David Kehr BIOL-1615 Article Summary April 5, 2014

Nutritional Status of Children after a Food-Supplementation Program Integrated with Routine Health Care through Mobile Clinics in Migrant Communities in the Dominican Republic Introduction Studies show that most of the deaths of children under 5 years old are preventable. A significant portion of those deaths are caused by malnutrition. The Millenium Development Goals of the United Nations wanted a reduction of deaths of children under 5 years old by at least 60%. In order to accomplish that goal, the portion of the 10 million deaths of children under 5 years old caused by malnutrition must be addressed. The scientists in this experiment are trying to reduce the amount of childhood undernutrition in rural communities, namely in the Dominican Republic. Their experiment hopes to, compare acute and chronic undernutrition rates before and after the introduction of a foodsupplementation program as an adjunct to routine health care for children of migrant workers in the Dominican Republic. Parikh, Marein-Efron, Huang, OHare, Finalle, and Shah. (pp. 559, 2010) This research is important because it can lower the amount of deaths of children, including children over 5 years old. Researchers hypothesized that implementing this plan would decrease the amount of chronic undernutrition in the rural communities they studied. Materials and Methods The information that was gathered in this study could not be based on random samplings of individuals for the sake of ethical integrity. Child patients were examined on level of need

basis from bateyes, company towns where workers live; and small communities. Children that were sick or malnurtured were strongly encouraged to be examined. The measurements recorded for each child included height, weight, and their nutritional state. The children that were examined from zero to five years old had a criteria differing from the children that were examined from five to eighteen years old. Digital and hanging scales were used to measure height and weight. The nutritional state of each child examined was recorded based on the deviation between the standard height and weight. Results The number of children marked as mild and moderately under nurtured that were recorded in November 2005 showed improvement in November of 2006. The most improvement was evident in the younger children examined. The least results shown were in the children over the age of 12. While there was improvement in children marked mild and moderately under nurtured, children of the ages of 0-5 and 12-18 that were marked as having acute nutrition issues didnt show significant improvement. Discussion The results produced by the experiment had great meaning. They meant that adding assistance with food in tandem with regular health care can make a significant impact on the nutritional health of children in the Dominican Republic. The information that was gathered supported their hypothesis. They proved that a food assistance program along with reuglar health care can improve childhood nutritional health in rural communities. The scientists conducting the experiment feel that more research is necessary to lock down a conclusion because of some possible errors in testing, such as food leaking. The child intended to receive the additional food may have only received a portion close to 50% in some households because of other household

members eating the food. Scientists also think that a larger population pool should be tested for greater accuracy, especially in some of the older age groups.