Culturally Customised Maternal Nutrition Education for Health Professionals

Background: Inadequate dietary consumption is a primary risk factor contributing to undernutrition during pregnancy and adversely affect birth outcomes. Despite this, in Ethiopia, 59.9% to 84.8% of pregnant women have inadequate dietary intake. Maternal nutrition education on healthy diet during pregnancy is one of the cost-effective interventions to improve dietary intake of pregnant women. However, nutrition education during pregnancy is not properly implemented in the country. Objectives: The aim of this project is to investigate effectiveness of culturally customized maternal nutrition education for health professionals in improving their counseling capacity in Ethiopia. Methods: A two arm parallel cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted in Bahir Dar city adminstration and Bahir Dar Zuria district, Ethiopia, from 08/01/2024-8/20/2025. A Nonadjacent cluster (health institutions) will be selected using cluster sampling technique and randomized into the intervention and control groups. Data will be collected before and after the intervention using a structured questionnaire. Effect of the intervention will be assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models. Intervention strategies: The intervention will be in-service training about culturally customized maternal nutrition education for health professionals working at antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care units in the capacity building group. It will be given for five days monthly for four months using education guide. Health professionals in the routine capacity building group will receive routine capacity building training that will be given by the health system. Project outcomes: Maternal nutrition counselling practices of health professionals will be the primary outcome.