Home-based rehabilitation of severely malnourished children using indigenous high-density diet

Objective: to evaluate the efficacy,cost-effectiveness and acceptability of a 'high-density diet made from indigenous ingredients. methods: the retrospective study was carried out from september 2009 to may 2010 in district sanghar,sindh,pakistan. a field office was established and staff was recruited and trained. a baseline survey was done to screen for malnourished children aged 6-23 months using mid-upper arm circumference,for which a cut-off value of 115mm was adopted. the screened children with a weight-for-height z score <-3 were registered and were supplied the high-density diet and micronutrients. their mothers were counselled on infant and young child feeding practices. results: the mean age of 123 children in the study was 15.5±8.5 months,and mean weight was 5.91±1.18kg. overall,85(69%) children attained the target weight in a mean duration of 5.08±3.2 months. besides,29(23.5%) children were gaining weight,but had not achieved the target by the end of the study. themean rate of weight-gain of children who recovered was 3.30±3.59 g/kg/day. no significant adverse effects were noted. there was no documented refusal of the therapeutic supplement. the net cost of rehabilitating a child was $34.31. conclusion: the high-density diet was reasonably efficacious in improving the nutritional status of severely malnourished children. © 2016,university of economics - prague. all reserved.