Quality improvement initiative to standardise the anthropometric assessment for children under the age of 5 years at an urban primary health centre in New Delhi.

Abstract

Background: Anthropometric assessment in the paediatric population is particularly important to assess the child's general health status, nutritional adequacy, and growth and developmental pattern. However, there are often shortcomings in the quality of anthropometric assessment done in primary healthcare settings despite the presence of established guidelines. In this study, we plan to use the quality improvement (QI) principles to improve the anthropometric assessment of under-5 children attending an urban primary health centre in Delhi, India.

Methods: The study was conducted from December 2022 to February 2023. A baseline assessment was conducted to identify the gaps in the anthropometric measurement of under-5 children visiting the outpatient department. A QI team consisting of doctors and key health staff of urban health centre as its members was formed. A root cause analysis of the identified problems was done and changes were planned and implemented in a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle.

Results: There was a marked improvement in the quality of anthropometric measurements, particularly in length measurement for children <24 months of age (0% at baseline vs 81.0% at end-line). However, the improvement in weight measurement of children less than 5 years was lesser (16.2% at baseline vs 44.6% at end-line).

Conclusion: Anthropometric assessment of under-5 children can be standardised through the involvement of all stakeholders and capacity building of the concerned healthcare providers, using the QI approach. Repeated assessments are required to ensure the sustainability of the change.