ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2021
Preparing for a community-based agriculture-to-nutrition trial in rural Malawi: formative research to assess feasibility and inform design and implementation decisions.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining study participants' decision-making and ethics-related experiences in a dietary community randomized controlled trial in Malawi.BMC medical ethics · 2021Trial
- Household soybean processing, protein content, and caregiver acceptability of complementary porridges in rural Malawi.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Doctoral training to support sustainable soil geochemistry research in Africa.Interface focus · 2024Article
- Urine Se concentration poorly predicts plasma Se concentration at sub-district scales in Zimbabwe, limiting its value as a biomarker of population Se status.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Human-animal contact to inform zoonotic disease risk across gradients of agricultural land use change in the Central River Region (CRR) of The Gambia (ZooContact): a formative study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Biofortified Maize Improves Selenium Status of Women and Children in a Rural Community in Malawi: Results of the Addressing Hidden Hunger With Agronomy Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study reports findings from formative research conducted to assess the feasibility and inform the design and implementation of the Addressing Hidden Hunger with Agronomy (AHHA) trial. The AHHA trial was a randomised, controlled trial conducted in rural Malawi, in which participants were given maize flour biofortified with selenium or control flour not biofortified with selenium for a period of 10 weeks, after which blood samples were taken to measure selenium status.
methodsFormative research was conducted in villages near to the AHHA trial study site 1 year before the planned intervention. A short questionnaire with adult women (n = 50), focus group discussions with male (n groups = 3) and female (n groups = 3) community members, and in-depth key informant interviews (n = 7) were conducted to understand community practices and perceptions.
findingsMeals were typically cooked and eaten at home in this community, while participants reported that maize flour would be less readily sold than maize grain - important considerations for the design of the trial. Regarding intervention delivery, we identified potential concerns around effects on fertility, links between blood sampling and witchcraft, and the potential for social stigma if community members considered participants lazy for receiving free flour. Participants reported that involvement of the Malawi government partners including health extension workers would increase trust.
interpretationFollowing the formative research, the AHHA trial appeared feasible. However, community sensitisation would be essential to address potential fears and concerns; effective sensitisation would support recruitment and treatment adherence, and would protect the safety and wellbeing of participants and researchers. People in positions of authority and trust including village headmen, religious leaders, health and agriculture extension workers, and community care groups should be involved in community sensitisation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.