Community Theater Participation and Nutrition-Related Practices: Evidence From Nepal

• In Event: Development Communication in the 21st Century

Abstract

Objective: Suaahara, a nutrition-enhancement program in Nepal, conducted participatory community theater (CT) dramas with the goal of improving nutrition-related practices.
Design: To evaluate CT, a pre-/post-test with randomized intervention and matched control sites was used. At both baseline and endline, 600 individuals aged 18-59 were interviewed in the control sites and 600 in the intervention sites.
Results: Multivariate logistic analysis controlling for background characteristics found that CT attendance was significantly and positively associated with improved nutrition-related knowledge (OR: 7.4, p<0.001), communication (OR 2.3, p<0.001), hand washing after cleaning a defecating child (OR: 1.49, p<0.05), feeding children eggs (OR: 1.83, p<0.01), and feeding children meat and/or fish (OR: 2.10, p<0.01).
Conclusions: This is the first study to rely on a pre-post matched intervention- control design to assess CT effects in a low-income setting. These findings support the continued and expanded use of CT as a valuable community-based, public health approach.

Authors

• Carol R. Underwood, Johns Hopkins U

• Elena Broaddus, Johns Hopkins U