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A comparison of two techniques for weighing young children
Purpose:
To compare the direct weight of children when weighed on an infant scale to their indirect weight when weighed on an adult scale while being held by a nurse.
Method:
Ninety children who weighed less than 31 pounds were weighed using a set protocol. Analysis used matched t-test and product-moment correlation. The averages of the weights were then plotted against the weight differences to determine the degree of scatter.
Findings:
There were no significant differences between the means of the two methods of weighing. The correlation coefficient was 0.995 between the two approaches. Four sets of weights fell outside of two standard deviations of difference. The discrepancies appear to be random.
Conclusions:
Indirect weight generally is an acceptable method to assess a child's weight unless highly precise or frequent serial weights are needed.
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