Overcoming child malnutrition in developing countries

In 1995, 167 million children under five years old—almost one-third of developing-country children—were malnourished. Malnutrition causes a great deal of human suffering, and it is a violation of a child's human rights. It is associated with more than half of all deaths of children worldwide. People who survive a malnourished childhood are less physically and intellectually productive and suffer from more chronic illness and disability. The costs to society are enormous. Eradicating malnutrition remains a tremendous public policy challenge. Which types of interventions will have the greatest impact in reducing child malnutrition? The study on which this brief is based uses national data for 63 countries over 1970–96 to explore this question. Smith and Hadded examine the determinants of child nutritional status and discuss reductions in child malnutrition during 1970–95. they forecast the status of child malnutrition to the year 2020 and sugest priorities for the future.Malnutrition in children Developing countries History. ,Malnutrition in children Developing countries Forecasting. ,

Explaining child malnutrition in developing countries

"One in three pre school children in the developing world is undernourished. As a consequence, their human rights are violated. In addition, they are more likely to have impaired immune systems, poorer cognitive development, lower productivity as adults, and greater susceptibility to diet-related chronic diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease later in life. Undernourished female preschoolers are likely to grow into undernourished young women who are more likely to give birth to babies who are undernourished even before they are born, thus perpetuating the inter-generational transmission of deprivation. Reducing these unacceptably high numbers remains a tremendous challenge to public policy. As a guide to the direction of future efforts, this research report examines the success of the efforts of the past 25 years to reduce preschooler undernutrition. The report uses an econometric model to identify the factors associated with the reduction in undernutrition. The formulation of the econometric model is guided by the widely accepted food-care-health conceptual model of child growth. The contributions of both underlying and basic determinants to reductions in undernutrition are assessed using the model. The potential of these factors to further reduce undernutrition is evaluated in a region-by-region priority-setting exercise. In addition, projections of child nutrition are made under various scenarios to the year 2020. What will it take to dramatically reduce undernutrition in the next 20 years? The report attempts some broad answers to these questions..." (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen)Gender ,Malnutrition in children Developing countries Prevention ,Nutrition ,

Explaining child malnutrition in developing countries: a cross-country analysis

"One in three pre-school children in the developing world is undernourished. As a consequence, their human rights are violated. In addition, they are more likely to have impaired immune systems, poorer cognitive development, lower productivity as adults, and greater susceptibility to diet-related chronic diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease later in life. Undernourished female preschoolers are likely to grow into undernourished young women who are more likely to give birth to babies who are undernourished even before they are born, thus perpetuating the inter-generational transmission of deprivation. Reducing these unacceptably high numbers remains a tremendous challenge to public policy. As a guide to the direction of future efforts, this research report examines the success of the efforts of the past 25 years to reduce preschooler undernutrition. The report uses an econometric model to identify the factors associated with the reduction in undernutrition. The formulation of the econometric model is guided by the widely accepted food-care-health conceptual model of child growth. The contributions of both underlying and basic determinants to reductions in undernutrition are assessed using the model. The potential of these factors to further reduce undernutrition is evaluated in a region-by-region priority-setting exercise. In addition, projections of child nutrition are made under various scenarios to the year 2020. What will it take to dramatically reduce undernutrition in the next 20 years? The report attempts some broad answers to these questions..." (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen)Malnutrition in children Developing countries., Malnutrition in children Developing countries Prevention., Developing countries., Econometric models., Gender, Health and nutrition,

Overcoming child malnutrition in developing countries: past achievements and future choices

"About 167 million children under five years of age —almost one-third of the developing world's children —are malnourished. If they survive childhood, many of these children will suffer from poorer cognitive development and lower productivity. As adults, their ability to assure good nutrition for their children could be compromised, perpetuating a vicious cycle. What will it take to eradicate child malnutrition in developing countries? As Lisa Smith and Lawrence Haddad point out in this 2020 Vision discussion paper, Overcoming Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries: Past Achievements and Future Choices, we must first understand the causes of malnutrition and delineate which are the most important before we can identify and act upon those areas of intervention that will be most successful in reducing malnutrition. Toward that end, their path-breaking research identifies and assesses the contribution of each key determinant to reductions in child malnutrition over the past quarter century. The most startling and important finding is that improvements in women's education have contributed by far the most, accounting for 43 percent of the reduction in child malnutrition between 1970 and 1995, while improvements in per capita food availability con tributed about 26 percent. In a signal service to policymakers, Smith and Haddad also evaluate the potential of these factors to further reduce malnutrition durng the next two decades to 2020 and lay out the key policy priorities for each major developing region. By shedding light on which areas of intervention will be most successful in overcoming child malnutrition in developing countries, this research will contribute to realizing the 2020 Vision of a world where hunger and malnutrition are absent." (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen)Malnutrition in children Developing countries History., Malnutrition in children Developing countries Forecasting., Gender, Health and nutrition,

Generational Differences in Empowerment, Professional Practice Environment, Incivility, Authentic Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Engagement and Intent to Leave in Acute Care Nurses

Aim. The aim of this study was to examine generational differences among acute care nurses on empowerment, professional practice, authentic leadership, incivility, job satisfaction, engagement and intent to leave the current job. Background. Empowerment in nursing is a well-studied subject. Perceptions of professional practice environments, authentic leadership and incivility are related to empowerment. An increase in empowerment has been linked to job satisfaction and the likelihood of leaving one’s job or the profession. The nursing shortage forces attention to job satisfaction and keeping the professionals we currently have in the profession. Generational differences exist within different cohorts of nurses and can affect how they respond within their job and organization. Method. Descriptive and inferential analyses of the demographic and major study variables, along with reliability assessments of the study instruments were conducted. Generational differences were determined using general linear modeling. The hypothesized structural model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Proc CALIS in SAS. Results. A sample of 210 nurses working in the hospital setting in the East Tennessee were included in the study. Significant associations among the variables were observed. There were no differences detected between the generational groups. The hypothesized model did not fit. After review, the final model was improved to acceptable associations among variables. Conclusion. Given the current multi-generational status of nurses and the state of nursing, efforts should be made to support and assist the needs of the various generations. Providing empowering environments, with authentic leaders and a professional practice environment increases job satisfaction, and is likely to provide an environment in which the nurse will want to remain

Reducing Child Undernutrition: Past Drivers and Priorities for the Post-MDG Era

As the post-MDG era approaches in 2016, reducing child undernutrition is gaining high priority on the international development agenda, both as a maker and marker of development. Revisiting Smith and Haddad (2000), we use data from 1970-2012 for 116 countries, finding that safe water and sanitation, women’s education and empowerment, and the quantity and quality of food available in countries have been key drivers of past reductions in stunting. Income growth and governance played essential facilitating roles. Complementary to nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programmes and policies, accelerating reductions in undernutrition in the future will require increased investment in these priority areas

Improving Coordinated Mental Health Care Through an Enhanced Referral Process: A Quality Improvement Project

As the incidence of major depressive disorders continues to rise, the need for depression screening in primary care is imperative. The objective of this quality improvement (QI) project is to increase depression screening and enhance the current referral process in an urban primary care setting in the southeast United States. To achieve a projected increase in identified depression within the current and future adult patient population, workflow processes have been restructured to incorporate consistent depression screening using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and -9 (PHQ-9). Revised clerical workflow processes include initiating PHQ-9 questionnaires for all new patients, while clinical workflow processes include conducting PHQ-2 questionnaires for all established patients. Scores on the PHQ-9 indicating moderate levels of depression will trigger primary care provider (PCP) notification. Providers offer three treatment options including Behavioral Health Care Navigator Services (BHCN), self-referral to a mental health care provider, or treatment by PCP. Data will be collected to determine the number of PHQ-9 questionnaires given to “New Patients” at check-in, PHQ-2 questionnaires conducted by clinical staff, PHQ-9 scores of 10 or greater, BHCN referrals placed, patients who elected self-referral, and completed initial mental health appointments with differentiation between BHCN scheduled appointments and self-referred appointments. This QI project is currently undergoing implementation with no outcomes to report, however, data collected during analysis is expected to reveal an increase in patients diagnosed with moderate to major depressive disorders and an increase in completed initial mental health appointments

The importance of women's status for child nutrition in developing countries:

"Malnutrition affects one out of every three preschool-age children living in developing countries.This disturbing, yet preventable, state of affairs causes untold suffering and, given its wide scale, presents a major obstacle to the development process.Volumes have been written about the causes of child malnutrition and the means of reducing it. But the role of women's social status in determining their children's nutritional health has gone largely unnoticed until recently. This study explores the relationship between women's status and children's nutrition in three developing regions: South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)." from textChild welfare, Children Developing countries Nutrition, Women Social conditions, Gender, Health and nutrition,