Estado nutricional, medio socioeconomico y estilo de vida de las personas de la tercera edad en August Town, Kingston, Jamaica / Nutritional status, socioeconomic environment, and lifestyle of the elderly in August Town, Kingston, Jamaica

Reunión del Grupo Consultor sobre las Mujeres de Edad Mediana y Avanzada de America Latina y el Caribe: Investigación Actual e Implicaciones Politicas, 1. Organización Panamericana de la Salud; 18-20 oct. 1988

A supplementary feeding programme for the management of severe and moderate malnutrition outside hospital

Eighty-seven children with moderate and severe malnutrition were treated by means of a supplementary feeding programme in Trinidad. The programme resulted in an average weight increase similar to that obtained by other authors in Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres and Supervised Supplementary Feeding Programmes elsewhere, over a similar period of time. The weight increase, however, is slow when translated into improvement of reference weight for age. Close supervision resulted in a somewhat faster rate of improvement but increase excessively the cost of rehabilitation. Supervision and education of the mothers carried out by Community Aides did not result in continued improvement after discontinuation of the supplement. However, there was a significant improvement in the quality of the diet given to the supervised children four months after the food supplement and supervision had been discontinued. (Summary)

Nutrient-cost nomogram: an appropriate technology

The nutrient-cost concept is important in food and nutrition planning and applied nutrition programs. There is a need to develop a simple and quick method of calculating nutrient-cost values. A nomogram, which provides a new technology, has been devised to do this. The use of the nomogram and its theoretical basis are described (AU)

The measurement of haemoglobin concentrations in St. Kitts and Nevis - abstract

In St. Kitts blood for haemoglobin (HB) measurement is collected from the clinics and analyzed in a central laboratory. In Nevis each clinic has a Spencer Haemoglobinometer and the nurses make the measurement in the clinic. The Spencer instrument, despite its many advantages is only of use if the results are reasonably accurate and precise under the conditions prevailing in rural health clinics. This was assessed in two ways. (1) The reports from the clinics were examined: they showed a consistantly higher mean Hb concentration reported from Nevis, suggesting either a real difference between the islands or a systematic error in measurement. (2) A single unit of blood was diluted to give six different stock bloods which were measured using a coulter counter. The stocks were aliquoted according to a random 6 x 6 latin square design so that batches of 36 coded samples were made. Each batch contained hextuplicates of the six stock bloods. Sixteen batches were taken from Jamaica to St. Kitts and Nevis. The four laboratory technicians in St. Kitts each measured the Hb concentrations of a batch using the cyanomethaemoglobin spectrophotometric method. Nine public health nurses and two laboratory technicians in Nevis each measured a batch using their own Spencer instruments. One batch was brought back to Jamaica and analyzed on the coulter counter. This served as a reference for the St. Kitts and Nevis measurements and demonstrated that the specimen transport had not altered the Hb concentration (table provided). The results from the coulter counter and the Cyanomethaemoglobin method used in St. Kitts were in close agreement. However, the Spencer instrument was grossly inaccurate and unacceptably imprecise. The systematic error in the instrument as used in Nevis fully accounts for the differences in mean Hb concentrations between the islands. A system of central measurement of Hb concentrations with quality control has been established in Nevis (AU)

Assessment of the nutritional status of pregnant women by weight for height and week of pregnancy - abstract

Assessment of the nutritional status of pregnant women by anthropometry presents obvious difficulties. The weight at a given stage depends on the woman's height, her pre-pregnant weight and the week of pregnancy. A reference table of weight for height by week of pregnancy has been devised, based on the premises that the average increment of weight during pregnancy is 20 percent of the pre-pregnant weight and that almost all the increment takes place linearly during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The table developed on theoretical grounds has been tested with retrospective data from Dominica. The preliminary results show a good correlation between the weight for height at different stages of pregnancy as a percentage of the reference table and the birth weight of the children. This type of reference table is, in our opinion, highly necessary as a simple tool to assess the nutritional status of pregnant women and, within limits, to "predict" the chances of delivering a low birth weight infant (AU)

A survey of the anemia status of pre-school age children, pregnant and lactating women in Jamaica (revised)

An island-wide anemia survey was conducted in Jamaica on pregnant and lactating women and pre-school age children. The results indicate that anemia is a serious public health problem in Jamaica. Sixty one point six percent of pregnant women had hemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl. Fifty-eight point seven percent of lactating women had hemoglobin levels below 12.0 g/dl. Sixty-nine point one percent of pre-school age children had hemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl. Public health and fortification programs for the control of anemia have been implemented by the government and are currently being reviewed

Evaluation of a breast-feeding campaign in Trinidad

There has been a marked decline in breast-feeding throughout the developing world. It is generally agreed that this trend should be reversed, and that in achieving this objective mass communications media could play an important role. The present article analyzes the results of a campaign to promote breast-feeding in which the press, television, and radio were used. It is hoped that this analysis will prove useful for other individuals and groups that may wish to plan similar campaigns (AU)

Breast-feeding practices in Trinidad

A study of breast-feeding practices in Trinidad indicates that despite the evident advantages of breast-feeding, early abandonment of the practice is widespread. Within some four months of delivery nearly half of the infants in the study group had been completely weaned from the breast. A significant association was found between early bottle-feeding (before the first breast-feeding session) and early termination of breast feeding (AU)