Role of home visits by volunteer community health workers: to improve the coverage of micronutrient powders in rural Bangladesh

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the role of home visits by Shasthya Shebika (SS) - female volunteer community health workers (CHWs) - in improving the distribution of micronutrient powder (MNP), and explored the independent effects of caregiver-provider interaction on coverage variables. DESIGN: We used data from three cross-sectional surveys undertaken at baseline (n 1927), midline (n 1924) and endline (n 1540) as part of an evaluation of a home fortification programme. We defined an exposure group as one that had at least one SS visit to the caregiver's household in the 12 months preceding the survey considering three outcome variables - message (ever heard), contact (ever used) and effective coverage (regular used) of MNP. We performed multiple logistic regressions to explore the…