Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 13;18(12):e0294410.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294410. eCollection 2023.

What works in engaging communities? Prioritising nutrition interventions in Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa

Daniella Watson  1   2   3 , Mary Barker  4   5   6   7 , P Romuald Boua  8 , Samuel Chatio  9 , Adelaide Compaoré  8 , Marion Danis  10 , Maxwell Dalaba  9   11 , Agnes Erzse  12 , Polly Hardy-Johnson  1   4 , Sarah H Kehoe  1   4 , Karen J Hofman  12 , Wendy T Lawrence  4   13 , Engelbert A Nonterah  9   14 , Hermann Sorgho  8 , Teurai Rwafa-Ponela  12 , Kate A Ward  1   4   7 , Aviva Tugendhaft  12 ; INPreP study group
Affiliations

What works in engaging communities? Prioritising nutrition interventions in Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa

Daniella Watson et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: "Choosing All Together" (CHAT), is a community engagement tool designed to give the public a voice in how best to allocate limited resources to improve population health. This process evaluation explored the mechanisms through which CHAT generates community engagement.

Method: The CHAT tool was adapted and implemented for use in two rural communities (Nanoro, Burkina Faso, and Navrongo, Ghana) and one urban township (Soweto, South Africa) to prioritize maternal and child nutrition interventions. Community discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Twenty-two transcripts, including six each from Navrongo and Soweto and 10 from Nanoro, were analysed thematically to generate data driven codes and themes to explain mechanisms underlying the CHAT process. The process evaluation was based on the UK MRC process evaluation guidance.

Results: Seven themes describing the functions and outcomes of CHAT were identified. Themes described participants deliberating trade-offs, working together, agreeing on priorities, having a shared vision, and increasing their knowledge, also the skills of the facilitator, and a process of power sharing between participants and researchers. Participants came to an agreement of priorities when they had a shared vision. Trained facilitators are important to facilitate meaningful discussion between participants and those with lower levels of literacy to participate fully.

Conclusion: CHAT has been shown to be adaptable and useful in prioritising maternal and child nutrition interventions in communities in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and South Africa. Conducting CHAT in communities over a longer period and involving policy-makers would increase trust, mutual respect and develop partnerships.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Nanoro, Burkina Faso CHAT board.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Navrongo, Ghana, CHAT board [16].
Fig 3
Fig 3. Soweto, South Africa, CHAT board [17].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Keats EC, Das JK, Salam RA, Lassi ZS, Imdad A, Black RE, et al.. Effective interventions to address maternal and child malnutrition: an update of the evidence. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2021. May 1;5:367–84. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30274-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Freire P. Education for critical consciousness. US: Bloomsbury Publishing 2021
    1. Freire P. Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury, US: Bloomsbury publishing; 2018.
    1. Campbell C. Community mobilisation in the 21st century: Updating our theory of social change? J Health Psychol. 2014;19:46–59. doi: 10.1177/1359105313500262 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Madden M, Morley R. Exploring the challenge of health research priority setting in partnership: reflections on the methodology used by the James Lind Alliance Pressure Ulcer Priority Setting Partnership. Res Involv Engagem. 2016;2:12. doi: 10.1186/s40900-016-0026-y - DOI - PMC - PubMed