A community-based participatory nutrition promotion (CPNP) programme, involving a 2-week group nutrition session, attempted to improve child feeding and hygiene. The implementation, utilization and influence of the CPNP programme were examined by programme impact pathway (PIP) analysis.

Five CPNP programme components were evaluated: (i) degree of implementation; (ii) participants’ perception of the nutrition sessions; (iii) participants’ message recall; (iv) utilization of feeding and hygiene practices at early programme stage; and (v) participants’ engagement in other programmes.

Habro and Melka Bello districts, Ethiopia.

Records of 372 nutrition sessions, as part of a cluster-randomized trial, among mothers (n 876 in intervention area, n 914 in control area) from a household survey and CPNP participants (n 197) from a recall survey.

Overall, most activities related to nutrition sessions were successfully operated with high fidelity (>90 %), but a few elements of the protocol were only moderately achieved. The recall survey among participants showed a positive perception of the sessions (~90 %) and a moderate level of message recall (~65 %). The household survey found that the CPNP participants had higher minimum dietary diversity at the early stage (34·0 v. 19·9 %, P=0·01) and a higher involvement in the Essential Nutrition Action (ENA) programme over a year of follow-up (28·2 v. 18·3 %; P<0·0001) compared with non-participants within the intervention area.

Our PIP analysis suggests that CPNP was feasibly implemented, promoted a sustained utilization of proper feeding behaviours, and enhanced participation in the existing ENA programme. These findings provide a possible explanation to understanding CPNP’s effectiveness.