The role of self-efficacy in women's autonomy for health and nutrition decision-making in rural Bangladesh.

Background: Agency - including the sub-domains of intrinsic agency, instrumental agency, and collective agency - is a critical component of the women's empowerment process. Self-efficacy (a component of intrinsic agency) may operate as a motivational influence for women to make choices according to their own preferences or goals, such that higher self-efficacy would be associated with more autonomous decision-making (a key component of instrumental agency).

Methods: We examine these relationships using mixed methods.

Diagnosing norms and norm change in rural Bangladesh: an exploration of gendered social norms and women's empowerment.

Background: Gender-transformative public health programs often aim to address power inequities between men and women and promote women's empowerment. However, to achieve transformative change, it is necessary to first identify the underlying norms that perpetuate these power imbalances. The objective of our study was to use Bicchieri's theory of social norms and model of norm change to identify gendered norms and evidence of norm change amongst participants of the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) trial in rural Sylhet Division, Bangladesh.

Effect of a behaviour change intervention on household food hygiene practices in rural Bangladesh: A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Behavioural interventions could improve caregivers' food hygiene practices in low-resource settings. So far, evidence is limited to small-scale and short-term studies, and few have evaluated the long-term maintenance of promoted behaviours. We evaluated the effect of a relatively large-scale behaviour change intervention on medium and long-term maintenance of household food hygiene practices in Bangladesh.

Impact of a Homestead Food Production Program on Dietary Diversity: Seasonal and Annual Results from the Cluster-Randomized FAARM Trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Background: Rice-predominant diets are common in Bangladesh, leading to widespread nutritional deficiencies. The Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural Sylhet, Bangladesh evaluated a homestead food production intervention implemented 2015-2018 through Helen Keller International, aiming to improve child growth.

Objectives: We estimated the intervention's impact on women's and children's dietary diversity, a secondary trial objective.

Effect of a Homestead Food Production and Food Hygiene Intervention on Biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction in Children Younger Than 24 Months in Rural Bangladesh: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Poor sanitation and hygiene practices and inadequate diets can contribute to environmental enteric dysfunction (EED). We evaluated the impact of a combined homestead food production and food hygiene intervention on EED biomarkers in young children in rural Bangladesh. The analysis was conducted within the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) cluster-randomized trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Effect of a Homestead Food Production Program on the Prevalence of Diarrhea and Acute Respiratory Infection in Children in Sylhet, Bangladesh: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Diarrhea and respiratory illness are leading causes of mortality and morbidity among young children. We assessed the impact of a homestead food production intervention on diarrhea and acute respiratory infection (ARI) in children in Bangladesh, secondary outcomes of the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) cluster-randomized trial. The trial enrolled 2,705 married women and their children 3 years or younger in 96 rural settlements (geographic clusters) in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh.

Thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy prevalence in a community-based sample in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Background: Inherited blood disorders affect 7% of the population worldwide, with higher prevalences in countries in the "thalassemia belt," which includes Bangladesh. Clinical management options for severely affected individuals are expensive; thus, targeted government policies are needed to support prevention and treatment programs. In Bangladesh, there is a lack of data, in particular community-based estimates, to determine population prevalence.

Impact of a Homestead Food Production program on poultry rearing and egg consumption: A cluster-randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh.

Women and children in Bangladesh face high levels of micronutrient deficiencies from inadequate diets. We evaluated the impact of a Homestead Food Production (HFP) intervention on poultry production, as a pathway outcome, and women's and children's egg consumption, as secondary outcomes, as part of the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition cluster-randomized trial in Sylhet division, Bangladesh. The 3-year intervention (2015-2018) promoted home gardening, poultry rearing, and nutrition counseling.

Impact of a homestead food production program on women's empowerment: Pro-WEAI results from the FAARM trial in Bangladesh.

Nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs have the potential to improve women's and children's nutrition, along with women's empowerment. The project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) aims to standardize the measurement of women's agency and enable the assessment of impact over typical project timelines. Within the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural Habiganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh, we examined quantitative pro-WEAI data collected from a subsample of trial participants and their husbands (n = 885) approximately four months after the end of the intervention.

Key Food Hygiene Behaviors to Reduce Microbial Contamination of Complementary Foods in Rural Bangladesh.

Microbial contamination of complementary foods puts young children at risk of developing intestinal infections and could be reduced by improved handwashing and food hygiene practices. We aimed to identify which promoted food hygiene practices are associated with reduced complementary food contamination in a rural population in Bangladesh. We collected cross-sectional data on reported and observed maternal food hygiene behaviors and measured Escherichia coli counts as an indicator of microbial contamination in complementary food samples from 342 children of women enrolled in the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Design, delivery, and determinants of uptake: findings from a food hygiene behavior change intervention in rural Bangladesh.

Background: Microbial food contamination, although a known contributor to diarrheal disease and highly prevalent in low-income settings, has received relatively little attention in nutrition programs. Therefore, to address the critical pathway from food contamination to infection to child undernutrition, we adapted and integrated an innovative food hygiene intervention into a large-scale nutrition-sensitive agriculture trial in rural Bangladesh. In this article, we describe the intervention, analyze participation and uptake of the promoted food hygiene behaviors among intervention households, and examine the underlying determinants of behavior adoption.

Awareness, Experience, and Knowledge of Farming Households in Rural Bangladesh Regarding Mold Contamination of Food Crops: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Aside from specific environmental conditions, poor agricultural practices contribute to mold and thus the mycotoxin contamination of crops. This study investigated Bangladeshi farming households' (i) awareness of and experience with mold contamination of food crops; (ii) knowledge and awareness of the timing, causes, and consequences of mold and mycotoxin contamination; and (iii) knowledge of the recommended agricultural practices for controlling and preventing mold contamination of food crops. A survey was conducted with 1280 households in rural areas of Habiganj district, Bangladesh.

What Were the Drivers of Improving Child Nutritional Status in Bangladesh? An Analysis of National Household Data from 1992 to 2005 Guided by the UNICEF Framework.

Background: Bangladesh has experienced rapid reductions in child undernutrition and poverty, increases in maternal education, and dietary change over the past 3 decades.

Objective: We aimed to quantify the determinants of the improvement in child nutritional status among preschool-aged children in Bangladesh from 1992 to 2005.

Methods: We utilized data from 4 rounds of 2 linked and seasonally balanced survey systems: the Bangladesh Household [Income and] Expenditure Surveys (H[I]ES) and the Child [and Mother] Nutrition Survey (C[M]NS).

Women's fasting habits and dietary diversity during Ramadan in rural Bangladesh.

Little is known about fasting practices and dietary changes during Ramadan in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although pregnant women are exempt from fasting, they may still fast. This is of interest as dietary habits during pregnancy may affect the development of the unborn child.

The ongoing nutrition transition thwarts long-term targets for food security, public health and environmental protection.

The nutrition transition transforms food systems globally and shapes public health and environmental change. Here we provide a global forward-looking assessment of a continued nutrition transition and its interlinked symptoms in respect to food consumption. These symptoms range from underweight and unbalanced diets to obesity, food waste and environmental pressure.

Depression among women of reproductive age in rural Bangladesh is linked to food security, diets and nutrition.

Objective: To quantify the relationship between screening positive for depression and several indicators of the food and nutrition environment in Bangladesh.

Design: We used cross-sectional data from the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) trial in Bangladesh to examine the association of depression in non-peripartum (NPW) and peripartum women (PW) with food and nutrition security using multivariable logistic regression and dominance analysis.

Setting: Rural north-eastern Bangladesh.

Dietary Factors Moderate the Relation between Groundwater Iron and Anemia in Women and Children in Rural Bangladesh.

Background: Anemia affects ∼1.6 billion people worldwide, often owing to iron deficiency. In Bangladesh, high levels of anemia have been observed alongside little iron deficiency.

Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM): protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a Homestead Food Production programme on undernutrition in rural Bangladesh.

Introduction: Chronic undernutrition affects over 150 million children worldwide and has serious consequences. The causes are complex and include insufficient dietary diversity and poor hygiene practices. Systematic reviews of nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions concluded that while these hold promise, there is insufficient evidence for their impact on child growth.

Dietary Patterns and Determinants of Changing Diets in Bangladesh from 1985 to 2010.

Background: The government of Bangladesh has implemented multiple policies since 1971 to provide the population with more diverse and nutritious diets.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the drivers of dietary change over time and the roles agriculture and economic development have played.

Methods: We used principal component analysis to derive dietary patterns from 7 cross-sectional rounds of the Bangladesh Household [Income and] Expenditure Survey.

Epidemiology of anaemia in children, adolescent girls, and women in Bhutan.

Anaemia inhibits health and development in Bhutan. We estimated anaemia prevalence and explored risk factors in children and women using data from Bhutan's National Nutrition Survey 2015. Prevalence was calculated using life-stage-specific cut-offs adjusted for altitude and survey design.

Nutritional status and risk factors for stunting in preschool children in Bhutan.

Childhood malnutrition remains endemic in South Asia, although the burden varies by country. We examined the anthropometric status and risk factors for malnutrition among children aged 0-59 months through the 2015 National Nutrition Survey in Bhutan. We assessed in 1,506 children nutritional status (by z-scores of height-for-age [HAZ], weight-for-height [WHZ], and weight-for-age [WAZ]), estimating prevalence, adjusted for survey design, of stunting, wasting, underweight, and overweight (<-2 for HAZ, WHZ, and WAZ and >2 for WHZ).

Use of the Essential Nutrition Actions framework improved child growth in Bangladesh.

The Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) framework is an evidence-based set of cost-effective, integrated tools for training health and community workers to promote optimal nutrition practices for the first 1,000 days. This ENA pilot project (ENAPP) was implemented with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding from August 2008 to September 2009 in six unions of the working area of an existing USAID-funded, Title II programme in southern Bangladesh. ENAPP, which targeted governmental and non-governmental service providers, was intended to strengthen the behaviour change component of the nutrition strategy of this project.

Estimates of average energy requirements in Bangladesh: Adult Male Equivalent values for use in analyzing household consumption and expenditure surveys.

This dataset contains Adult Male Equivalent (AME) values for use in Bangladesh. These were constructed using prescriptive nutritional constructs adapted to the actual growth and weight pattern seen in Bangladesh. This dataset provides a common base to facilitate for future work with household consumption and expenditure data in Bangladesh while updating the average energy requirements for infants and young children for the WHO 2006 growth standards and 2007 growth reference curves.