Vol. 2009 No. 1 (2009)
Design and Evaluation of School-Based Nutrition Intervention Programmes for Adolescent Girls in Rural South Africa, 2009
Abstract
Adolescent girls in rural South Africa face significant nutritional challenges, impacting their health outcomes and future prospects. A participatory approach involving teachers, students, and community leaders was employed to develop the programme. Data on dietary intake and health status were collected through surveys administered at baseline and post-intervention. Students showed an increase in vegetable consumption by 15% and a decrease in sugary drink intake by 20%, with significant improvement in knowledge scores related to nutrition, though there was variability across schools. The intervention demonstrated potential for improving nutritional status among adolescent girls but required further refinement based on specific school contexts. Tailored interventions should be implemented considering contextual factors such as dietary habits and community engagement strategies. nutrition, adolescent girls, rural South Africa, participatory approach Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.