A Novel Low-Cost Tool for a More Efficient and Reliable Weight-for-Height/Length Assessment

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

510 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-12-31

Study Completion Date

2019-02-28

Brief Summary

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Weight-for-height/length z-score is one of the indicators used to diagnose acute malnutrition. In the existing method, the assessment involves three steps and takes significant time with a wider room for errors. A new tool is developed to address these drawbacks. A preliminary testing done show encouraging results, but a more robust study is needed. This research will b done with the objective of comparing diagnostic efficiency and reliability of the 'new' method against the 'existing' one using a diagnostic randomized clinical trial method.

Detailed Description

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Acute malnutrition is a major underlying and direct cause of child death. Weight-for-height/length z score (WHZ) is one of the indicators used to assess nutritional status of children. In the existing method, the assessment involves three steps; measuring height, measuring weight and deciding WHZ using a reference graphs or tables. The assessment takes significant time and has wider room for errors. Due to these drawbacks, it is not used at community level where regular active finding takes place.

A new tool is developed to address these drawbacks. It reduces the steps to two aiming at reducing errors and saving time and energy. This study will compare efficiency and reliability of WHZ assessments done with the new tool against the existing method using a diagnostic randomized clinical trial.

Trained health workers will do WHZ assessments in under five children mobilized for nutrition screening program. The 'average time' needed and proportions of 'classification errors' will be compared between the new and the existing methods. Assessments done by two anthropometry experts will be used as gold standard.

The study will determine the gains of the new tool and can potentially change the global practice and help early detection of huge number of wasted children that are being missed.

Conditions

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Severe Acute Malnutrition Wasting

Keywords

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Weigh-for-Height/Length Assessment

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Children will be assigned for nutrition status assessment to either of the two groups that use the 'new' or the 'existing' assessment method

Primary Study Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators

The caregivers of the children, the care provider linking the children to either of the groups and the investigator will not know which group each child is joining and which group is using which method.

Study Groups

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