Chama Cha MamaToto: a Pilot Study of Peer Support Groups in Kenya

Overview

Preventing maternal and newborn deaths remain high on the global agenda. To address this, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), in partnership with the Government of Kenya, launched Chama cha MamaToto, a community-led peer-support model that groups women together in pregnancy and infancy. Central to the chama approach is the integration of health, social and financial literacy education with a savings/loans program.

To evaluate the feasibility of chamas, we analysed group attendance rates, GISE participation, membership retention, and continuation of the groups beyond the one year. To evaluate the effect of chamas, the investigators compared data from a prospective cohort of women in chamas with a group of controls who did not belong to a chama, matched for age, parity, and location of prenatal care. To evaluate the acceptability of chamas, FGDs were carried out with chama and non-chama participants, health providers and community health workers.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Outcomes