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Updated: Dec 8, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Characteristics associated with pediatric growth measurement collection in electronic medical records: a
Leanne Kosowan1, John Page2, Jennifer Protudjer3
1Department of Family Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Insights
Complete pediatric growth measurements are vital for child health monitoring. Documentation varies by clinic and provider factors, impacting accurate health surveillance.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Complete growth measurements are essential for pediatric care, serving as a proxy for overall child health.
- This study examines the frequency of well-child visits and documented growth measurements.
- It also investigates clinic and provider factors influencing measurement documentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the frequency of documented growth measurements during well-child visits.
- To identify clinic and provider characteristics associated with complete pediatric growth measurements.
- To understand factors affecting the quality of growth data in electronic medical records.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective cross-sectional study using electronic medical records (EMRs) from 2015-2017 in Manitoba, Canada.
- Analysis of height, weight, and head circumference data for children aged 0-24 months across 212 primary care providers.
- Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to identify associated factors.
Main Results:
- Weight was the most frequently recorded measure (79.2%), followed by height (70.8%) and head circumference (51.4%).
- Only 67.5% of children had at least one complete growth measurement, and 13.7% had complete measurements at all well-child intervals.
- Pediatricians, urban clinics, Canadian-trained providers, small practices, and salaried providers showed higher odds of documenting complete growth measures.
Conclusions:
- Growth measurement documentation in EMRs is variable, influenced by clinic and provider factors.
- Improving the documentation of pediatric growth measures at primary care appointments can enhance child health surveillance and primary prevention efforts.
Background:
Complete growth measurements are an essential part of pediatric care providing a proxy for a child's overall health. This study describes the frequency of well-child visits, documented growth measurements, and clinic and provider factors associated with measurement.
Methods:
Retrospective cross-sectional study utilizing electronic medical records (EMRs) from primary care clinics between 2015 and 2017 in Manitoba, Canada. This study assessed the presence of recorded height, weight and head circumference among children (0-24 months) who visited one of 212 providers participating in the Manitoba Primary Care Research Network. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses assessed clinic, provider, and patient factors associated with children having complete growth measurements.
Results:
Our sample included 4369 children. The most frequent growth measure recorded was weight (79.2% n = 3460) followed by height (70.8% n = 3093) and head circumference (51.4% n = 2246). 67.5% of children (n = 2947) had at least one complete growth measurement recorded (i.e. weight, height and head circumference) and 13.7% (n = 599) had complete growth measurements at all well-child intervals attended. Pediatricians had 2.7 higher odds of documenting complete growth measures within well-child intervals compared to family physicians (95% CI 1.8-3.8). Additionally, urban located clinics (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.5), Canadian trained providers (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4-3.7), small practice size (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.2) and salaried providers (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.2-5.2) had higher odds of documented growth measures.
Conclusions:
Growth measurements are recorded in EMRs but documentation is variable based on clinic and provider factors. Pediatric growth measures at primary care appointments can improve primary prevention and surveillance of child health outcomes.
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