Analysis was done in EpiInfo version 3.4.1 and the result presented in simple frequency tables. Content analysis was performed on qualitative data generated to identify representative

narratives for presentation. Significant observations made on the field were also reported from field notes. The quantitative and qualitative findings were triangulated to complement each other. Ethical considerations Respondents were informed about the aims and objectives Ulixertinib mw of the study and oral informed consent was obtained from each respondent. Also, consent was obtained from each community at a community durbar, where the leadership of the communities (both traditional and political) pledged their supports for the project. The project

was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for medical Research, University of Ghana Legon. Results Demographic characteristics of respondents find more The ages of opinion leaders interviewed were between 40 and 70 years. They were parents /caregiver, grandparents and great-grandparents of children participating in the study. The caregivers were aged between 20 and 42 years with majority (81.9%) being between 18 and 33 years. Most of them (91.4%) were mothers of participating children. Majority (55.5%) of the caregivers had their education up to the Junior High School level with a considerable number (41.9%) not having formal education. About half (48.6%) of the caregivers were artisans doing among other things weaving of rattan mats and ‘crab-traps’ for sale. Others (8.6%) were engaged in harvesting of mangrove and date-palm

branches for sale. Average monthly income reported by respondents was about GH¢100 (about US$69; at the rate of GH¢1.44 per US$1). Of the nine CAs only one is a female. Table 1 summarized the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of Respondents Awareness and participation Opinion leaders mafosfamide interviewed reported that they were involved in mobilizing community members for the commencement of the project. For caregivers, 75 (71.4 %) of them became aware of the project through community sensitization durbars. The rest were not in the community when the project commenced but were informed about it upon their return by either a family member or a community assistant. Over half (53.3%) of the caregivers had only one child (Table 1). Caretakers who have more than two children in the study reported that they were caring for either their husband’s children from another woman or were caring for their nieces and nephews in addition to their own children. About 44.8% of the children were between one and three years, 35.2% were between three and five years whiles 20.0% were between six and twelve months old.