Stimukit: A Peer Social Marketing Intervention in Early Child Stimulation for Adolescent Mothers in Bungoma

Adolescent mothers experience greater parental stress and are less cognitively prepared for parenting compared with adult mothers, impacting cognitive development in their children. This is a sustainable home-based child stimulation training, and child nutrition for vulnerable adolescent mothers using a peer-led social marketing model championed by adolescent mothers, “Adolescent Mother Cheer leaders" (AMCLs) who will be trained on use of social marketing popular with adolescents (facebook, whatapp, sms) to design appropriate child stimulation activities to share in networks. AMCLs will be trained to make toys for the Stimukit, to bundle with infant complementary food for sale to the mothers during home visits. Primary outcomes are improved cognitive development in 3600 children. Secondary outcomes are improved socio-economic status of the adolescent mothers. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment instrument will be used to assess child stimulation.