Joseph Brewer, Article Summary

Nutritional Status of Children after a Food-Supplementation Program Integrated with Routine

Health Care through Mobile Clinics in Migrant Communities in the Dominican Republic

The article is namely about an experiment done involving nutritional supplements and
children. This experiment holds importance because a large number of deaths in children under 5
are caused by mal nutrition, this being because mal nutrition in many cases causes non-serious
illness to be more deadly. Maternal and Child under nutrition is the underlying factor of 3.5
million deaths - Am. J. Trop Med. Hyg. Therefore the experiment in the article if successful will
illustrate an efficient way to eliminate mal nutrition and thus help many children to live past 5
years old who would not due to the mal nutrition.

The motive for the researchers in this study is to find out if some small changes in a
nutritional plan is enough to eliminate or malnutrition or at least reduce it in children.

The scientists started their study by first gathering information on the amount they could
decrease mal-nutrition with a supplementation program. This study if effective would show how
a proper nutrition for children is not only very important but how a supplementation program
could have a big impact in eliminating malnutrition.

The study was conducted by taking a select group of people who were already malnourished. This grouped was put onto a nutritional program and there overall health was

monitored in order to determine the effects of the program. The researchers used a couple of
different methods of classifying nutrition levels. The materials and equipment that was used were
the scales and devices for measuring weight and height of the group. as well as the equipment
needed to measure the nutritional levels of the group.

When the study was concluded there was a decrease in many of the subjects who had
acute and chronic malnutrition cases. The researchers were able to grade the results by a
numerical system and a classification levels such as Acute, Chronic and severe malnutrition.
Results for this grading scale were taken both before and after the nutritional program was put
into effect. The final results went according to plan showing a decrease in malnutrition in the
group that had been on the supplemental program, with the exception of the 12-18 year old group
which had flipped results compared to the others. The study was not under completely strict
guidance so there is a chance that the food provided for the study group did not all go directly to
individual but could have been shared.

Overall the study proved to be effective in showing that the proper supplemental program
can have quick and effective results in cutting down on malnutrition in children. The scientists
were not completely confident in their results due to discrepancies in how the food was
distributed. The food was given out on a community basis instead of individually. This study
would most likely have promising results if done on a larger basis and with a more diverse group

Works Cited

(Am. J. Trop Med. Hyg., 2010, p. 559)