USING POSITIVE DEVIANCE BY MICRONUTRIENT STATUS TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN FOOD BEHAVIORS IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN GHANA
Open Access
- Author:
- Heine, Carissa Noel
- Area of Honors:
- Nutritional Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Alison Diane Gernand, Thesis Supervisor
Alison Diane Gernand, Thesis Honors Advisor
Laura E Murray-Kolb, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- ghana
nutrition
positive deviance
micronutrient status
micronutrient deficiency
malnutrition
food behaviors
women of reproductive age
preconception
qualitative data
nutritional science
low-resource - Abstract:
- Micronutrient deficiencies are common in low-income countries. A previous study measured the concentrations of several micronutrients in pre-pregnant women in a low-resource, semi-rural town in Ghana and gathered information from each woman on socio-economic, demographic, and other lifestyle characteristics (n=100). For the current study, we followed the “positive deviance” approach: micronutrient status and other biomarkers from the previous study were used to identify “positive deviants” (excellent nutritional health, n=13), a normal control group (average nutritional health, n=61), and “negative deviants” (lowest nutritional health, n=24). Field staff interviewed women from both positive (n=9) and negative (n=11) deviant groups in their homes and directly observed household resources. Data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods as appropriate. The study found that consumption of turkey berry (a high-iron fruit), ownership of home and agricultural land, exposure to healthcare, living in a larger household with more than two adults, living farther from the town’s market and having a consistent schedule for purchasing food were higher among the positive deviants (healthiest women), while consumption of starchy foods and sugary drinks and possession of electric or gas utilities were higher among negative deviants. Future work could explore the ability to promote the factors found to be related to better nutritional health in this community and to explore similar issues in other low-resource communities around the globe.