NCT02672982

Follow Up of Severely Malnourished Children (FUSAM)

Follow Up of Severely Malnourished Children (FUSAM): Effectiveness of a Combined Nutrition Psychosocial Intervention on Health and Development.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 427 (actual)
• Sponsor: Action Contre la Faim · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Months – 23 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The overall objective of the research is to assess the long-term and cost-effectiveness of a combined nutrition psychosocial intervention to a stand-alone nutritional treatment of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) aged 6 to 24 months in the Saptari District of Nepal.

Detailed description

In Nepal, the majority of SAM children are treated with therapeutic food in community/home-based care, and little is known about the long-term sustainability of the nutritional and health benefits of treatment after rehabilitation. The two treatments will be compared in terms of costs of treatment and convened health benefits (child nutritional status and development, cured rate and relapse, maternal mental health, and family care practices) at both short and long-term periods after admission. The proposed complementary psychosocial intervention focuses directly on the key underlying determinants of acute malnutrition within children's early years, such as child care practices and stimulation, parent-child relationships and maternal mental health. It includes the mother/caregiver as patient of psychosocial support, but also empowers her as the key ally in the treatment of the undernourished child. Adding a brief psychosocial component to the standard medico-nutritional treatment is expected to pay off in terms of sustainable recovery, health, and development outcomes of children.

Conditions

• Severe Acute Malnutrition

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	NUTPSY treatment	The psychosocial component of the new combined treatment involves seven weekly counselling sessions with mothers focused on feeding, emotional attachment, stages of child development, stimulation, emotional responsiveness and interaction, and on concerns/strategies of child care and parenting.
OTHER	NUT treatment	Only the standard nutritional treatment in the form of Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is administered.

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-12-08
• Primary completion: 2017-01-31
• Completion: 2017-01-31
• First posted: 2016-02-03
• Last updated: 2022-03-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Nepal