CRESP-Senegal held a workshop on applying the Positive Deviance Approach to childhood iron deficiency anemia in June 2002 followed by a trial intervention which continued for three months. While anemia is acknowledged as a problem in the fishing community of Yoff, the means to addressing this problem are less clear. Families eat their meals from a common bowl, with the younger children not having "access" to the iron-rich fish or meat which is in the center or the vitamin C-containing vegetables which may increase the absorption of the iron they do consume. At the beginning of the workshop led by Jerry Sternin, the community members stated that it would not be possible to ensure the child would get enough iron-rich food without sacrificing this important bowl which is key not only to nutrition, but to socialization, within the society. However, during the Positive Deviance Inquiry, it was found that some families fed their young children a nutritious snack - the Diogunal - which contains food set aside from the family meal. This snack is served in the late afternoon and is served in an individual bowl. While in the case of iron deficiency, it is probably necessary to replete the child's iron stores with a supplement, maintenance of these iron stores may be ensured through regular consumption of an iron-rich snack. The intervention was designed around these findings.
For a summary of the workshop and preliminary results of the intervention, please read this excerpt from the most recent newsletter from CRESP-Senegal/EcoYoff in English: Training Course and Summer Program in Positive Deviance
For the presentation of results of the Positive Deviance to the community, the team decided to use theatre, a popular mechanism in the culture for conveying messages in French: Theatrical Script.
RESP-Senegal Director Dr. Marian Zeitlin has shared a presentation covering the background information, workshop, and results from the trial intervention in Yoff: Anemia Rehabilitation and Early Child Development in French (also available in English).