Nutrition survey planning relies on several key guidelines to ensure accurate and representative data. Stand-alone SMART surveys focus specifically on assessing nutrition status and mortality with clear, standardized methods. The integrated JANSFA guidance combines nutrition into broader food security assessments while maintaining the rigor required for nutrition data as per SMART standards.
Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measurements are frequently included in Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS) data to determine proxy-GAM prevalences but are often aggregated at the higher administrative level 1 to ensure representativeness. Additionally, the IPC Acute Malnutrition (IPC AMN) framework highlights other compatible data sources such as sentinel site surveillance and screening, which provide ongoing nutrition monitoring alongside surveys.
Regardless of the data collection method, it is important to have dedicated and trained nutrition enumerator collecting anthropometric data for each team, helping to minimize measurement bias. During the training phase, a standardisation test of all nutrition enumerators is needed to assess, measure, and address every enumerator’s strength and weakness.
Checking the quality of the collected data is equally important. There are existing tools such as the SMART plausibility check that can be used to assess the overall quality of the survey data
These approaches and documents together help guide effective and reliable nutrition survey planning.
Methods for both standardization test and plausibility checks are in the SMART survey manual accessible through the below link.
Links
Planning a nutrition survey: SMART surveys
Planning a nutrition survey: IPC AMN compatible data