Leveraging community health workers for context-specific food and nutrition education: the implementation of a multi-media edutainment intervention for South Africans
1
1Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research, IBE, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Munich, Germany
2
2Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany
3
3School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
4
4School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
5
5Non-Communicable Disease Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
6
6Chronic Disease Initiative for Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
7
7Department of Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3045
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Amid the ongoing epidemiological transition, driven partly by shifting dietary patterns,1 strengthening food and nutrition literacy is crucial for advancing population health outcomes.2,3 South Africa has the potential to deploy community health workers (CHWs) to advocate for food and nutrition literacy (FNL) as a mechanism to combat all forms of malnutrition that coexist with diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in poorly resourced communities4-6. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of multi-media education-entertainment (MM-EE) materials in improving FNL among CHWs who serve poorly resourced communities.
METHODS:
In this quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-intervention data were collected from ninety-six CHWs in low-income urban townships in Cape Town using a validated questionnaire. The MM-EE intervention comprised of information on FNL presented through comic booklets and short video clips was implemented among the CHWs, spanning seven weeks. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, correlation and regression models.
RESULTS:
Participants were predominantly aged between 35-44 years (41.6%) with 68.8% classified as having obesity. Significant improvements were observed in FNL scores, particularly in meal planning (53% [IQR 40-66%] pre- vs. 67% [IQR 50-84%] post-intervention), preparation, (43% [IQR 22-64%] pre vs. 63% [IQR 52-74%] post), and the use of food labels (55% [IQR 36-84%] pre vs. 75% [IQR 58-92%] post) (p<0.05). Overall food and nutrition literacy also showed a positive trend with unweighted median scores increasing from 62% [IQR 54-70%] to 70% [IQR 59-79%].
CONCLUSIONS:
Findings indicate the potential of MM-EE to significantly improve FNL among CHWs in South Africa, highlighting the importance of innovative approaches in addressing food and nutrition knowledge gaps.
Amid the ongoing epidemiological transition, driven partly by shifting dietary patterns,1 strengthening food and nutrition literacy is crucial for advancing population health outcomes.2,3 South Africa has the potential to deploy community health workers (CHWs) to advocate for food and nutrition literacy (FNL) as a mechanism to combat all forms of malnutrition that coexist with diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in poorly resourced communities4-6. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of multi-media education-entertainment (MM-EE) materials in improving FNL among CHWs who serve poorly resourced communities.
METHODS:
In this quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-intervention data were collected from ninety-six CHWs in low-income urban townships in Cape Town using a validated questionnaire. The MM-EE intervention comprised of information on FNL presented through comic booklets and short video clips was implemented among the CHWs, spanning seven weeks. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, correlation and regression models.
RESULTS:
Participants were predominantly aged between 35-44 years (41.6%) with 68.8% classified as having obesity. Significant improvements were observed in FNL scores, particularly in meal planning (53% [IQR 40-66%] pre- vs. 67% [IQR 50-84%] post-intervention), preparation, (43% [IQR 22-64%] pre vs. 63% [IQR 52-74%] post), and the use of food labels (55% [IQR 36-84%] pre vs. 75% [IQR 58-92%] post) (p<0.05). Overall food and nutrition literacy also showed a positive trend with unweighted median scores increasing from 62% [IQR 54-70%] to 70% [IQR 59-79%].
CONCLUSIONS:
Findings indicate the potential of MM-EE to significantly improve FNL among CHWs in South Africa, highlighting the importance of innovative approaches in addressing food and nutrition knowledge gaps.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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