 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Anne Harris, MS, MPH, RD, School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 8340 McConnell Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045, 310 338-9516, abharris@ucla.edu
Children with special health care needs are at increased risk for nutritional problems due to factors that may be socioeconomic, disability-related, and/or unique to an individual child. Although there is evidence that children identified with nutritional risk have improved health outcomes if they receive nutrition services (such as dietary counseling and supplemental nutrition products), there is no universally accepted method to screeen for, identify and categorize nutritional risk for children with special health care needs. The MCHB-funded University Affiliated Facilities Collaborative Study of Nutritional Status of Developmentally Delayed Children (1981) produced an extensive set of data on the nutritional status, physical development and feeding characteristics of 706 children between 3 and 9 years of age who manifested delays of unknown etiology in cognitive development. The sample represented three major racial/ethnic groups (Caucasian, African-American and Mexican-American) and was collected at UAFs (now called UCEDDs) in the states of Ohio, California, Washington and Washington DC. Data from this study (growth, dietary, biochemical, medical, oralmotor) were re-analyzed with advanced statistical techniques that use multiple variables to categorize nutritional status into classes. Additional multivariate analyses were conducted to determine which nutritional risk factors best predicted nutritional status. From these analyses a validated nutrition screening instrument is being developed for use in clinical and public health settings which will be shared and discussed. This research is supported by a New Investigators in MCH Research Dissertation Award from the MCHB, HRSA, DHHS.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Nutrition
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.