Home visits by neighborhood Mentor Mothers provide timely recovery from childhood malnutrition in South Africa: results from a randomized controlled trial

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of children and mothers enrolled in Philani intervention and control groups

	Control group (n = 252)		Philani intervention (n = 536)		Total (n = 788)
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Child characterisics
Mean age at admission (months), SD	21.2	16.6	17.3	15.3	18.5	15.9	**
Female gender	163	64.7	316	59.1	479	60.9
Low birth weight (N = 657)	92	46.2	258	56.3	350	53.3	*
Mean weight at admission (kilograms), SD	7.8	3.0	6.8	3.1	7.1	3.1	**
Mean weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), SD	-3.1	1.9	-3.4	1.0	-3.3	1.4	*
Supported by nutrition program	38	15.1	109	20.4	147	18.7
Mother characteristics
Has deceased children	6	2.4	21	3.9	27	3.4
Employed	22	8.9	56	10.5	78	10
Received any grants	176	70.4	341	63.9	517	65.9
Born outside of Cape Town	215	86.4	453	85.0	668	85.4
Mean number of years in Cape Town, SD	10.1	7.5	10.0	7.1	10.0	7.2
Housing/living situation
Reported by mother
Housing description
Formal	76	30.3	160	30.2	236	30.3
Site & service	47	18.7	92	17.4	139	17.8
Informal	128	51.0	277	52.4	405	51.9
Mean number of adults living in household, SD	4.6	2.6	4.6	2.7	4.6	2.7
Water on site	119	47.4	254	48.1	373	47.9
Flush toilet vs. bucket/nothing	138	55.9	291	55.1	429	55.4
Cut size of meals due to lack of money
Child(ren)'s meals	70	28.0	133	25.1	203	26.0
Adult(s) meals	91	36.6	170	32.1	261	33.6
Reported by interviewer
No foul odor on property	226	91.5	487	92.1	713	91.9
Good hygeine	79	31.7	167	31.5	246	31.5

ISSN: 1475-2891