Title:
Child Growth Monitoring: How is it done in a Changing World?
Authors:
Zadelhoff, S.J.N. van
Year:
2014
PAGE:
vi, 41
Language:
En
Subject:
Maternal Health – Lessons Learned
Keywords:
child growth monitoring, nutrition transition, determinants of health, nutritional status, global
Abstract:
Worldwide nutritional status is changing. This change in nutritional status is represented in different stages of nutrition transition. Concurrent with socioeconomic development a country’s stage of nutrition transition changes. Especially in countries undergoing the nutritional transition from stage 3 to 4 obesity levels are rising rapidly. Growth monitoring is a widely applied tool to assess a child’s nutritional status. This research investigates if and how the change in nutrition transition is reflected in growth monitoring practice, especially regarding context assessment. Growth monitoring protocols of three countries in a different stage of nutrition transition, Tanzania, India and The Netherlands, are assessed and compared. Results: Growth monitoring parameters, charts and criteria differ between the three countries. General advices regarding child feeding and care are similar. Context assessment in growth monitoring is different, reflected in different goal, approach, local application/adjustments and integration of growth monitoring in the health system. With stage of nutrition transition the goal changes from underweight intervention to overweight intervention and pathology detection. The approach changes from a directive approach to more informative and preventive. In higher stages of nutrition transition the protocol is more applied to the local situation. With increasing stage of nutrition transition the integration within the health system and in different sectors increases. Conclusion: Consideration of context in growth monitoring is insufficient in the earlier stages of nutrition transition. Whereas in the highest stage of nutrition transition maybe too many different influencing factors are considered. To improve growth monitoring more growth promotion programs, adjusted to the stage of nutrition transition, and integration in different sectors is needed.
Organization:
KIT - Royal Tropical Institute
,
VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Institute:
KIT (Royal Tropical Institute)
Department:
Development Policy and Practice
Country:
The Netherlands
Region:
Western Europe
Training:
Master in International Health
Category:
Research
Right:
© 2014 Zadelhoff
Document type:
Thesis/dissertation
File:
V2qKeCcEdt_20161108165123269.pdf