Overview

Assess the social support fathers and grandmothers provide to mothers. Fathers and grandmothers were asked about support provided, and mothers were asked about support received. The questions comprised nine key social support actions provided to the mother in the two weeks preceding the survey and three material support actions conducted in the past month. The questions reflect accompaniment, physical support, advice, financial support, and material support for the mother and child (e.g., milk, meat, fruit).

Scoring and Interpretation

Each of the nine supportive actions reported received a score of 1. Social support was categorized as five or more social support actions or less than five social support actions.

Citation

Mukuria, Altrena G., Stephanie L. Martin, Thaddeus Egondi, Allison Bingham, and Faith M. Thuita. 2016. "Role of Social Support in Improving Infant Feeding Practices in Western Kenya: A Quasi-experimental Study." Global Health: Science and Practice 4,(1): 55-72.

Context and Applications to Child Nutrition

Kenya

Adaptations

N/A

Formative Research

Thuita, Faith M., S. L. Martin, K. Ndegwa, A. Bingham, and A. G. Mukuria. "Engaging fathers and grandmothers to improve maternal and child dietary practices: Planning a community-based study in western Kenya.” African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Development 15(5) (2015): 10386-10405.

USAID’s Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project (IYCN). "Engaging Grandmothers and Men in Infant and Young Child Feeding and Maternal Nutrition: Report of a Formative Assessment in Eastern and Western Kenya" Washington (DC): USAID IYCN; 2011.

NOTE: No psychometrics conducted but based on formative research and significantly associated with complementary feeding practices.