A Behavior Change Approach for Advancing Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices and Early Child Development in Vulnerable West Bank Communities

Title: A Behavior Change Approach for Advancing Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices and Early ChildDevelopment in Vulnerable West Bank Communities Conference: Geneva Health Forum 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland | 10–12 November 2026 Description: This scientific poster presents findings from a community-based intervention study conducted in vulnerable communities of the West Bank, Palestine, examining the effectiveness of an integrated behavior change approach to improving infant and young child feeding (IYCF), early childhood development (ECD), and maternal well-being. Using a quasi-experimental pre–post design, the study involved 449 mother–infant dyads across 30 vulnerable communities. The intervention integrated the Go Baby Go parenting programme, IYCF counselling, and psychological first aid through a community health worker-led platform, combining monthly group sessions and home visits over approximately 11 months. Findings demonstrated significant improvements in maternal knowledge, psychosocial well-being, responsive caregiving, and early learning opportunities (p < .001). Mean maternal knowledge scores increased from 11.24 to 21.25, while the proportion of mothers with high mental well-being increased from 9.4% to 30.5%. Households reporting three or more children's books increased from 21.4% to 66.8%. Developmental screening also facilitated early identification and follow-up of children with potential developmental delays. The study highlights the potential of integrating nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning, and psychosocial support through community-based platforms to promote holistic child development in fragile and resource-constrained settings. The findings support further implementation, rigorous evaluation, and adaptation of integrated nurturing care interventions in other vulnerable communities globally. Keywords: Early Childhood Development; Infant and Young Child Feeding; Nurturing Care; Responsive Caregiving; Maternal Well-being; Community Health Workers; Behavior Change; Fragile Settings; Palestine. Presented at: Geneva Health Forum 2026, Geneva, Switzerland, 10–12 November 2026. Related publication: This poster presents findings from a study published in Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. The published article and conference poster are separate academic outputs (Volume 4 - 2026 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2026.1777729).