ArticleBMC public health2026
Assessing community awareness, perceptions, ownership, and challenges of stunting reduction programs in Rwanda: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStunting affects 33% of Rwandan children under five despite multiple government interventions. Community engagement critically influences intervention sustainability, yet varying levels of awareness, perception, and ownership persist across districts. This study assessed community awareness, perceptions, and ownership of eight major stunting reduction programs in Rwanda, and identified challenges affecting their success.
methodsA qualitative assessment design was employed across ten randomly selected districts where stunting reduction programs had been implemented for 5–15 years. Data were collected through 100 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with approximately 600 participants, including household heads with children under five, Community Health Workers, and local leaders, and 105 Key Informant Interviews with district officials and program implementers. Data were analyzed thematically, and saturation was reached after analyzing data from eight districts, with two additional districts confirming no new themes emerged.
resultsCommunity awareness of program objectives was consistently high across all interventions. Participants reported tangible benefits including improved child health, increased immunity, better school attendance, enhanced household income, and greater food security. However, community ownership remained predominantly low, with interventions perceived as government-driven rather than community-led. Key findings are summarized across four themes: high awareness but limited strategic understanding, perceived effectiveness with tangible benefits, weak community ownership and dependency, and systemic challenges including resource constraints, governance issues, and cultural barriers.
conclusionsWhile stunting reduction programs demonstrated high awareness and perceived benefits, weak community ownership and systemic challenges threaten sustainability. Strengthening participatory approaches in program design, improving governance transparency, addressing resource constraints, and building local capacity are essential for achieving Rwanda’s stunting reduction targets. CLINICAL
trial registrationClinical trial number: not applicable.
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.