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The Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) is a reliable measure among infants of less than 6 months by health workers in rural Kenya
Author(s) -
Mwangome Martha Kaeni,
Fegan Greg,
Prentice Andrew,
Berkley James
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.769.7
Infants below 6 months are at risk of malnutrition with WHO growth standards classifying a higher proportion of them as underweight. Reliable and affordable tools are required for early detection of infants at risk of malnutrition. The Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) has high inter‐observer reliability among children above 6 months and is potentially such a tool; however, its reliability among infants is unknown. Objective To assess the reliability of MUAC among infants by health professionals (HP) and community health workers (CHW) in rural Kenya. Methods Using a cross‐sectional repeatability design, we established the level of reliability and accuracy of an expert and HPs for MUAC, Weight and Length measurements. Then, 150 infants were measured repeatedly by 3 CHWs at each of 6 different study locations in Kilifi District. An additional set of measures was taken by a HP on every 5th infant to determine accuracy. Results Reliability was very high (ICC >0.90) for all but length based indices. Weight for Length (WFLz) and Length for age (LFAz) were least reliably taken by HPs and CHWs (ICC <0.80). There was good agreement (accuracy) in measurement between HPs and CHWs in all measurements (pitman's test p<0.05). Conclusion The reliability of MUAC is adequate for community screening of minimally trained CHWs for infants at rural health facilities. Grant Funding Source : American Society of Nutrition