NEON: Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A participatory female health volunteer led intervention to promote healthy nutrition in children of Bangladeshi origin in East London.
IRAS ID
190583
Contact name
Monica Lakhanpaul
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL Institute of Child Health
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 7 days
Research summary
The UK Bangladeshi population is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups but amongst the most socially and economically disadvantaged in the UK. This population is at greater risk of heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes and childhood obesity and at increased risk of micronutrient deficiencies e.g. vitamin D and iron deficiency.
Infant feeding practices can affect health as a child and in adulthood, including risk of; obesity, heart disease and lower IQ. Individuals may continue cultural practices that affect health when moving to the UK from overseas and integrated paediatric care should reflect these cultural needs. We propose that community mobilisation approaches successfully used in resource-poor countries could help extend care to hard to reach communities in the UK.
A series of studies from the Institute of Global Health, UCL shows that community mobilisation can dramatically improve maternal and child health in low resource settings. This established model includes four phase participatory learning and action (PLA) cycles in womens groups, facilitated by a trained facilitator, so women can collectively decide priority actions and try to organize activities.
The effectiveness of PLA women’s group approach has been proven in Bangladesh, India and Nepal and elsewhere (Fottrell et al, 2013; Morrison et al, 2010; Nahar et al, 2012; Rosato et al, 2010). One study from Bangladesh showing 38% fewer deaths due to a range of behavioural changes, includes breastfeeding practices (Fottrell. 2013).We propose a formative qualitative study to explore infant feeding practices in the Bangladeshi community of Tower Hamlets and the acceptability of PLA women’s group to promote healthy nutrition in 6 months to 2 years old Bangladeshi children in this community. We selected this location as it is home to one of the largest Bangladeshi communities in the UK.
Our formative research is structured as four phases; 1) a systematic literature review, 2) focus groups with the community and interviews with key informants, 3) Interviews with health professionals and 4) a family study of interviews with mothers, fathers and grandparents. The current application is solely related to interviews of mothers, fathers and grandparents in this, the 4th study phase.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0134
Date of REC Opinion
16 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion