PMID- 32955449 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE LR - 20240802 IS - 1929-0748 (Print) IS - 1929-0748 (Electronic) IS - 1929-0748 (Linking) VI - 9 IP - 9 DP - 2020 Sep 21 TI - Assessing the Effectiveness of Policies Relating to Breastfeeding Promotion, Protection, and Support in Southeast Asia: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study. PG - e21286 LID - 10.2196/21286 [doi] LID - e21286 AB - BACKGROUND: Despite its well-known benefits, breastfeeding practices remain suboptimal worldwide, including in Southeast Asia. Many countries in the region have thus enacted policies, such as maternity protection and the World Health Assembly International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code), that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Yet the impact of such national legislation on breastfeeding practices is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to review the content, implementation, and potential impact of policies relating to maternity protection and the Code in Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. METHODS: This mixed methods study includes a desk review, trend and secondary data analyses, and quantitative and qualitative data collection. Desk reviews will examine and compare the contents, implementation strategies, coverage, monitoring, and enforcement of national policies focusing on maternity protection and the Code in each country with global standards. Trend and secondary data analyses will examine the potential impact of these policies on relevant variables such as breast milk substitute (BMS) sales and women's workforce participation. Quantitative data collection and analysis will be conducted to examine relevant stakeholders' and beneficiaries' perceptions about these policies. In each country, we will conduct up to 24 in-depth interviews (IDI) with stakeholders at national and provincial levels and 12 employers or 12 health workers. Per country, we will survey approximately 930 women who are pregnant or have a child aged 0-11 months, of whom approximately 36 will be invited for an IDI; 12 partners of the interviewed mothers or fathers of children from 0-11 months will also be interviewed. RESULTS: This study, funded in June 2018, was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the relevant organizations (FHI 360: April 16, 2019 and May 18, 2020; and Hanoi University of Public Health: December 6, 2019). The dates of data collection are as follows: Vietnam: November and December 2019, May and June 2020; the Philippines: projected August 2020; Myanmar and Thailand: pending based on permissions and funding. Results are expected to be published in January 2021. As of July 2020, we had enrolled 1150 participants. We will present a comparison of key contents of the policies across countries and against international standards and recommendations and a comparison of implementation strategies, coverage, monitoring, and enforcement across countries. We will also present findings from secondary data and trend data analyses to propose the potential impact of a new or amended policy. For the surveys with women, we will present associations between exposure to maternity protection or BMS promotion on infant and young child feeding practices and their determinants. Findings from IDIs will highlight relevant stakeholders' and beneficiaries' perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: This study will increase the understanding of the effectiveness of policy interventions to improve breastfeeding, which will be used to advocate for stronger policy adoption and enforcement in study countries and beyond. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/21286. CI - (c)Tuan T Nguyen, Amy Weissman, Jennifer Cashin, Tran T Ha, Paul Zambrano, Roger Mathisen. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 21.09.2020. FAU - Nguyen, Tuan T AU - Nguyen TT AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-0737-430X AD - Alive & Thrive, FHI 360, Hanoi, Vietnam. FAU - Weissman, Amy AU - Weissman A AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2510-3500 AD - Alive & Thrive, FHI 360, Hanoi, Vietnam. AD - Asia Pacific Regional Office, FHI 360, Bangkok, Thailand. FAU - Cashin, Jennifer AU - Cashin J AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8290-7906 AD - Alive & Thrive, FHI 360, Yangon, Myanmar. FAU - Ha, Tran T AU - Ha TT AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-3712-2517 AD - Research and Training Center for Community Development (RTCCD), Hanoi, Vietnam. FAU - Zambrano, Paul AU - Zambrano P AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-9372-423X AD - Alive & Thrive, FHI 360, Manila, Philippines. FAU - Mathisen, Roger AU - Mathisen R AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4475-8716 AD - Alive & Thrive, FHI 360, Hanoi, Vietnam. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20200921 PL - Canada TA - JMIR Res Protoc JT - JMIR research protocols JID - 101599504 PMC - PMC7536596 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (The Code) OT - Southeast Asia OT - breast milk substitute OT - breastfeeding OT - maternal, infant, and young child nutrition OT - maternity protection OT - mixed methods study COIS- Conflicts of Interest: None declared. EDAT- 2020/09/22 06:00 MHDA- 2020/09/22 06:01 PMCR- 2020/09/21 CRDT- 2020/09/21 12:11 PHST- 2020/06/14 00:00 [received] PHST- 2020/08/04 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2020/07/29 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2020/09/21 12:11 [entrez] PHST- 2020/09/22 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2020/09/22 06:01 [medline] PHST- 2020/09/21 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - v9i9e21286 [pii] AID - 10.2196/21286 [doi] PST - epublish SO - JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Sep 21;9(9):e21286. doi: 10.2196/21286.