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions towards recommended child feeding practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months. (iii) To assess the effect of a theory-based nutrition education intervention on nutrition knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions towards recommended child feeding practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months, (iv) to evaluate the effect of a theory-based nutrition education intervention on child feeding practices and WASH practices among Turkana caregivers of children aged 6-59 months, (v) and to assess the effect of consuming Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend combined with nutrition education intervention on the nutritional status of Turkana children aged 6 -59 months.

In this quasi-experimental study, children in the intervention group received a daily meal of Harvest Lentil Vegetable Blend (6 days/week) for eight weeks and their caregivers' received sessions of nutrition education on infant and young child feeding practices and WASH practices. The participants in the control group were only given one bag of supplemental food on the days of data collection to compensate for their time

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children between 6-59 months
• no known allergy reactions to rice, lentils, carrots and onions
• being a permanent resident of nayada and sopel villages
• willingness to participate in the study