Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41111951›Full record

ArticleDiscover social science and health2025

Management challenges of supplementary feeding programs for severe acute malnutrition among children under five years: a qualitative study in Ethiopia.

Ketema Degefa, Luisa Schneider, Freek Colombijn, Kedir Teji Roba

Abstract read
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Article in Discover social science and health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

4 authors.

Ketema DegefaVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Luisa SchneiderVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Freek ColombijnVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Kedir Teji RobaCollege of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: The study examines the challenges of implementing nutritional programs to address severe acute malnutrition in children under five, a major cause of illness and death in Ethiopia. This paper examines why nutritional programs are ineffective in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: The research, conducted from April to June 2023 and from February to March 2024, included in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observations with mothers, healthcare workers, and traditional birth attendants. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes within the transcribed and coded data. Results: Five themes representing challenges in implementing nutritional feeding programs to address severe acute malnutrition among children under five were identified in the interviews, focus group discussions and observations. These themes are: management steps for severe acute malnutrition; the role of grandmothers in severe acute malnutrition treatment; the 1000-day approach to tackle malnutrition at early stages; behavioural and knowledge-building focused intervention; and factors influencing the management of SAM among health workers. The feeding program is hindered by too high workloads of the healthcare workers, limited access to healthcare facilities, inconsistent availability of nutritional supplements, and inadequate support for malnutrition. Delayed health-seeking behaviours pose behavioural challenges. Conclusions: The feeding program encounters challenges due to limited access to healthcare, inconsistent availability of nutritional supplements, inadequate support for malnutrition, and delayed health-seeking behaviour. Addressing malnutrition begins before a child's birth and requires a comprehensive and long-term strategy. Intergenerational caregiving and effective collaboration between communities and healthcare workers can offer valuable insights.

Indexed as

Children under five yearsEthiopiaManagement challengesQualitative researchSevere acute malnutritionSupplementary feeding programs

Identifiers

PMID41111951
PMCPMC12532712

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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.