Impact of the National Strategy for Prevention and Attention of Infant Obesity (Proteja) on the coverage of the Surveillance System for Food and Nutritional among children under ten years old

• Grant number: 23/03530-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Mori Sarti
• Grantee: Jayanne Mayara Magalhães de Melo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The double cargo of malnutrition is a complex public health problem in the current scenario of the country, especially due to lasting impacts on children's growth and development. Thus, it is essential to stimulate the expansion and incorporation of food and nutritional surveillance tools in the routine of primary health care as a strategy for evaluating and monitoring the nutritional status of the child population and public policy planning. Objective: The present study proposes to evaluate the impact of the National Strategy for Prevention and Attention to Infant Obesity (PROTEJA) on the coverage of the nutritional status of children under ten years and the exclusive breastfeeding marker (AME) in under six months in the Surveillance System for Food and Nutrition (SISVAN Web). Methods: This is a prospective natural experiment based on municipal-level secondary data. The intervention group will be defined by the municipalities that voluntarily joined to PROTEJA (n = 1,320) and the control group (n = 1,320) will be formed by propensity score pairing, based on socioeconomic, geographical, demographic and health characteristics. Difference models in differences will be used to compare the average differences of groups over time (pre- and post-implementation) in relation to nutritional status and AME marker, including control variables to minimize potential external effects. Expected Results: It is expected to identify significant differences between groups of municipalities over time, in order to verify PROTEJA effects in terms of nutritional status coverage and AME marker in SISVAN Web in municipalities adherent to the strategy. Consequently, it will be possible to identify characteristics of program implementation, as well as evaluate potential weaknesses in the implementation process, proposing modifications in specific dimensions of the implementation plan to foster strategy expansion in other Brazilian municipalities in following cycles. (AU)