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Nutritional status of children in Alexandra township. Clinic-based data and a community survey
1Department of Community Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Insights
A community survey revealed significant childhood stunting (44% of children) and undernutrition (up to 17.7% of boys) in children aged 12-23 months, indicating potential gaps in health center outreach and growth monitoring effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
- Community Medicine
Background:
- Childhood malnutrition remains a significant public health concern globally.
- Effective growth monitoring is crucial for early detection and intervention in pediatric health programs.
- Community-based assessments are vital to understand nutritional status beyond clinic-based data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the nutritional status of children aged 12-23 months in a community setting.
- To compare community-based findings with existing clinic-based growth monitoring data.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of current growth monitoring strategies and identify areas for improvement.
Main Methods:
- A community-based survey utilizing cluster sampling.
- Measurement of weight and height for 426 children aged 12-23 months.
- Comparison of survey data with clinic-based growth monitoring records.
Main Results:
- 17.7% of boys and 9.3% of girls were below the 3rd percentile for weight-for-age, contrasting with clinic data (5.5%).
- 44.3% of boys and 44.1% of girls were below the 3rd percentile for height-for-age, indicating high stunting rates.
- Less than 4% were below the 3rd percentile for weight-for-height, suggesting no acute malnutrition.
Conclusions:
- The survey highlights a potential gap in health center reach, failing to identify all children in need.
- High rates of stunting necessitate targeted interventions beyond basic growth monitoring.
- Growth monitoring programs require accurate measurements, adequate health worker training, and timely interventions to be effective.
Abstract:
A community-based survey of the nutritional status of children aged 12-23 months was conducted. A cluster sampling technique was used. The weight and height of 426 children were measured. Compared with clinic-based growth-monitoring data, which showed that 5.5% of the children were below the 3rd percentile of weight for age, this survey revealed that 17.7% of boys and 9.3% of girls were below the 3rd percentile of weight for age. This may indicate that the health centre is not reaching those in greatest need. In respect of height for age, 44.3% of boys and 44.1% of girls were below the 3rd percentile while less than 4% of boys and girls were below the 3rd percentile of weight for height; this indicated a high percentage of stunting but no acute malnutrition. Growth monitoring may be an important component of a child health programme. However, unless growth is measured accurately and appropriate action implemented, growth monitoring alone is of little value. Thus before continuing with the programme of growth monitoring, the Alexandra Health Centre should ensure that health workers are adequately trained and that appropriate interventions are implemented to reduce the risks associated with children who fail to gain weight at the expected rate. Once implemented, a regular evaluation of all aspects should be undertaken.