Deze pagina is automatisch vertaald en de nauwkeurigheid van de vertaling kan niet worden gegarandeerd. Raadpleeg de Engelse versie voor een brontekst.

Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) of Young Children in Guinea-Bissau

13 juli 2026 bijgewerkt door: Susan B. Roberts, Trustees of Dartmouth College

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

Wasting (severe thinness) is a common and serious problem among young children in rural Guinea-Bissau. Community Health Agents (CHAs) can help prevent malnutrition by regularly measuring children's growth and advising families on nutritious local foods. However, this practice is not consistently implemented.

This pilot study will test whether implementing Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) by CHAs every month is feasible and effective in reducing malnutrition among children aged 6 months to 5 years in two rural villages. Investigators will also compare three methods for measuring mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), which is used to detect malnutrition: the standard WHO tape measure, a photograph of the arm, and a simple bracelet. The goal is to identify which method is easiest for CHAs to use reliably.

Baseline and final measurements will be taken in both villages. One village will receive the monthly RGM intervention first, followed by the second village. Families will also be asked about their experiences with the program through brief questionnaires.

Studie Overzicht

Toestand

Actief, niet wervend

Conditie

Interventie / Behandeling

Gedetailleerde beschrijving

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.

Studietype

Ingrijpend

Inschrijving (Geschat)

400

Fase

  • Niet toepasbaar

Contacten en locaties

In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.

Studie Locaties

  • Guinee-Bissau
    • Bissau Region
      • Bissau, Bissau Region, Guinee-Bissau, 1000
        • Two villages in rural Guinea-Bissau

Deelname Criteria

Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.

Geschiktheidscriteria

Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie

  • Kind

Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers

Ja

Beschrijving

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 6 months to 5 years residing in one of the two selected villages in Guinea-Bissau
  • Caregiver willing to enroll the child in the study (verbal consent provided)
  • Caregiver can provide birth certificate or documentation of child's age
  • Child does not have severe acute malnutrition (SAM) at the baseline assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) at baseline (these children will be referred to the local malnutrition clinic)
  • Children whose caregivers do not wish to participate

Studie plan

Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.

Hoe is de studie opgezet?

Ontwerpdetails

  • Primair doel: Preventie
  • Toewijzing: Niet-gerandomiseerd
  • Interventioneel model: Sequentiële toewijzing
  • Masker: Geen (open label)

Wapens en interventies

Deelnemersgroep / Arm
Interventie / Behandeling
Experimenteel: Village #1 (initial start)
Children aged 6 months to 5 years in the first village who do not have SAM at baseline. This village receives the monthly Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) intervention immediately after baseline data collection. CHAs perform monthly MUAC screening using three methods; at-risk children are referred or receive caregiver nutrition education.
Gedragsmatig: Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) by Community Health Agents
Monthly malnutrition screening by Community Health Agents (CHAs) using three MUAC methods: (1) WHO standard tape measure, (2) arm photograph for remote review, and (3) a solid bracelet device. The tape measure is the reference standard. Children identified with SAM are referred to a tertiary malnutrition clinic; children with MAM have their caregivers provided with weekly education on using local nutritious recipes to support recovery. Data are entered into REDCap and reviewed remotely by the US research team.
Actieve vergelijker: Village #2 (delayed start)
Children aged 6 months to 5 years in the second village who do not have SAM at baseline. This village serves as a comparison group during the first village's RGM period, then receives the same RGM intervention subsequently.
Gedragsmatig: Regular Growth Monitoring (RGM) by Community Health Agents
Monthly malnutrition screening by Community Health Agents (CHAs) using three MUAC methods: (1) WHO standard tape measure, (2) arm photograph for remote review, and (3) a solid bracelet device. The tape measure is the reference standard. Children identified with SAM are referred to a tertiary malnutrition clinic; children with MAM have their caregivers provided with weekly education on using local nutritious recipes to support recovery. Data are entered into REDCap and reviewed remotely by the US research team.

Wat meet het onderzoek?

Primaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Prevalence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM)
Tijdsspanne: Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Proportion of enrolled children meeting SAM criteria (by WHO tape measure MUAC) at study completion, compared between early-start and delayed-start villages.
Baseline to study completion (~4 months)

Secundaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Prevalence of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM)
Tijdsspanne: Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Proportion of enrolled children meeting MAM criteria (by WHO tape measure MUAC) at study completion, compared between early-start and delayed-start villages.
Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Weight-for-length z-score
Tijdsspanne: Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Change in weight-for-length z-score between baseline and final assessment, compared between early-start and delayed-start villages
Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Weight-for-age z-score
Tijdsspanne: Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Change in weight-for-age z-score between baseline and final assessment, compared between early-start and delayed-start villages.
Baseline to study completion (~4 months)
Length-for-age z-score
Tijdsspanne: Baseline and study completion (~4 months)
Change in length-for-age z-score between baseline and final assessment, compared between early-start and delayed-start villages
Baseline and study completion (~4 months)

Andere uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Agreement of new RGM methods vs. reference standard
Tijdsspanne: Assessed at each study visit (monthly from baseline to 4 months follow-up)
Accuracy of the arm photograph and bracelet for detecting MAM and SAM relative to the WHO tape measure MUAC.
Assessed at each study visit (monthly from baseline to 4 months follow-up)
Acceptability and feasibility of RGM methods
Tijdsspanne: N/A, data collected at study completion (4 month visit)
Perceived acceptability and feasibility of the three MUAC monitoring methods among parents, CHAs, and Ministry of Health staff, collected via brief structured questionnaires.
N/A, data collected at study completion (4 month visit)

Medewerkers en onderzoekers

Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.

Sponsor

Trustees of Dartmouth College

Medewerkers

University of California, San Francisco

Onderzoekers

  • Hoofdonderzoeker: Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D., Dartmouth College

Studie record data

Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.

Bestudeer belangrijke data

Studie start (Werkelijk)

5 mei 2026

Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)

1 december 2026

Studie voltooiing (Geschat)

1 december 2026

Studieregistratiedata

Eerst ingediend

30 april 2026

Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria

7 mei 2026

Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)

13 mei 2026

Updates van studierecords

Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)

15 juli 2026

Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria

13 juli 2026

Laatst geverifieerd

1 april 2026

Meer informatie

Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie

Trefwoorden

Aanvullende relevante MeSH-voorwaarden

Andere studie-ID-nummers

  • 33690

Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)

Bent u van plan om gegevens van individuele deelnemers (IPD) te delen?

JA

Beschrijving IPD-plan

Deidentified participant data will be stored and made publicly available at an appropriate repository following publication of the primary manuscript. Participant names stored locally in Guinea-Bissau will be retained for 3 years after study completion and then destroyed. The US team will not have access to identifiable participant information.

IPD-tijdsbestek voor delen

Following publication of the primary manuscript.

IPD-toegangscriteria voor delen

Publicly available deidentified dataset; access details to be determined at time of publication.

IPD delen Ondersteunend informatietype

  • LEERPROTOCOOL
  • SAP

Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel

Nee

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct

Nee

Deze informatie is zonder wijzigingen rechtstreeks van de website clinicaltrials.gov gehaald. Als u verzoeken heeft om uw onderzoeksgegevens te wijzigen, te verwijderen of bij te werken, neem dan contact op met register@clinicaltrials.gov. Zodra er een wijziging wordt doorgevoerd op clinicaltrials.gov, wordt deze ook automatisch bijgewerkt op onze website .

Abonneren