Seeds of prevention: the impact on health behaviors of young adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh, India, a cluster randomized control trial.

Of the world's 1.2 billion adolescents (10–19 years), India is home to the largest number globally, about 243 million. However not much is known about the health of young adolescent girls (11–14 years) in India who enter puberty with substantial nutritional and health deficits. Identifying early adolescence as a “gateway” moment, the Saloni pilot study is arandomized control trial (RCT) to improve nutrition, hygiene and reproductive health behaviors in 30 schools in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. A prevention model that includes Sadharanikaran, an ancient Indian theory of communication, guided the development of the intervention.