Pilot Study to Assess the Benefits and Sustainability of Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) of Young Children in Villages in Guinea-Bissau

Wasting is prevalent in rural Guinea-Bissau villages and adversely affects child health and cognitive development long-term. Prior work by this team of investigators suggests that regular feedback from Community Health Agents (CHAs) to caregivers, including recommendations of locally available nutritious recipes for at-risk children, may reduce the incidence of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM). However, routine growth monitoring (RGM) has been largely unfeasible at the village level due to measurement complexity and limited training resources. Modern technology and artificial intelligence may help make this more scalable.

This is a proof-of-concept, sequential pilot study conducted in two villages in Guinea-Bissau with which the team has an established relationship. Baseline anthropometric measurements will be collected on all eligible children (aged 6 months to 5 years, without SAM at enrollment) in both villages. Children identified with SAM at baseline will be referred to the local malnutrition clinic and excluded from the study.

One village will begin the RGM intervention immediately after baseline data collection. The second village will begin the intervention after final data collection in the first village. Assignment order will be by PI decision rather than randomization, as required by the collaborating UCSF team members.

During the RGM period, CHAs will screen each child monthly using all three mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) methods: (1) WHO tape measure (reference standard), (2) arm photograph, and (3) bracelet. Data will be entered into a secure REDCap database. Children meeting SAM criteria (by tape measure) will be referred to tertiary care; children with MAM will receive weekly CHA nutrition education on local recipes. Measurements collected at baseline and end-of-study include: weight, height, MUAC by all three methods, skinfold thicknesses (biceps and triceps), and family demographics.

After study completion, brief questionnaires will be administered to parents, CHAs, and Ministry of Health staff to assess perceived effects, acceptability, feasibility, and preferences among the monitoring methods. This study has been approved by both the Dartmouth College CPHS and the Ministry of Health in Guinea-Bissau.