An Integrated Microcredit, Entrepreneurial Training, and Nutrition Education Intervention Is Associated with Better Growth Among Preschool-Aged Children in Rural Ghana1–3

Background: Poor diet quality is a determinant of the high prevalence rates of malnutrition in Ghana. There is little evidence on the effectiveness of a multisector intervention to improve children's diets and nutritional status. Objective: The project tested whether participation in an entrepreneurial and nutrition education intervention with microcredit was associated with the nutritional status of children 2–5 y of age. Methods: A quasi-experimental 16-mo intervention was conducted with microcredit loans and weekly sessions of nutrition and entrepreneurship education for 179 women with children 2–5 y of age [intervention group (IG)]. Nonparticipating women and their children from the same villages (nonparticipant, n = 142) and from similar neighboring villages (comparison, n = 287) were enrolled. Repeated measures linear regression models were used first to examine children's weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and body mass index–for-age (BAZ) z scores at baseline and at 4 follow-up time points ∼4 mo apart. Time, intervention status, time-by-intervention interaction terms, region of residence, household wealth rank, household head occupation, number of children