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BackgroundClinical trials can serve as an opportunity gateway for enhanced health benefits to the target population, above and beyond the specific intervention being tested.ObjectiveThe Supplementation with Multiple Micronutrients Intervention Trial (SUMMIT), a randomized, controlled clinical trial in Lombok, Indonesia, found that supplementation during pregnancy with multiple micronutrients reduced 90-day infant mortality by nearly 20% as compared with iron-folic acid. This trial was designed as both a program and research trial and used community facilitators to serve as liaisons between the study and the pregnant women. This analysis documents the programmatic impacts of SUMMIT on health-seeking and early infant mortality resulting from community facilitators' field activities.MethodsData on compliance, human resource practices, health-seeking, and health outcomes from the 31,290 SUMMIT enrollees were analyzed.ResultsOverall compliance with either iron-folic acid or multiple micronutrients was high in the program, at 85.0%. Early prenatal care visits increased significantly. Sixty-three percent of primiparous women used a skilled birth attendant (SBA); among multiparous women, the rate of use of a SBA rose from 35% for the last birth to 53%. Use of a SBA resulted in a 30% reduction in early infant mortality (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.83; p < .0001), independently of any reductions due to multiple micronutrients. The community facilitators played a central role in improving health-seeking; however, the quality of the community facilitators' performance was associated with the impact of the micronutrient supplement on infant health. In a subsample of community facilitators, better-performing facilitators were found to markedly improve the overall impact of the multiple micronutrients on early infant mortality (RR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.92; p = .0117). In contrast, infants of women with poorly performing community facilitators were found to derive no additional benefit from the multiple micronutrients (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.72; p = .8568).ConclusionsSystematic enhancements to the quality of implementation of SUMMIT led to significant increases in use of SBAs at delivery, resulting in a 30% reduction in early infant mortality independent of the impact of micronutrient supplementation. Therefore, if women were to consume multiple micronutrients on a regular basis and were to use a SBA at delivery, the risk of early infant mortality could be reduced by nearly 50%. The impacts of community facilitators in effecting changes in women's health behaviors are notable and are applicable to other health programs. Enhancements to program implementation should be driven by evidence, be accountable to the communities the program serves, and be evaluated on the basis of measurable gains in health for women and children.

Original publication

DOI

10.1177/15648265090302s204

Type

Journal

Food and nutrition bulletin

Publication Date

06/2009

Volume

30

Pages

S207 - S214

Addresses

SUMMIT Institute of Development, Gedung Pusat Penelitian Bahasa dan Kebudayaan (P2BK), University of Mataram, Jalan Pendidikan No. 37, Mataram, NTB, Indonesia. avshanka@jhsph.edu

Keywords

SUMMIT Study Group, Humans, Deficiency Diseases, Folic Acid Deficiency, Iron, Iron, Dietary, Folic Acid, Micronutrients, Prenatal Care, Incidence, Infant Mortality, Patient Compliance, Parity, Pregnancy, Professional Competence, Dietary Supplements, Infant, Newborn, Health Promotion, Health Services Needs and Demand, Indonesia, Female, Community Health Workers, Iron Deficiencies