Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a community-based egg program in rural Honduras

BACKGROUND: Young children living in poor rural areas in Honduras are susceptible to suffering from undernutrition. About 1 in every 4 children under age 5 have stunting. Stunting during early childhood has negative consequences on an individual's life that can have short-term and lasting effects. This study's purpose was to explore the perceptions of the mothers of children that participate in a community-based nutrition-agriculture program that offers 1 egg daily to all children ages 6 to 24 months in 13 communities. METHODS: Using community-engaged methods, we implemented a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a semi-structured guide to conduct in-depth interviews in n = 14 participating mothers in the Hens Hatching Hope project (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04721197). Interviews were performed by a local community health worker in Spanish, translated to English, and analyzed via content analysis by a researcher. Main themes were identified and synthesized. RESULTS: Some of the identified strengths were the “improved community access to eggs” and “financial assistance that offset burdening household expenses”. For weaknesses “expansion of program age eligibility to accommodate multi-child households” and “no control over parent's use of eggs”. For opportunities “Implementation of external community resources” and “improve water and sanitation initiatives”, for threats “changes in political climate” and “frail farm infrastructure”. CONCLUSIONS: Perception of the program is positive among all mother participants. This analysis identified multiple strengths and opportunities to 1) improve the program locally, and 2) expand the program's scope and reach. Further, this analysis identified weaknesses and potential threats that will serve to modify and improve the delivery and uptake of the intervention. KEY MESSAGES: • Explore program strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats perceived by particpating mothers of a community-based nutrition agriculture program that provides 1 egg a day to their child's diet. • The swot analysis of participating mothers’ interviews serves in the developing contingency plans to continue the Hens Hatching Hope program.