A randomized controlled trial of home visits by neighborhood mentor mothers to improve children's nutrition in South Africa

Figures & data

Figure 1. Outline of flow of participants in the study.

Table 1. Demographic and background characteristics of mothers and their children at recruitment by intervention condition

	Control (n = 179)		Intervention (n = 500)		Total (n = 679)		p ^e
Maternal characteristics
	Mean (SD)		Mean (SD)		Mean (SD)
Mean age of caregiver mothers^a	29.9	(7.2)	29.1	(7.2)	29.4	(7.2)	0.37
Mean years of residence in Cape Town^b	10.3	(7.6)	10.0	(7.2)	10.1	(7.3)	0.73
Mean number of living children^c	2.7	(1.7)	2.6	(1.6)	2.6	(1.6)	0.29
	n	(%)	n	(%)	n	(%)
Married vs. single	120	(70.6)	330	(70.4)	450	(70.4)	0.96
Presence of father^c							0.50
Present	80	(60.6)	230	(56.9)	310	(57.8)
Maintaining	6	(4.6)	13	(3.2)	19	(3.5)
Absent	46	(34.9)	161	(39.9)	207	(38.6)
Child characteristics
	Mean (SD)		Mean (SD)		Mean (SD)
Mean birth weight in grams^c	2574.5	(619)	2494.9	(641)	2514.1	(636)	0.22
Mean weight at recruitment in kg^d	9.0	(2.5)	8.6	(2.4)	8.7	(2.4)	0.06
Mean age at recruitment in months^d	27.0	(15.2)	26.0	(15.2)	26.2	(15.2)	0.45
Mean weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ)	−3.21	(0.87)	−3.49	(1.09)	−3.41	(1.04)	<0.01
	n	(%)	n	(%)	n	(%)
Male gender	87	(48.6)	253	(50.6)	340	(50.1)	0.65
Low birth weight, <2500 grams^c	46	(35.9)	173	(43.0)	219	(41.3)	0.16
Supported by a nutrition program	32	(18.6)	120	(25.8)	152	(23.8)	0.06
Cut size of child's meal in past 12 months	71	(41.8)	213	(44.6)	284	(43.8)	0.53
School attended							0.41
Preschool	4	(2.4)	17	(3.6)	21	(3.3)
Creche	11	(6.7)	18	(3.8)	29	(4.6)
Informal playgroup	13	(7.9)	48	(10.2)	61	(9.6)
Not attending	136	(82.4)	386	(82.1)	522	(82.2)
Unknown	1	(0.6)	1	(0.2)	2	(0.3)
Household characteristics
	n	(%)	n	(%)	n	(%)
Housing							0.75
Formal	42	(24.3)	125	(25.5)	167	(25.2)
Site and service	49	(28.3)	120	(24.5)	169	(25.5)
Informal	81	(46.8)	240	(49.0)	321	(48.4)
Other	1	(0.6)	5	(1.0)	6	(0.9)
Access to water							0.57
Tap on site	94	(55.0)	251	(51.8)	345	(52.6)
Communal tap	72	(42.1)	224	(46.2)	296	(45.1)
Other source	5	(2.9)	10	(2.1)	15	(2.3)
Sewage							0.66
Flush toilet	100	(58.8)	270	(56.5)	370	(57.1)
Bucket	28	(16.5)	94	(19.7)	122	(18.8)
None	42	(24.7)	114	(23.9)	156	(24.1)
Overall smell							0.67
Pleasant	39	(23.1)	94	(20.0)	133	(20.8)
Neutral	109	(64.5)	312	(66.2)	421	(65.8)
Poor	21	(12.4)	65	(13.8)	86	(13.4)
Hygiene							0.40
Good	48	(28.1)	111	(23.5)	159	(24.7)
Average	90	(52.6)	254	(53.7)	344	(53.4)
Poor	33	(19.3)	108	(22.8)	141	(21.9)
Notes: ^a n = 325 (48% of possible responses).
^b n = 417 (61% of possible responses).
^c n = at least 530 (at least 78% of possible responses).
^d n = 679 (full sample).
For remaining measures, total n = 635 or greater (at least 93% of responses).
^e t-Test or Wilcoxon test for means; χ^2 test or Fisher's exact test for percentages.

Figure 2. Plots of model-fitted weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) over time for initially malnourished children in the intervention and control conditions.