Social Norms: A Missing Ingredient of Programs Seeking to Foster Women’s Agency in Nutrition

IF 3.8 Q2 NUTRITION & DIETETICS Current Developments in Nutrition Pub Date : 2024-09-01 DOI:10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104440
Francine E Wood , Katherine L Dickin , Lisa Sherburne , Mariam Diakite , Abdoulkader Boubacar , Meghan Pollak , Rebecka Lundgren
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Abstract

Social expectations play a crucial role in shaping dietary practices among women and children. However, despite significant attention to promoting social and behavioral change in nutrition-focused programs and research, the influence of social norms on women’s agency in enhancing nutrition practices is often overlooked. In this perspective, we advocate for a paradigm shift by incorporating a “norms aware” approach. This underscores the importance of recognizing, measuring, and addressing the societal constraints and barriers that women and children encounter in their journey to improved nutrition. Drawing on insights from the United States Agency for International Development-funded Kulawa project in Niger, we highlight the implications of using social norms diagnosis tools to understand the contextual dynamics within child-feeding practices, informing intervention design, and targeted populations. Integrating a norms perspective into nutrition programming and research does not require an overhaul, but rather a nuanced application of understanding of contextual drivers, such as social norms and agency, that have been underemphasized. We delve into the role of the socio-ecologic system, underscore the importance of addressing power imbalances related to gender and social hierarchy, and emphasize that programs targeting norms should aim for community rather than individual-level change. We provide guidance for programs and research integrating a norms perspective, as well as examples of how tools, such as the Social Norms Exploration Tool and Social Norms Analysis Plot framework, can be applied to identify and prioritize social norms, facilitating the design of “norms aware” programs. Additionally, we highlight the critical role of community engagement and discuss the value of using qualitative and quantitative approaches to document the process and outcomes of social norms research, program design, and implementation. When we recognize the role of social norms in nutrition as a missing ingredient in nutrition research, programming, and social and behavior change strategies, we create opportunities for more effective and contextually relevant research and interventions that address the complexities of enhancing nutrition practices among women and children.

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社会规范:旨在促进妇女在营养方面的自主权的计划中缺失的一个要素
社会期望对妇女和儿童饮食习惯的形成起着至关重要的作用。然而,尽管在以营养为重点的计划和研究中对促进社会和行为变化给予了极大的关注,但社会规范对妇女加强营养实践的影响却常常被忽视。从这一角度出发,我们主张通过纳入 "规范意识 "方法来实现模式转变。这强调了认识、衡量和解决妇女和儿童在改善营养过程中遇到的社会限制和障碍的重要性。根据美国国际开发署资助的尼日尔 Kulawa 项目的经验,我们强调了使用社会规范诊断工具来了解儿童喂养实践中的背景动态、干预设计和目标人群的意义。将社会规范视角融入营养计划和研究并不需要大刀阔斧的改革,而是需要细致入微地应用对社会规范和机构等背景驱动因素的理解,这些因素一直未得到足够重视。我们深入探讨了社会生态系统的作用,强调了解决与性别和社会等级相关的权力不平衡问题的重要性,并强调针对规范的计划应以社区而非个人层面的变化为目标。我们为纳入规范视角的计划和研究提供指导,并举例说明如何应用社会规范探索工具和社会规范分析 Plot 框架等工具来识别社会规范并确定其优先次序,从而促进 "规范意识 "计划的设计。此外,我们还强调了社区参与的关键作用,并讨论了使用定性和定量方法记录社会规范研究、计划设计和实施的过程和结果的价值。当我们认识到社会规范在营养研究、计划制定以及社会和行为改变策略中的作用时,我们就能创造机会,开展更有效、更贴近实际情况的研究和干预活动,解决妇女和儿童营养实践中的复杂问题。
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来源期刊
Current Developments in Nutrition
Current Developments in Nutrition NUTRITION & DIETETICS-
CiteScore
5.30
自引率
4.20%
发文量
1327
审稿时长
8 weeks
期刊最新文献
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