Children Growth Charts Utilization

Abstract

Growth charts are barely used in most of public clinics. In many cases have been replaced by booklets without a growth chart. The new “Chile Crece Contigo” booklet has not solved this pitfall. Its distribution is limited to public maternities, and the charts are tiny making difficult its proper use. In this operational study, was intended to quantify the use of growth charts and to assess mother’s perception of children nutritional status. Mothers of children aged 12-59 months were interviewed in Municipal Outpatient Clinics in Lo Espejo, Santiago. After collecting basic child data, mother’s age and educational level, the growth chart was evaluated. Mothers were requested to diagnose their child’s nutritional status. Then, they were presented with a specially prepared set of nutritional data of an imaginary child in four different formats: numeral values, standard deviations, growth chart and percentage of median weight for age, asking them again for their nutritional diagnose and format preferences. Of 109 booklets observed, 10 were “Chile Crece Contigo” format and only one these has a chart completely plotted. Of the other 99 old booklets, only 11had a printed chart on it and not a single one has data plotted. An 83% made a correct nutritional assessment of her child and 60% in relation with the case exhibited; in this second case it was a significant correlation with educational level. The preferred format was plain numbers with growth charts as second preference. This study confirms the surprising reduction in the use of growth charts, a very valuable aid in monitoring child growth both for mothers and health workers, and should represent a warning for its consequence in early detection of nutritional deviations. Through this study we also intent to promote more investigation on the issue and the design of public policies to extend and improve the use of growth charts in the area and in the country.