Understanding the Role of Different Program Components of a Nutrition Sensitive Intervention in Mediating Impact: Applying Causal Mediation Analysis to Experimental Evidence From Burkina Faso

IFPRI Discussion Paper 2072

26 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2022

See all articles by Jessica Heckert

Jessica Heckert

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Jessica Leight

Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Josué Awonon

Tufts University

Aulo Gelli

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Date Written: December 15, 2021

Abstract

In complex nutrition-sensitive interventions, separately identifying the effect of each programmatic component on the outcomes of interest can be challenging. This paper examines the relationship between participation in different elements of the nutrition-sensitive intervention SELEVER, implemented in rural Burkina Faso with the objective of increasing poultry production and enhancing related nutritional outcomes, and women’s poultry production. We use structural equation modeling to estimate the direct effect of each component of program participation. Our findings suggest that respondents’ directly reported participation in SELEVER intervention activities mediates less than half of the observed intervention effects on poultry owned by women as well as women’s revenue and profits from poultry production. Accordingly, other indirect channels for program effects also seem to be important.

Keywords: poultry production, gender, structural equation modeling

Suggested Citation

Heckert, Jessica and Leight, Jessica and Awonon, Josué and Gelli, Aulo, Understanding the Role of Different Program Components of a Nutrition Sensitive Intervention in Mediating Impact: Applying Causal Mediation Analysis to Experimental Evidence From Burkina Faso (December 15, 2021). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2072, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3986421

Jessica Heckert

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Jessica Leight (Contact Author)

Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Josué Awonon

Tufts University ( email )

Medford, MA 02155
United States

Aulo Gelli

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

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