Study Title
‘Bhavishya Shakti: Empowering the Future’: Establishing and evaluating a pilot community mobile teaching kitchen as an innovative model, training marginalised women to become nutrition champions and culinary health educators in Kolkata, India.
Principal Investigator
Luke Buckner, et al.
Affiliation
NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, University of Cambridge, Remedy Clinic Study Group, Kolkata, India.
Start Date
February 2018.
End Date
August 2018.
Study Objective
To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a mobile teaching kitchen (MTK) as a nutrition education platform to create culinary health educators from marginalised women in Kolkata, India.
Short Abstract
This study assessed the feasibility of a mobile teaching kitchen (MTK) initiative aimed at empowering women from two slums in Kolkata to become nutrition champions and health educators. The intervention improved nutrition knowledge and practices, demonstrating the potential of the MTK model as a scalable and impactful public health tool. Post-intervention, statistically significant improvements in nutrition knowledge and practices were observed among participants.
Study Design
Participatory action research approach with baseline and post-intervention assessments.
Population
Marginalised women from two slum communities (RG Kar and Chetla) in Kolkata, India.
Sample Size
12 women (6 from each slum) and 10 children.
Inclusion Criteria
Women from the RG Kar and Chetla slums of Kolkata.
Exclusion Criteria
None specified.
Intervention/Exposure
Six months of nutrition education through a mobile teaching kitchen, using a "See One, Do One, Teach One" approach.
Outcome Measures
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) scores, anthropometric and clinical nutritional status, and mentalising skills.
Funding Source
Global Challenges Research Fund, University of Cambridge Interdisciplinary Research Centre.
Collaborating Institutions
NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, Remedy Clinic Study Group, Inner Wheel Club of Greater Calcutta.
Ethics Approval
Approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Remedy Clinic Study Group, Kolkata, India.
Publication Status
Published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, July 2021.
Keywords
Mobile teaching kitchen, nutrition education, public health, slums, women empowerment.
Data Collection Methods
Baseline and post-intervention anthropometric measurements, clinical assessments, and KAP questionnaires.
Primary Data Availability
All data relevant to the study are included in the article.
Contact Information
Dr. Luke Buckner,