Biological Effects of cKMC
This study is a sub-study of CISMACs main cKMC trial and aims to investigate some of the biological and physiological pathways involved in cKMC.
Hovedinnhold
Effect of community initiated Kangaroo Mother Care in low birth weight infants on infant breast milk intake, gut inflammation, maternal depressive symptoms and stress
This study investigates mechanistic pathways which may be involved in community initiated Kangaroo Mother Care (cKMC) and is a sub-study of CISMAC’s larger cKMC trial. The study aims to explore some of the biological and physiological pathways which may underlie the cKMC intervention that could improve survival and growth in low birth weight (LBW) infants.
The study assesses the impact of cKMC on the volume of infant breast milk intake in LBW babies, maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and stress, and infant gut inflammation. The results will fill in critical knowledge gaps linking biological mechanisms to the primary trial’s clinical outcomes.
Many intervention trials do not incorporate assessments of the mechanistic pathways involved, which may cause difficulties in explaining the clinical success or failure of the intervention, and limit its scientific value. This study represents a step forward in intervention research by linking findings from a large intervention trial with mechanistic studies. The approach could potentially be a model for adding scientific value to other public health trials currently only measuring clinical outcomes.
In addition to its inherent scientific value, a better understanding of the biological pathways involved in cKMC will enable this intervention to be more attractive to pediatricians and policy makers, and may thereby help to promote it, should it prove to be efficacious.
Principal Investigator:
Bireshwar Sinha, Society for Applied Studies, India
Co-Principal Investigators:
Nita Bandahari, Society for Applied Studies, India
Halvor Sommerfelt, University of Bergen, and Norwgian Institute of Public Health, Norway
