Enhancing intergenerational HeAlth in Nigeria: peripartum as Critical life stagE for CardioVascular Health...

Pregnancy is a crucial period to improve cardiovascular health (CVH) for mothers and their families. The current study emphasizes framework-guided factors that influence the adaptation of an evidence-based intervention (Parents as Teachers and Healthy Eating Active Living Taught at Home [PAT + HEALTH]) to support healthy gestational weight gain and postpartum weight management among pregnant women with obesity and their infants in Nigeria.

From May to June 2023, 43 in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 parents, 15 community health extension workers (CHEWs)/health educators, and 17 policymakers/ healthcare supervisors in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Additionally, nine focus groups were conducted with 75 participants. Interviews were recorded, de-identified, and transcribed. The updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 2.0) informed the development of the interview guides and the thematic analysis. Transcripts were double-coded using Dedoose.

We identified assessing context, tailoring strategies, local attitudes, and sustainability as constructs to consider when adapting and implementing the PAT + HEALTH intervention successfully within the Nigerian primary care context. For example, policymakers and healthcare supervisors emphasized the feasibility of the intervention, including raising community awareness, planning for hard-to-reach areas, and ensuring supportive supervision of CHEWs delivering the intervention. Additional factors included customizing educational content and delivery methods to fit the cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental contexts of Nigerian families. CHEWs highlighted the importance of public education on locally available foods for better nutrition. Potential barriers to the PAT + HEALTH intervention included local attitudes influenced by sociocultural factors, such as food taboos, and structural factors, including limited financial support for the long-term sustainability of some components of the home visiting program.

Building on these formative activities, the ENHANCE CVH trial will advance dissemination and implementation science by adapting, testing, and evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of the PAT + HEALTH intervention among pregnant women with obesity and their infants in Nigeria in a cluster randomized trial.

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT06773299, Registration Date: January 14, 2025.