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Article History

Received: 23 August 2025

Accepted: 5 January 2026

First Online: 16 January 2026

Declarations

:

: This study received ethical approval from the Independent Ethics Committee of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune. (Reference proposal number: SIU/IEC/1035 dated 21 April 2025). The research was carried out in compliance with the ‘ICMR National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research for Human Participants, 2017’ and the principles mentioned in the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants. Signed informed consent was obtained from the parents of the children for personal interviews. In case a parent was not able to sign, their thumb impression was obtained on the consent form, and the signature of the brick kiln owner, or teachers of the Private Anganwadi workers were additionally obtained as a Legally Acceptable Representative (LAR). Verbal consents of the participants were obtained in case of FGDs with brick kiln workers and in-depth interviews with the brick kiln owners. In case a child was found to have malnourished, he/she was referred to paediatrician at a tertiary care hospital for further care.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.