Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26817635›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2016

Improving accuracy and usability of growth charts: case study in Rwanda.

Suzana Brown, Patrick McSharry

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Suzana BrownInterdisciplinary Telecommunication Program, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Department of Technology and Society, SUNY Korea, State University of New York, Incheon, Korea Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Patrick McSharryDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda School of Geography and the Environment & Oxford-Man Institute, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe evaluate and compare manually collected paper records against electronic records for monitoring the weights of children under the age of 5.

settingData were collected by 24 community health workers (CHWs) in 2 Rwandan communities, 1 urban and 1 rural.

participantsThe same CHWs collected paper and electronic records. Paper data contain weight and age for 320 boys and 380 girls. Electronic data contain weight and age for 922 girls and 886 boys. Electronic data were collected over 9 months; most of the data is cross-sectional, with about 330 children with time-series data. Both data sets are compared with the international standard provided by the WHO growth chart. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The plan was to collect 2000 individual records for the electronic data set--we finally collected 1878 records. Paper data were collected by the same CHWs, but most data were fragmented and hard to read. We transcribed data only from children for whom we were able to obtain the date of birth, to determine the exact age at the time of measurement.

resultsMean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) provide a way to quantify the magnitude of the error in using a given model. Comparing a model, log(weight)=a+b log(age), shows that electronic records provide considerable improvements over paper records, with 40% reduction in both performance metrics. Electronic data improve performance over the WHO model by 10% in MAPE and 7% in MAE. Results are statistically significant using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at p<0.01.

conclusionsThis study demonstrates that using modern electronic tools for health data collection is allowing better tracking of health indicators. We have demonstrated that electronic records facilitate development of a country-specific model that is more accurate than the international standard provided by the WHO growth chart.

Indexed as

Cross-Sectional StudiesHealth Records, PersonalBody WeightChild, PreschoolCommunity Health WorkersElectronic Health RecordsFemaleGrowth ChartsHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleReproducibility of ResultsRwandaNUTRITION & DIETETICSPREVENTIVE MEDICINEPUBLIC HEALTH

Identifiers

PMID26817635
PMCPMC4735129

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.