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Formative research is critical for developing effective nutrition-specific interventions to improve infant and young child (IYC) feeding practices and promote healthy growth. Health workers interact with caregivers during health facility visits, yet there is limited research about how to optimize delivery of such interventions during these visits. The extensive reach of IYC health services globally calls for research to address this gap. In Trujillo, Peru, formative research was conducted to explore complementary feeding practices with caregivers as well as health worker routines and interactions with caregivers related to feeding and healthy growth; results informed the development and delivery of an educational intervention. Multiple qualitative methods were used to collect data on a purposive sample of health workers and caregivers from three health facilities and communities: household trials followed. Complementary feeding messages with doable behaviours were developed, and three were selected as key to promote based on their nutritional impact and cultural acceptability. In the health facilities, medical consultation, well-child visits and nutrition consultation all dealt with aspects of IYC nutrition/growth during their interactions with caregivers but were independent and inconsistent in approach. A nutrition education strategy was developed based on consistency, quality and coverage in the IYC health services. We conclude that formative research undertaken in the community and IYC health services was critical to developing a successful and culturally relevant intervention to promote optimal complementary feeding practices and healthy growth during interactions between health workers and caregivers at routine health facility visits. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The risk of stunted growth and development is affected by the context in which a child is born and grows. This includes such interdependent influences as the political economy, health and health care, education, society and culture, agriculture and food systems, water and sanitation, and the environment. Here, we briefly review how factors linked with the key sectors can contribute to healthy growth and reduced childhood stunting. Emphasis is placed on the role of agriculture/food security, especially family farming; education, particularly of girls and women; water, sanitation, and hygiene and their integration in stunting reduction strategies; social protection including cash transfers, bearing in mind that success in this regard is linked to reducing the gap between rich and poor; economic investment in stunting reduction including the work with the for-profit commercial sector balancing risks linked to marketing foods that can displace affordable and more sustainable alternatives; health with emphasis on implementing comprehensive and effective health care interventions and building the capacity of health care providers. We complete the review with examples of national and subnational multi-sectoral interventions that illustrate how critical it is for sectors to work together to reduce stunting., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Childhood obesity in the United States is a serious problem that puts children at risk for poor health. Effective state-wide interventions are needed to address childhood obesity risk factors. Embedding evidence-based initiatives into state-level Early Care and Education (ECE) systems has the potential to improve health environments and promote healthy habits for the 12.5 million children attending ECE programs. Go NAPSACC, an online program that was adapted from an earlier paper version of Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAPSACC or NAP SACC), provides an evidence-based approach that aligns with national guidance from Caring for Our Children and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This study describes approaches undertaken across 22 states from May 2017 to May 2022 to implement and integrate Go NAPSACC into state-level systems. This study describes challenges encountered, strategies employed, and lessoned learned while implementing Go NAPSACC state-wide. To date, 22 states have successfully trained 1,324 Go NAPSACC consultants, enrolled 7,152 ECE programs, and aimed to impact 344,750 children in care. By implementing evidence-based programs, such as Go NAPSACC, ECE programs state-wide can make changes and monitor progress on meeting healthy best practice standards, increasing opportunities for all children to have a healthy start. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]