World Health Organization Publication : 9241542217: A Guide to Nutritional Assessment

By Bruno Dujardin

Book Id: WPLBN0000209914
Format Type: PDF eBook
File Size: 6.0 MB
Reproduction Date: 2005

Title:	World Health Organization Publication : 9241542217: A Guide to Nutritional Assessment
Author:	Bruno Dujardin
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Health., Public health, Wellness programs
Collections:	Medical Library Collection, World Health Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	World Health Organization


Citation APA MLA Chicago Dujardin, B. (n.d.). World Health Organization Publication : 9241542217. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Medical Reference Publication

Excerpt
To formulate policies or choose appropriate interventions for combating or preventing malnutrition, the policy-maker, the planner, the manager, and of course the nutritionists who advise them require a sufficiently precise knowledge of the particular nutritional situation and its causes. This knowledge will be based on statistics, reports, direct observation, expert advice, and, if necessary, on special surveys. Frequently (and increasingly so) decisions must be made within a short space of time: for example, when a rural development project wishes to add nutritional considerations to its activities; when a national planning agency requires a chapter on nutrition in a forthcoming development plan; when a health ministry decides to develop its nutrition activities; when a primary health care programme is offered funds to incorporate a strong nutrition component; or when a financial agency is ready to provide a loan or a grant for nutrition activities. In such cases, an in-depth diagnosis of the nutritional situation is often impossible and, as we shall see, in many instances it is not even necessary. A compromise must then be found between a legitimate respect for accuracy and scientific rigour, on the one hand, and the obligation to provide all the relevant answers before the established deadline, on the other. Time being short and resources generally scarce, the nutritional situation has to be assessed rather than studied in great detail.

Table of Contents
CONTENTS Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1 . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Purpose of the guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Brief history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Basic assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2 . Steps to be followed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1 . Justification and definition of objectives . . . . . . . . Step 2 . Preliminary appraisal and reconnaissance . . . . . . . Step 3 . Setting up a team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4 . Analysis of the causes of malnutrition in the population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5 . Consistency appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6 . Assembly of existing data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7 . Analysis and interpretation of the data . . . . . . . . . Step 8 . Presentation of the findings and conclusions . . . . 3 . General considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Approximate timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Common constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mistakes most commonly made in the presentation of assessment reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Existing data versus new data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional assessment as part of project preparation . . . . . . . Analysis of ongoing programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annex 1 . build in^ a hypothetical causal model of a nutritional situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annex 2 . Choice of indicators for nutritional assessment . . . . . . . Annex 3 . Case studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annex 4 . Assessment and s~rveyr epor~sr eviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . Annex 5 . Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .