AUTHOR=Singh Jitendra Kumar , Acharya Dilaram , Paudel Rajan , Gautam Salila , Adhikari Mandira , Kushwaha Shambhu Prasad , Park Ji-Hyuk , Yoo Seok-Ju , Lee Kwan 

TITLE=Effects of Female Community Health Volunteer Capacity Building and Text Messaging Intervention on Gestational Weight Gain and Hemoglobin Change Among Pregnant Women in Southern Nepal: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00312

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.00312

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Community health volunteer capacity buildingand mobile text messaging 
interventions have been proven to be effective in terms of improving maternal and child health outcomes. However, the effects of such interventions have rarely been evaluated in low- and middle-income countries like Nepal. This study aimed to determine whether female community health volunteer (FCHV) capacity building and text messaging to expectant mother increases gestational weights and haemoglobin levels of pregnant women living in southern Nepal.
Methods: A cluster randomized control trial was carried out in 52 clusters of 6 Village Development Committees in southern Nepal between July 2015 and March 2016.  A total of 413 pregnant mothers of gestation age between 13 and 28 weeks (214 in the intervention groupand 199 in the control group) were included in the analysis. Intervention consisted of FCHV capacity building followed by regular supervision and monitoring and mobile phone text messaging to expectant mothers. Regression analysis,controlled for confounders, was conducted to assess gestational weight gains and changes in haemoglobin levels.
Results: At the end of the pregnancy, the mean weight gain difference between the intervention and control groups was 1.1 kg (95% CI: 1.0, 1.9). Rates of weight increases inthe intervention and control groups were 0.504 kg/week (95% CI: 0.371, 0.528) and 0.399 kg/week (95% CI: 0.362, 0.465), respectively. Similarly, the mean intergroup difference in haemoglobin levels was 0.11 gm/dl (95% CI: 0.09, 0.15), and rates of haemoglobin increases(gm/dl/week)in the intervention and control groups were 0.02 gm/dl (95% CI: 0.01, 0.09) and 0.004gm/dl (95% CI: 0.02, 0.12), respectively.
Conclusions: The study shows that FCHV capacity building and mobile text messaging have a positive effect on the gestational weights and haemoglobin levels of expectant mothers. Our findings suggest that mobile text messaging coupled with FCHV capacity building services should be supported and would usefully expand in resource poor settings.

Trial registration:  ISRCTN60684155