Child MalnutritionNCT05181293
Mobile Gaming App to Improve Child Nutrition in Nigeria
A study testing Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition Intervention in people with Child Malnutrition and Behavior, Maternal, run by University of Texas at Austin at 1 site in Nigeria.
Trial summary
Undernutrition among children born to teenage mothers deserves urgent attention in Nigeria, where 27.2% of girls (15-19 years) living in rural areas have begun childbearing. The overall goal of this study is to develop, validate and evaluate the effects of a mobile gaming app on the infant and young child feeding… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 0 months to 19 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Child Malnutrition, Behavior, Maternal
- What is being tested?
- Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition Intervention
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 216 participants
- Where
- 1 siteNigeria
- Study dates
- 23 Mar 2022to 15 Aug 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 0 months to 19 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- Teenage mothers with children aged 0 - 24 months
Who cannot join
- Children with acute infections, metabolic or feeding issues
- Mothers younger than 14 years of age
- HIV-positive mothers
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Nigeria1 site
Center for Family Health Initiative
Abuja, Federal Capital Territory
About this study
Official title: Impact of a Mobile Gaming App on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices of Teenage Mothers, and Nutritional Status of Children (0 - 24 Months) in Nigeria
Undernutrition among children born to teenage mothers deserves urgent attention in Nigeria, where 27.2% of girls (15-19 years) living in rural areas have begun childbearing. The overall goal of this study is to develop, validate and evaluate the effects of a mobile gaming app on the infant and young child feeding practices of teenage mothers, and the nutritional status of children (0 - 2 years).
Read the detailed description
Undernutrition among children born to teenage mothers deserves urgent attention in Nigeria, where 27.2% of girls (15-19 years) living in rural areas have begun childbearing. Pregnancy elevates the nutrient needs of teenage girls due to competing requirements for fetal development, and growth and maturity in the adolescent mother. The resultant children have a higher likelihood of underweight (13-fold), stunting (8-fold) and wasting (3-fold), and are over 50% more likely to die within the first month of birth, as compared to children of older mothers. Previous studies have found positive associations between maternal education/knowledge and optimum infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. Childbirth results in a sharp increase in the responsibilities and work burden of teenage mothers, negatively impacting capacity and self-efficacy for adequate child feeding. Furthermore, attempts to improve IYCF practices often target older women. The overall goal of this study is to develop, validate and evaluate the effects of a mobile gaming app on the infant and young child feeding practices of teenage mothers. A secondary goal is to evaluate the anthropometric and dietary and plasma levels of microminerals of children, 0 - 24 months of age. A mobile app will be developed and validated. It will feature an interactive role-play game on recommended IYCF practices that will help educate teenage mothers about feeding young children. A 6-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted in 266 predominantly low-income mother-child dyads (0 - 24 months) from Nigeria. This RCT will compare the influence of the BabyThrive app vs controls who receive a delayed intervention. It will include knowledge and practices regarding exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency, dietary diversity and amount of food consumed of teenage mothers. Anthropometric measurements and plasma ferritin and zinc of children also will be evaluated.
- Conditions
- Child Malnutrition, Behavior, Maternal
- Being tested
- Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition Intervention
- Medical subject headings
- Child Nutrition Disorders, Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition InterventionBehavioural
A mobile gaming app (BabyThrive) will be disseminated to teenage mothers to help them learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive will also demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of the baby to facilitate growth monitoring.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental | Experimental | A mobile gaming app (BabyThrive) will be disseminated to teenage mothers to help them learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive will also demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of the baby to facilitate growth monitoring. Receives: Behavioral: Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition Intervention |
| No Intervention | No intervention | In addition to routine health services, teenage mothers will receive the BabyThrive app after the intervention is completed. Participants will learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive also will demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of baby to facilitate growth monitoring. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) knowledge and practice scores of teenage mothers
Mean change in scores from baseline, after 6 months of intervention. Measured at baseline and at 6 months after the intervention, using the Teen Moms IYCF Questionnaire (to be validated at the beginning of this study)
Measured: Baseline, Month 6 of intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Jan 2022
- Study start23 Mar 2022
- Primary completion15 Aug 2024
- Study completion15 Aug 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Child MalnutritionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of Texas at AustinThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 216 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Texas at Austin
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jeanne Freeland-Graves, University of Texas at Austin
- Investigators
- Jeanne H Freeland-Graves, PhD, RD, Principal investigator, University of Texas at Austin
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05181293
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY00001047
- Status last verified
- Mar 2025
- First submitted
- 17 Dec 2021
- Last updated
- 28 Mar 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 28 Mar 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Impact of a Mobile Gaming App on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices of Teenage Mothers, and Nutritional Status of Children (0 - 24 Months) in Nigeria
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05181293
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- STUDY00001047
- Conditions
- Child Malnutrition, Behavior, Maternal
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 216 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Texas at AustinUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 23 Mar 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Aug 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 15 Aug 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 6 Jan 2022 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Undernutrition among children born to teenage mothers deserves urgent attention in Nigeria, where 27.2% of girls (15-19 years) living in rural areas have begun childbearing. The overall goal of this study is to develop, validate and evaluate the effects of a mobile gaming app on the infant and young child feeding practices of teenage mothers, and the nutritional status of children (0 - 2 years).
Detailed description
Undernutrition among children born to teenage mothers deserves urgent attention in Nigeria, where 27.2% of girls (15-19 years) living in rural areas have begun childbearing. Pregnancy elevates the nutrient needs of teenage girls due to competing requirements for fetal development, and growth and maturity in the adolescent mother. The resultant children have a higher likelihood of underweight (13-fold), stunting (8-fold) and wasting (3-fold), and are over 50% more likely to die within the first month of birth, as compared to children of older mothers. Previous studies have found positive associations between maternal education/knowledge and optimum infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. Childbirth results in a sharp increase in the responsibilities and work burden of teenage mothers, negatively impacting capacity and self-efficacy for adequate child feeding. Furthermore, attempts to improve IYCF practices often target older women. The overall goal of this study is to develop, validate and evaluate the effects of a mobile gaming app on the infant and young child feeding practices of teenage mothers. A secondary goal is to evaluate the anthropometric and dietary and plasma levels of microminerals of children, 0 - 24 months of age. A mobile app will be developed and validated. It will feature an interactive role-play game on recommended IYCF practices that will help educate teenage mothers about feeding young children. A 6-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted in 266 predominantly low-income mother-child dyads (0 - 24 months) from Nigeria. This RCT will compare the influence of the BabyThrive app vs controls who receive a delayed intervention. It will include knowledge and practices regarding exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency, dietary diversity and amount of food consumed of teenage mothers. Anthropometric measurements and plasma ferritin and zinc of children also will be evaluated.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental | Experimental | Behavioral: Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition InterventionA mobile gaming app (BabyThrive) will be disseminated to teenage mothers to help them learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive will also demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of the baby to facilitate growth monitoring. |
| No Intervention | No intervention | –In addition to routine health services, teenage mothers will receive the BabyThrive app after the intervention is completed. Participants will learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive also will demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of baby to facilitate growth monitoring. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 0 months to 19 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Teenage mothers with children aged 0 - 24 months
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Children with acute infections, metabolic or feeding issues
- Mothers younger than 14 years of age
- HIV-positive mothers
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition InterventionA mobile gaming app (BabyThrive) will be disseminated to teenage mothers to help them learn about exclusive breastfeeding, introduction to solid/semi-solid foods, meal frequency and dietary diversity. BabyThrive will also demonstrate how to prepare 30 nutritious recipes for complementary feeding; create a calendar and set reminders to prompt mothers to access child health services; and plot growth patterns of the baby to facilitate growth monitoring. | Behavioural | Experimental |
Primary outcome
Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) knowledge and practice scores of teenage mothers
Time frame: Baseline, Month 6 of intervention
Mean change in scores from baseline, after 6 months of intervention. Measured at baseline and at 6 months after the intervention, using the Teen Moms IYCF Questionnaire (to be validated at the beginning of this study)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 28 Mar 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Jeanne H Freeland-Graves, PhD, RD principal investigator
University of Texas at Austin
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Mobile Gaming App for Nutrition Intervention in people with Child Malnutrition and Behavior, Maternal, run by University of Texas at Austin at 1 site in Nigeria.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Mar 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Nigeria. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) knowledge and practice scores of teenage mothers (time frame: Baseline, Month 6 of intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 28 Mar 2025.