Abstract
BackgroundThere is growing global demand for country-specific information to track nutritional status and its determinants, including intervention coverage. Periodic population-based surveys form the backbone of most national nutrition information systems. However, data on the coverage of many nutrition specific and sensitive interventions remain sparse.MethodsAn online survey was administered to the international nutrition community in 2018 through relevant listservs and professional networks to characterize their use of nutrition-related indicators and data sources. Respondents were asked about their professional background, access and use of specific indicators and data sources in the previous year, and unmet data needs. Results were tabulated by respondent characteristics and χ2 tests used for statistical testing.ResultsComplete survey responses were received from 235 respondents, the majority from non-governmental organizations and research communities, and few from governments. Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) were the most frequently accessed country-specific data source and the Global Nutrition Report (GNR) was the most accessed consolidated data source, each accessed by approximately 75% of respondents. Respondents with a multi-country focus were more likely to have accessed DHS than those with a single-country focus (85% vs 60%, P < 0.001). Similarly, respondents with a multi-country focus were more likely to have accessed the GNR compared to those with a single-country focus (82% vs 66%, P < 0.05). The most commonly accessed indicators overall were the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (69%), child minimum dietary diversity (66%), under-5 stunting (65%), and under-5 wasting (65%). Reported data gaps included adult and household diet quality indicators (n = 32), nutrition-sensitive intervention coverage (n = 25), and infant and young child feeding promotion coverage (n = 11). Lack of data availability for the desired geographic level (82%) or demographic group of interest (82%) and out-of-date data (77%) were common data challenges experienced by respondents.ConclusionsThe survey results highlight the continued need for high-quality, actionable nutrition data to help facilitate progress towards national and global nutrition targets.
Highlights
Audrey J Buckland1, Andrew L Thorne-Lyman1, Tricia Aung1, Shannon E King1, Renee Manorat2, Laura Becker2, Ellen Piwoz3, Rahul Rawat3, Rebecca Heidkamp1
Periodic population-based surveys form the backbone of most national nutrition information systems
Many countries and development partners are investing in strengthening routine facility data systems for nutrition by adding indicators to their District Health Information System 2 (DHIS-2) [3,4,5] and other sector-specific management information systems
Summary
An online survey was administered to the international nutrition community in 2018 through relevant listservs and professional networks to characterize their use of nutrition-related indicators and data sources. The goal of our sampling was to get as many participants from the broader nutrition community as possible at all levels, and so we disseminated the survey through as many professional networks as possible These included online nutrition-focused listservs with self-elected members (ie, Ag2Nut, Ag2Nut Ethiopia, CORE Group Nutrition, CORE Group General), institutional listservs (ie, WHO Nutritionlist and SUN), professional networks (ie, SUN, UNICEF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johns Hopkins University), and Twitter. In this convenience sample, potential respondents were first contacted through an introductory email from the Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation (DataDENT) study team, were directed to a web-based portal in Qualtrics. The survey tool is available in Appendix S1 of the Online Supplementary Document
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