Public Health Workshops on Nutrition and Growth Reduce Stunting in Peri-Urban Kenyan Children: A Five-Year Follow-Up Study

Stunting in peri-urban Kenyan children is a public health concern, with inadequate nutrition being a major contributing factor. Public Health Workshops (PHWs) have been proposed as an effective intervention to address this issue. A longitudinal cohort study involving 1200 peri-urban Kenyan children aged 6 months to 5 years. Data collection included anthropometric measurements (height-for-age) and socio-economic status assessments. PHWs were conducted at three-month intervals, with follow-up visits every six months. A significant reduction in stunting prevalence was observed from baseline to the end of the study period, with a decrease in height-for-age Z-scores by an average of 0.5 standard deviations (95% CI: -0.62, -0.38). The public health workshops significantly improved nutritional practices and growth outcomes among peri-urban Kenyan children. Continued implementation of PHWs alongside other interventions will be crucial in sustaining the observed benefits. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.