Mapping the range of policies relevant to care of small and nutritionally at-risk infants under 6 months and their mothers in Ethiopia: a scoping review protocol

Marie McGrath; Mirkuzie Woldie; Melkamu Berhane; Mubarek Abera; Endashaw Hailu; Ritu Rana; Betty Lanyero; Carlos Grijalva-Eternod; Alemseged Abdissa; Tsinuel Girma; Marko Kerac; Tracey Smythe

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069359

Mapping the range of policies relevant to care of small and nutritionally at-risk infants under 6 months and their mothers in Ethiopia: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open. 2023 Sep 19;13(9):e069359. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069359.

Authors

Marie McGrath^{1

2}, Mirkuzie Woldie³, Melkamu Berhane⁴, Mubarek Abera⁵, Endashaw Hailu⁶, Ritu Rana⁷, Betty Lanyero⁸, Carlos Grijalva-Eternod^{2

9}, Alemseged Abdissa¹⁰, Tsinuel Girma¹¹, Marko Kerac², Tracey Smythe¹²

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Nutrition Network, Kidlington, UK Marie.McGrath@lshtm.ac.uk.
² Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
³ Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Directorate, Ethiopia Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
⁵ Faculty of Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
⁶ GOAL Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁷ Department of Public Health Programmes, Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
⁸ Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, World Health Organization Country Office for Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁹ Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK.
¹⁰ Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
¹¹ Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
¹² Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, International Centre for Evidence in Disability, Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence gaps limit management of small and/or nutritionally at-risk infants under 6 months and their mothers, who are at higher risk of death, illness, malnutrition and poor growth and development. These infants may be low birth weight, wasted, stunted and/or underweight. An integrated care model to guide their management (MAMI Care Pathway) is being tested in a randomised controlled trial in Ethiopia. Evaluating the extent to which an innovation is consistent with national policies and priorities will aid evidence uptake and plan for scale.

Methods and analysis: This review will evaluate the extent to which the MAMI Care Pathway is consistent with national policies that relate to the care of at-risk infants under 6 months and their mothers in Ethiopia. The objectives are to describe the range and characteristics, concepts, strategic interventions, coherence and alignment of existing policies and identify opportunities and gaps. It will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Eligible documents include infant and maternal health, nutrition, child development, food and social welfare-related policies publicly available in English and Amharic. The protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework Registry on 20 June 2022 (https://osf.io/m4jt6).Grey literature will be identified through government and agency websites, national and subnational contacts and Google Scholar, and published policies through electronic database searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global and Health Information). The searches will take place between October 2023 and March 2024. A standardised data extraction tool will be used. Descriptive analysis of data will be undertaken. Data will be mapped visually and tabulated. Results will be described in narrative form. National stakeholder discussions will inform conclusions and recommendations.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required as data consist solely of publicly available material. Findings will be used to evidence national and international policy and practice.

Keywords: health policy; international health services; nutrition; public health.

Publication types

Clinical Trial Protocol
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Child Development
Critical Pathways
Ethiopia
Female
Humans
Infant
Mothers*
Public Policy*
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Review Literature as Topic
Systematic Reviews as Topic

Grants and funding

001/WHO_/World Health Organization/International