{
  "abstract": "South Asian communities in the UK experience disproportionate maternal and child health inequalities linked to non-recommended infant feeding practices, limited health literacy, and socioeconomic constraints. Participatory learning and action (PLA) is effective in low- and middle-income countries, but high-income evidence is scarce. This pilot assessed the feasibility of a community facilitator-led PLA intervention to improve infant feeding among South Asian families in East London.\n\nA three-arm pilot feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN10234623) was conducted in Tower Hamlets and Newham, East London (May-September 2022), with 12 wards randomised 1:1:1 to face-to-face PLA, online PLA, or usual care. Multilingual community facilitators delivered eight biweekly sessions over 14 weeks. Feasibility outcomes were assessed against prespecified Go/Stop criteria; exploratory outcomes included child feeding behaviours (Childrens Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, CEBQ), parental feeding style (Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire, PFSQ), and child BMI Z-scores.\n\nOf 263 enrolled participants, 261 had a recorded trial arm allocation; consent to the pilot feasibility study was 70.7% (186/263; 95% CI 65.0-75.9%) meeting the [≥]50% Go criterion. Attendance was 37% (Tower Hamlets 59%, Newham 29%), below the [≥]80% Go threshold. Six-month retention was 54.8% (Tower Hamlets 78%, Newham 48.5%; 95% CI 41.8-55.3%), triggering the Definite Stop criterion. Significant baseline imbalances included BMI Z-score (p = 0.005), ethnicity, borough, and education; no between-arm BMI differences were observed at follow-up (p = 0.249). CEBQ and PFSQ baseline completion was 24.5% and 23.0%, with no usable follow-up data. PLA Phases 3 and 4 were not completed by any group; all participants providing feedback reported it acceptable.\n\nRecruitment was feasible and the intervention acceptable, but a Definite Stop criterion was triggered in Newham, no group completed the full PLA cycle, and outcome data were insufficient for evaluation. A definitive trial requires stratified randomisation, digitised multilingual data collection, participant reimbursement, and explicit PLA phase-completion criteria.\n\nTrial registrationISRCTN10234623 (IRAS ID: 296259; Ethics Ref: 21/SW/0142).",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "UCL: University College London"
  ],
  "article_type": "PUBLISHAHEADOFPRINT",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "L. Manikam"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Fatima"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Patil"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. A. Mayadewi"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. El Khatib"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Drazdzewska"
    },
    {
      "name": "O. Oyebode"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. H. Llewellyn"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Webb-Martin"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Irish"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Archibong"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Gilmour"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Kalungi"
    },
    {
      "name": "N. Batura"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Shringarpure"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Lakhanpaul"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Heys"
    },
    {
      "name": "NEON Steering Team"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cdaqvbgd6q0kn.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604v1.full",
  "id": "cdaqvbgd6q0kn",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "medrxiv",
      "public and global health"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Breastfeeding Practices and Influences"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204746732",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-28",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cdaqvbgd6q0kn.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604",
      "source": "medrxiv",
      "url": "https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.26361604v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "medrxiv:public and global health",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON): A pilot cluster randomised controlled trial of community-facilitator-led participatory learning and action womens groups to improve infant feeding & care among South Asian families in East London",
  "title_text": "Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON): A pilot cluster randomised controlled trial of community-facilitator-led participatory learning and action womens groups to improve infant feeding & care among South Asian families in East London",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cdaqvbgd6q0kn",
  "venue": "medRxiv",
  "versions": []
}