Global Nutrition

(P15-015-21) Promoting Interpersonal Communication for Anemia Reduction: Findings From the Reduction in Anemia Through Normative Innovations (RANI) Project

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Presenting Author(s)

Shikha Chandarana, MS

PhD Student
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Co-Author(s)

RR

Rajiv Rimal, PhD

Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
ST

Sameera A. Talegawkar, PhD

Associate Professor
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
JB

Jeffrey Bart Bingenheimer, PhD

The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Erica Sedlander, DrPH, MPH

Director of Research and Dissemination
University of California, San Francisco
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
IP

Icchya Pant, MPh

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
AA

Aika Aluc, MPh

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
YJ

Yichen Jin, MSPH

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
BP

Bikash Panda, MBA

DCOR Consulting
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
HY

Hagere Yilma, MPH

The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
RG

Rohini Ganjoo, PhD

George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships:

Shikha Chandarana, MS: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Rajiv Rimal, PhD: Disclosure information not submitted.

Sameera A. Talegawkar, PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Jeffrey Bart Bingenheimer, PhD: Disclosure information not submitted.

Erica Sedlander, DrPH, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Icchya Pant, MPh: Disclosure information not submitted.

Aika Aluc, MPh: Disclosure information not submitted.

Yichen Jin, MSPH: Disclosure information not submitted.

Bikash Panda, MBA: Disclosure information not submitted.

Hagere Yilma, MPH: Disclosure information not submitted.

Rohini Ganjoo, PhD: Disclosure information not submitted.

Objectives: More than half of women of reproductive age in India are anemic, a condition treatable through regular iron folic acid uptake. Previous studies have shown the importance of participatory interactions and interpersonal communication in improving women’s health. The Reduction in Anemia through Normative Innovations (RANI) study investigated the effect of general health and anemia- specific interpersonal communication on improving iron folic acid use among women of reproductive age.

Methods: The RANI Project is a cluster randomized trial that collected longitudinal data from control (N=1896) and treatment (N= 1898) communities in Odisha, India at baseline and at midline, 6 months later. Structural equation models assessed the intervention effect on iron folic acid use through both, general health interpersonal communication focused on “the health of women in the community” and anemia-specific interpersonal communication.

Results: Compared to the control arm, iron folic acid use significantly increased in the treatment arm; health communication and anemia-specific communication also increased. The impact of the intervention on iron folic acid use was mediated through anemia-specific interpersonal communication (p < 0.001). The effect of general health interpersonal communication on iron folic acid uptake was only manifest in the indirect pathway, with anemia-specific interpersonal communication serving as the mediator.

Conclusions: Many rural Indian women do not have access to health information through mass and social media thus interventions need to rely on novel ways of disseminating health information. These results indicate that interpersonal communication can serve this function as increased interpersonal communication among participants, resulted in improved iron folic acid use. These findings also emphasize the importance of distinguishing between general interpersonal communication and health topic-specific interpersonal communication. Strategic use of targeted interpersonal communication in promoting behavior change is a viable strategy in increasing iron folic acid use, leading to anemia reduction.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by a grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.