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Suboptimal complementary feeding contributes to undernutrition in children aged 6–23 months in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh. Multifaceted interventions have been taken to improve complementary feeding practices, but there is limited evidence about the effect of home visits by community health workers (CHWs) on complementary feeding practices of the caregivers of children.

We collated data from the baseline and the corresponding follow-up survey done as part of an evaluation of Bangladesh Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) programme. We collected data on complementary feeding practices using a 24-h recall questionnaire. Age-appropriate dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet were assessed based on recommended food consumption as per child's age. To understand the effect of CHWs' visits on complementary feeding practices, we performed Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) procedure for dealing with correlated data and adjusted other covariates.

A total of 758 and 745 caregivers of children aged 6–23 months participated in the baseline and follow-up survey, respectively. Complementary feeding practices were improved in 1 year of programme implementation; dietary diversity increased from 46 to 54%, minimum meal frequency from 82 to 91%, and minimum acceptable diet from 41 to 53%. Caregivers of children who had received the visit of CHWs in the last 12 months prior to the day of the follow-up survey were more likely (AOR 1.51; 95% CI 1.10–2.10) to maintain dietary diversity in their children's feeding …