Pathways from women's group-based programs to nutrition change in South Asia: A conceptual framework and literature review

Improving the nutritional status of women and children in South Asia remains a high public health and development priority. Women's groups are emerging as platforms for delivering health- and nutrition-oriented programs and addressing gender and livelihoods challenges. We propose a framework ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global food security 2018-06, Vol.17, p.172-185
Main Authors: Kumar, Neha, Scott, Samuel, Menon, Purnima, Kannan, Samyuktha, Cunningham, Kenda, Tyagi, Parul, Wable, Gargi, Raghunathan, Kalyani, Quisumbing, Agnes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthropometric measurements
behavior change
child nutrition
children
diet
food security
gender
livelihood
nutritional status
public health
South Asia
women
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Summary:Improving the nutritional status of women and children in South Asia remains a high public health and development priority. Women's groups are emerging as platforms for delivering health- and nutrition-oriented programs and addressing gender and livelihoods challenges. We propose a framework outlining pathways through which women's group participation may facilitate improvements in nutrition. Evidence is summarized from 36 studies reporting on 24 nutritional indicators across infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, intake/diet, and anthropometry. Our findings suggest that women's group-based programs explicitly triggering behavior change pathways are most successful in improving nutrition outcomes, with strongest evidence for IYCF practices. Future investigators should link process and impact evaluations to better understand the pathways from women's group participation to nutritional impact. •Women’s group programs in South Asia are starting to promote health and nutrition.•Achieving nutritional impacts is complex and operates through multiple pathways.•We outline income, agriculture, health behavior change, and rights pathways.•Evidence is strongest for programs triggering the health behavior change pathway.
ISSN:2211-9124
2211-9124
DOI:10.1016/j.gfs.2017.11.002