Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28468870›Full record

SynthesisArchives of disease in childhood2017

Evidence-based approaches to childhood stunting in low and middle income countries: a systematic review.

Muttaquina Hossain, Nuzhat Choudhury, Khaleda Adib Binte Abdullah, Prasenjit Mondal, Alan A Jackson, Judd Walson, Tahmeed Ahmed

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Archives of disease in childhood, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
76citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

76 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  3. Drivers of stunting reduction in Peru: a country case study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2020
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16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Muttaquina HossainStunting Research Platform, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Nuzhat ChoudhuryStunting Research Platform, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Khaleda Adib Binte AbdullahStunting Research Platform, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Prasenjit MondalStunting Research Platform, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Alan A JacksonSouthampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
Judd WalsonDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Tahmeed AhmedStunting Research Platform, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWe systematically evaluated health and nutrition programmes to identify context-specific interventional packages that might help to prioritise the implementation of programmes for reducing stunting in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

methodsElectronic databases were used to systematically review the literature published between 1980 and 2015. Additional articles were identified from the reference lists and grey literature. Programmes were identified in which nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions had been implemented for children under 5 years of age in LMICs. The primary outcome was a change in stunting prevalence, estimated as the average annual rate of reduction (AARR). A realist approach was applied to identify mechanisms underpinning programme success in particular contexts and settings.

findingsFourteen programmes, which demonstrated reductions in stunting, were identified from 19 LMICs. The AARR varied from 0.6 to 8.4. The interventions most commonly implemented were nutrition education and counselling, growth monitoring and promotion, immunisation, water, sanitation and hygiene, and social safety nets. A programme was considered to have effectively reduced stunting when AARR≥3%. Successful interventions were characterised by a combination of political commitment, multi-sectoral collaboration, community engagement, community-based service delivery platform, and wider programme coverage and compliance. Even for similar interventions the outcome could be compromised if the context differed.

interpretationFor all settings, a combination of interventions was associated with success when they included health and nutrition outcomes and social safety nets. An effective programme for stunting reduction embraced country-level commitment together with community engagement and programme context, reflecting the complex nature of exposures of relevance. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42016043772.

Indexed as

ChildChild, PreschoolDeveloping CountriesEvidence-Based MedicineGrowth DisordersHealth PromotionHumansPovertyProgram Evaluationlow and middle income countriesprevention strategiesprogramsStuntingsystematic review

Identifiers

PMID28468870
PMCPMC5739821

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.