In-Progress

A dose-response model of road development and child nutrition in Nepal

Publication Type

Transportation development accompanies economic development, both as a driver of growth and as an outcome of economy-wide investments made possible by growth. Evidence of the effects of roads and road quality on human well-being is limited. This paper studies the association between district-level transportation infrastructure and district-average child nutrition outcomes in Nepal. We combine two rounds of nationally representative data on child growth from the 2006 and 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys with district-level information on roads and road quality.

Misreporting Month of Birth: Implications for Nutrition Research

Publication Type

Height-for-age z-scores (HAZs) and stunting status (HAZ<−2) are widely used to measure child nutrition and population health. However, accurate measurement of age is nontrivial in populations with low levels of literacy and numeracy, limited use of formal birth records, and weak cultural norms surrounding birthdays and calendar use. In this paper we use Demographic and Health Surveys data from 62 countries over the period 1990–2014 to describe two statistical artifacts indicative of misreporting of age.

Behavior Change for Early Childhood Nutrition: Effectiveness of Health Worker Training Depends on Maternal Information in a Randomized Control Trial

Publication Type

We carry out a randomized control trial to test for interaction effects between training state-employed caregivers and providing mothers information to improve nutrition of preschool children aged 2-6 in rural India. Salaried caregivers are supposed to provide a mid-day meal and also advise mothers on health and nutrition for their child. Our one-day caregiver training covered basic health and nutrition facts with advice on how to communicate with mothers for behavior change at home.

Can Smallholder Fruit and Vegetable Production Systems Improve Household Food Security and Nutritional Status of Women?

Publication Type

This paper aims to empirically infer potential causal linkages between fruit and vegetable (F&V) production, individual F&V intake, household food security, and anemia levels for individual women caregivers of childbearing age. Using a unique and rich data set recently collected from rural smallholder Ugandan households, we show that the use of a qualitative tool to measure household food insecurity is robust and applicable in other contexts.

No Rice in the House: Risk Factors and Association with Nutritional Status of Nepalese 9-13 year olds

Publication Type

The aim of the study is to examine the association between household characteristics and "rise insecurity" as a measure of food insecurity and to explore the relationship between rice insecurity and the nutritional status of children 9-13 years of age in a rural population in Sarlahi District of Nepal.

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Agricultural correlates of linear growth and key modifiers among children under two years in rural Uganda

Publication Type

This study was a cross-sectional survey that provides a baseline to evaluate a large USAID-funded integrated nutrition and agriculture program called the Community Connector (CC) The study was conducted in three districts designated as CC Phase I and three districts designated as CC Phase II in northern and southwestern Uganda. The target sample size in each district was 600 randomly selected households, for a total target sample size of 3600 households and a final achieved sample size of 3630 households.

Assessing the Linkage Between Agriculture, Food Security, Nutrition and Health Among Women and Children in Rural Ugandan Households

Publication Type

There is significant movement globally and in Uganda on addressing issues of nutrition and health in vulnerable populations including women and children. This is especially important since approximately 0.5 million women die each year of pregnancy related complications linked under nutrition, while more than 5 million pre-school children die of preventable causes due to the combined effects of disease and under nutrition.