 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Erin Koers1, Karen L. Trappe1, and Christine A. Tisone, MPH, BS, ABD2. (1) Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, HPER 116, Bloomington, IN 47405, 812-855-0068, ekoers@indiana.edu, (2) Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Student Building 130, Bloomington, IN 47405
With what has been deemed a “silent emergency,” malnutrition is attributed to more than fifty-five percent of all childhood deaths worldwide, with three-fourths of these deaths stemming from mild to moderate cases that often go unnoticed. Considering this, one challenge for public health advocates concerning developing nations is efficient means of assessing malnutrition in the field. The data from this field study, conducted in a central mountainous region of the Dominican Republic, was collected from 102 children under the age of eighteen who resided in either a semi-rural or rural setting. The presence of malnutrition was assessed using two of the four standard methods for measuring malnutrition: anthropometry and clinical signs. The test indicators, which included five anthropometric measures and six clinical signs, were measured against each other in a correlation analysis. Preliminary results demonstrate moderate and strong relationships between the anthropometric and clinical test indicators. Relationships drawn from this study suggest that utilization of a combination of both anthropometric and clinical methods would provide efficient means of accurate assessment for use in developing nations where funding and accessibility issues prevail.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: International Health, Providers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.