Effectiveness of the communication program on compliance in a weekly multimicronutrient supplementation program in Chiclayo, Peru

Background. Compliance with daily micronutrient supplementation is usually poor and the question arises whether compliance with a weekly regimen would be better. Objectives. The inputs (messages and channels), output (increase of knowledge), and outcome (behavior changes) of a communication campaign in a micronutrient supplementation program for women and adolescent girls 12 through 44 years of age and children under 5 years of age (primary audience) were analyzed. Methods. The communication program addressed not only the primary, but also the secondary (facilitators) and tertiary audiences. Formative research and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the communication campaign. Results. Nearly all women and adolescentgirls (89%) and children (91%) took at least 75% of the supplements over the 3-month period. The incidence rates of reported negative side effects of supplementation in children and in women and adolescent girls were less than 10%. Knowledge of micronutrient nutrition among facilitators of all ages and education levels increased significantly (p <.001). Conclusions. A thoroughly planned and implemented nutrition communication program can secure high compliance of the beneficiaries of micronutrientsupplementation programs. The necessary supplies should be available at least 3 months before program implementation. With an adequate communication program, supplementation programs can be used to foster food-based approaches for the target audience.