{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T02:06:57Z","timestamp":1782958017147,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748476800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Maternal &amp; Child Nutrition"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:p>Mid\u2010upper arm circumference (MUAC) screening is a simple community\u2010level method for detecting acute malnutrition. The Family MUAC approach, which trains caregivers to measure their children's MUAC and refer them for treatment, has shown promise, but evidence regarding its impact on malnutrition severity at admission is limited. To address this gap, we conducted a longitudinal study from March to May 2024 in two districts in Eastern Ethiopia, enrolling 360 children aged 6\u201359 months. We compared children referred by their mothers or caregivers using the Family MUAC (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u2009180) with those referred by Health Extension Workers (HEWs) (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u2009180). We found that the median MUAC at admission was 119\u2009mm (IQR 116\u2013120) in the mother\u2010referral group versus 116\u2009mm (IQR 115\u2013119) in the HEWs\u2010referral group, and the proportion of severe acute malnutrition (MUAC\u2009&lt;\u2009115\u2009mm) was lower among caregiver\u2010referred children (4.2% vs. 18.4%). Multivariable regression analysis showed that mother\/caregiver\u2010referred children had an 80.5% lower risk of severe MUAC at admission [ARR 0.195(0.06, 0.59)] and a 75% reduced likelihood of SAM admission compared to the HEWs\u2010Referral group (ARR 0.25; 95% CI, 0.148\u20130.448). The Family MUAC approach significantly reduced the severity of malnutrition at admission. Consequently, this strategy should be expanded and prioritized in national screening programs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/mcn.70054","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]],"date-time":"2025-05-30T00:13:49Z","timestamp":1748564029000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Effect of Family MUAC Utilization in Identifying Severity of Acute Malnutrition at Admission to Nutrition Programs Among Children Aged 6\u201359 Months Ethiopia"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-2721-045X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meron","family":"Tamirat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departement of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8557-7084","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alinoor Mohammed","family":"Farah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departement of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science Addis Ababa Ethiopia"},{"name":"Department of Public Health Nutrition, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences Jigjiga University Jigjiga Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6541-0383","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gudina","family":"Egeta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departement of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aweke","family":"kebede","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"World Food Program Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7838-2470","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samson","family":"Gebremedhin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departement of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seifu Hagos","family":"Gebreyesus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departement of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13690-016-0149-5"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0142553"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-023-15863-w"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13690-015-0074-z"},{"issue":"64","key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","first-page":"99","article-title":"Family MUAC: A Review of Evidence and Practice","author":"Buttarelli E.","year":"2020","journal-title":"Field Exchange, Emergency Nutrition Network"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/e576842013-001"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0007114519003258"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","first-page":"22","article-title":"In Chad, the Mother\u2010MUAC Approach Improves Treatment Access for Malnourished Children","volume":"65","author":"Gnamien H.","year":"2021","journal-title":"Field Exchange"},{"issue":"58","key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","first-page":"62","article-title":"Key Findings From the Click\u2010MUAC Project","author":"Grant A.","year":"2018","journal-title":"Field Exchange"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","unstructured":"Hobbs B. A.Bush B.Shaikh S.Azmat A.Mazhar andS.Solter.2014.\u201cAcute Malnutrition: An Everyday Emergency.\u201dGeneration Nutrition Campaign Report United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)."},{"issue":"43","key":"e_1_2_9_12_1","first-page":"15","article-title":"CMAM Rollout in Ethiopia: The \u2018Way In'to Scale Up Nutrition","volume":"43","author":"Lemma F.","year":"2012","journal-title":"Field Exchange"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_13_1","first-page":"106","volume-title":"Consumer Insights","author":"Lima N.","year":"2020"},{"issue":"68","key":"e_1_2_9_14_1","article-title":"Improving the Uptake of Family Mid\u2010Upper Arm Circumference Screening in Mali","author":"Lope C. P.","year":"2022","journal-title":"Field Exchange"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0001943"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_16_1","first-page":"38","article-title":"Family\u2010Led Mid\u2010Upper Arm Circumference (FL\u2010MUAC) Approach and the Screening of Acute Malnutrition in Children Aged 6 to 59 Months in Africa: A Scoping Review","volume":"49","author":"Majiwa P. R.","year":"2024","journal-title":"Pan African Medical Journal"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5455\/ijmsph.2017.0718108082017"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_9_18_1","first-page":"322","article-title":"Mother's Health Seeking Behaviour During Child Illness in a Rural Western Kenya Community","volume":"5","author":"Mbagaya G. M.","year":"2005","journal-title":"African Health Sciences"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0244486"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0128666"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_21_1","unstructured":"United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) World Health Organization (WHO) & International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank.2023.Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition: UNICEF\/WHO\/World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates: Key Findings of the 2023 Edition. UNICEF & WHO.https:\/\/data.unicef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/JME-2023-Levels-and-trends-in-child-malnutrition.pdf(Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO:https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/igo)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_22_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization.2020.Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children: A Joint Statement by the World Health Organization the World Food Programme the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the United Nations Children's Fund. World Health Organization.https:\/\/iris.who.int\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/44295\/9789280641479_eng.pdf?sequence=1."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_23_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization & United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).2021.Indicators for Assessing Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices: Definitions and Measurement Methods.World Health Organization.https:\/\/iris.who.int\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/340706\/9789240018389-eng.pdf?sequence=1(Licensed under CC BY\u2010NC\u2010SA 3.0 IGO:https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/igo)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12887-015-0535-0"}],"container-title":["Maternal &amp; Child Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/mcn.70054","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]],"date-time":"2025-09-23T13:42:05Z","timestamp":1758634925000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/mcn.70054"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]]},"references-count":23,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/mcn.70054"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/mcn.70054","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1740-8695","1740-8709"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1740-8695","type":"print"},{"value":"1740-8709","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2024-10-19","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-05-14","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-05-29","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70054"}}