Developing a minimum data set for malnutrition in children under five years

To identify the main causes of malnutrition in childhood, it is necessary to collect quality and coherent data at the national level, which requires the creation of a minimum data set. Therefore, the present study aimed to design a minimum set of malnutrition data for children under five years of age.

This quantitative applied study was conducted in two stages in 2019. In the first step, the descriptive-comparative method was used to compare the data elements needed for malnutrition in children under five at the national and international levels. In the second stage, the initial MDS was designed and then validated by experts in two rounds using the Delphi method. The study population was composed of 30 experts in nutritionists and pediatrics who were selected by non-random purposive sampling (criterion Sampling) finally, the cases reached a collective agreement of more than 75% were included in the MDS. The items with a score below 50% were excluded from the proposed MDS. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and Excel software.

Approved MDS for malnutrition in children under five had 56 data elements and seven subsets, including child development, demographic and management, clinical and diagnostic examinations, nutritional status, medical history, and tests.

The development of MDS plays an important role in improving the quality of information management and early detection of childhood malnutrition. In order to gather uniform data, achieve an integrated information system, and facilitate the sharing of malnutrition data, it is recommended to use this MDS.