Nutrition Intervention to Address Anemia Among Adolescent Girls in Liberia

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of weekly iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation and one-time deworming treatment at the community level in improving hemoglobin levels among adolescent girls in Liberia, West Africa, and to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a targeted nutrition education program in improving nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices in the same population.

Conditions

• Nutritional Anemia
• Nutritional Deficiency
• Iron Deficiency Anemia Treatment
• Folic Acid Deficiency Anemia, Dietary
• Adolescent Development
• Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Food Habits

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation

Weekly IFA supplementation for duration of the study.

BEHAVIORAL

Targeted nutrition education

Structured nutrition education package delivered at household level by trained Community Health Assistants (CHAs)

DRUG

Mebendazole Pill

One-time deworming treatment with mebendazole.

OTHER

Standard nutrition services

Basic nutrition services currently provided at the health facility and at community level in Liberia

Sponsors & Collaborators

• UNICEF

  collaborator OTHER

• Ministry of Health, Liberia

  collaborator OTHER

• Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Boston Children's Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Julia Rubin-Smith, MD, MSPH · Boston Children's Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

10 Years

Max Age

19 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-10-31

Primary Completion

2021-12-31

Completion

2021-12-31