Impact of a positive deviance approach to improve the effectiveness of an iron-supplementation program to control nutritional anemia among rural Senegalese pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Iron supplementation through prenatal care remains the most widespread strategy to control anemia during pregnancy, but its effectiveness is only partial, showing the need to address other approaches.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to measure the impact of a positive deviance approach to improve an iron-supplementation program among pregnant women in a rural Senegalese area.

METHODS: A positive deviance approach (PD Micah) was compared with an ongoing integrated nutrition and health program intervention (Micah) in a rural Senegalese area. A pre-post evaluation was conducted using independent cross-sectional samples with a total of 371 pregnant women. A sociodemographic questionnaire was administered, and biologic and anthropometric measurements were performed.

RESULTS: After 9 months of activities, the mean hemoglobin level rose from 93.9 to 100.7 g/L in the PD Micah group. Distribution of iron supplements through community volunteers and implementation of healthy pregnancy promotion sessions on a monthly basis improved the accessibility to 23.3% in the PD Micah group. No significant change was observed in the Micah group. Logistic regression analysis showed a significantly reduced risk of anemia in the PD Micah area (adjusted odds ratio, 0.25; 95% confidence interval, 0.12 to 0.53).

CONCLUSIONS: This intervention shows that a community-based strategy, such as the positive deviance approach, can contribute to improving the effectiveness of iron supplementation during pregnancy.