Coetzee D J, Ferrinho P
Department of Community Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
S Afr Med J. 1994 Jul;84(7):413-5.
A community-based survey of the nutritional status of children aged 12-23 months was conducted. A cluster sampling technique was used. The weight and height of 426 children were measured. Compared with clinic-based growth-monitoring data, which showed that 5.5% of the children were below the 3rd percentile of weight for age, this survey revealed that 17.7% of boys and 9.3% of girls were below the 3rd percentile of weight for age. This may indicate that the health centre is not reaching those in greatest need. In respect of height for age, 44.3% of boys and 44.1% of girls were below the 3rd percentile while less than 4% of boys and girls were below the 3rd percentile of weight for height; this indicated a high percentage of stunting but no acute malnutrition. Growth monitoring may be an important component of a child health programme. However, unless growth is measured accurately and appropriate action implemented, growth monitoring alone is of little value. Thus before continuing with the programme of growth monitoring, the Alexandra Health Centre should ensure that health workers are adequately trained and that appropriate interventions are implemented to reduce the risks associated with children who fail to gain weight at the expected rate. Once implemented, a regular evaluation of all aspects should be undertaken.
开展了一项针对12至23个月大儿童营养状况的社区调查。采用了整群抽样技术。测量了426名儿童的体重和身高。与基于诊所的生长监测数据相比，该数据显示5.5%的儿童体重低于年龄别体重的第3百分位数，而本次调查显示17.7%的男孩和9.3%的女孩体重低于年龄别体重的第3百分位数。这可能表明健康中心没有覆盖到最有需求的人群。在年龄别身高方面，44.3%的男孩和44.1%的女孩低于第3百分位数，而低于身高别体重第3百分位数的男孩和女孩均不到4%；这表明发育迟缓的比例很高，但没有急性营养不良。生长监测可能是儿童健康计划的一个重要组成部分。然而，除非准确测量生长情况并采取适当行动，否则仅生长监测几乎没有价值。因此，在继续开展生长监测计划之前，亚历山德拉健康中心应确保卫生工作者得到充分培训，并采取适当干预措施，以降低与体重未按预期速度增长的儿童相关的风险。一旦实施，应对所有方面进行定期评估。
