Impact of a Community Based Positive Deviance Hearth Intervention on Feeding Practices Among Malnourished Children Aged 6-59 Months in Bomet County Kenya

Child undernutrition remains a major public health challenge in Kenya. Suboptimal feeding practices contribute significantly to persistent underweight and stunting. This study evaluated the effect of a community-based Positive Deviance Hearth (PDH) intervention on feeding practices among children aged 6-59 months in Sub County within a County of study. The study adopted a two-group pretest-posttest randomized experimental study design conducted for six months period, among 84 caregiver-child pairs in intervention and control groups. A multi-stage sampling was employed to identify study settings and participants. Structured and pretested questionnaires, 24-hour food recall questionnaires and meal diversity questionnaires were used for data collection at pre-intervention and post-intervention periods. Data was analyzed using R software v.4.5.2. The differences between intervention and control groups at baseline and endline were assessed using difference-in-difference analysis, relevantly summarized using adjusted DID estimates, 95% confidence intervals and p-values, with p<0.05 considered significant. The PDH intervention significantly improved feeding practices among children 6-59 months. Meal frequency increased for 9-23 months (DiD = +1.4; 95% CI: 1.2-1.7; p = 0.034) and 24 months and above (DiD = +1.2; 95% CI: 1.1-1.5; p = 0.017), and dietary diversity rose (DiD = +1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.9; p < 0.001). Nutrient-dense food consumption improved, including legumes (DiD = +32.6%; p < 0.001) and animal-source foods (DiD = +35.4%; p < 0.001). Energy and protein intake increased across all age groups (p < 0.05), and micronutrients iron, vitamin A, vitamin C also rose significantly (p < 0.05). The PDH intervention substantially improved caregiver feeding practices, increased dietary diversity, and enhanced macro- and micronutrient intake, demonstrating its effectiveness as a scalable, community-driven strategy for sustainably improving child nutrition in high-burden settings.