Using formative research to inform the design of a home fortification with micronutrient powders (MNP) Program in Aileu District, Timor-Leste.

Background: Using formative research to guide the planning and implementation of home fortification programs is critical if they are to achieve the desired level of acceptance and coverage by the target beneficiaries.

Objective: To explore contextual factors that could influence acceptance, delivery, and use of micronutrient powders (MNP) in Aileu District, Timor-Leste.

Methods: Two focus group discussions were conducted with mothers of children 6 to 23 months of age, and 56 in-depth interviews were conducted with mothers (n = 18), fathers (n = 14), grandmothers (n = 14), health workers (n = 8), and Catholic catechists (n = 2).

Uncorrected refractive error and presbyopia among junior high school teachers in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Purpose: To report on the frequency of observed refractive and accommodative errors among junior high school teachers in Jakarta, Indonesia, who participated in a Helen Keller International screening, refraction and spectacle distribution program.

Methods: A total of 965 teachers from 19 schools were eligible for screening; those with uncorrected distance visual acuity (VA) ≤ 6/12-3 and teachers ≥ 35 years old with uncorrected end-point print size >Jaeger (J) 6 were referred. Autorefraction and subjective refraction were performed for teachers with confirmed decreased VA.

The Program Assessment Guide: an approach for structuring contextual knowledge and experience to improve the design, delivery, and effectiveness of nutrition interventions.

As evidence from small-scale trials has accumulated concerning the efficacy of low-cost interventions to address undernutrition, the design, implementation, and strengthening of large-scale programs to deliver these interventions has become a high priority. This scaling up process involves a large number of technical, logistical, administrative, political, and social considerations and little research exists on how to address these in a systematic way. This paper introduces the Program Assessment Guide (PAG), a set of analysis and decision tools that seeks to fill this gap, and reports on its application in Kyrgyzstan and Bolivia.

Incidence and risk factors for newborn umbilical cord infections on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Background: Few community-based data exist on the frequency of cord infection signs in low resource settings, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. We developed simple sign-based definitions of omphalitis and estimated incidence and risk factors for infection over a range of severity among neonates in Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Methods: Infants' umbilical stump was assessed on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 after birth for presence of pus, redness, swelling, and foul odor.