African Rural Health Systems & Practice | 12 May 2012
Gender-Specific Nutritional Interventions for Adolescent Girls and Their Impact on Malnutrition Prevalence and Academic Performance in Mozambique
N, a, d, i, r, a, C, h, i, k, o, d, z, a
Abstract
This study investigates gender-specific nutritional interventions for adolescent girls in Mozambique to reduce malnutrition prevalence and improve academic performance. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including baseline surveys, programme implementation, follow-up assessments, and qualitative interviews. Data were analysed using chi-square tests for categorical variables and linear regression models for continuous variables. The intervention led to a statistically significant reduction in malnutrition prevalence (p < 0.05) among adolescent girls compared to the control group, with an estimated effect size of 23% reduction. Gender-specific nutritional interventions were effective in improving both health outcomes and educational progress for adolescent girls in Mozambique. Continued support should be provided to ensure sustainability of these programmes and further research is recommended to explore long-term impacts on health and education. Nutritional Interventions, Adolescent Girls, Malnutrition Reduction, Academic Performance, Mozambique Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.