Active clinical trials for "Malnutrition"

This study will be conducted as a stratified cluster randomized trial. The unit of randomization will be the outpatient therapeutic feeding center. The 10 health centers will be stratified by size, and centers within a stratum will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one of two schedules of treatment: (1) standard weekly visits or (2) monthly visits with support for home-based surveillance.

To evaluate the bioequivalence of one extended release combination (loratadine 5 mg/pseudoephedrine sulfate 120 mg) tablet manufactured for Bayer HealthCare LLC by SAG Manufacturing, S.L.U. Madrid, Spain (test treatment) to the extended release combination (loratadine 5 mg/pseudoephedrine sulfate 120 mg) tablet manufactured for Bayer SA-NV by Schering- Plough Labo NV Heist (reference treatment) which is currently marketed in Europe.

Heifer Project International is a globally active NGO with more than 400 projects in over 30 countries. The organization uses the introduction of livestock and related training in the development of social capital as tools for poverty alleviation, citizen empowerment, and community development. In a pilot project conducted in 2009-2012, these activities were found to promote some improvement in child health and nutritional status. However, robust enhancement of these important indicators was not observed. Heifer now intends to investigate the efficacy of a nutrition and child health education program in amplifying these effects.

The research and Innovation program Food'n'Go - Empower aims to develop, test and implement a health technology solution for involvement and increased empowerment of elderly patients and their relatives. The focus is on frequent issues for this group of patients, in the first phase focusing on nutrition and physical activity. Later, the solution will include pain management, management of sleep problems, management of medication, prevention of confusion and coordination of the treatment and care course across sectorial borders. The technology is a tablet-computer, operated by the patient by means of a number of app-like software applications. The program received in the summer of 2013 one of the Capital Region OPI funding for design and development of the prototype, which is now ready and looking very promising. The next step is a pilot feasibility study testing the usability and acceptability as well as effect during hospitalisation and at home after discharge. The present study - Food'to'Go investigates the intervention in the post-discharge period. Aim The overall aim of Food'n'Go research- an innovation programme is to develop, test and implement innovative information technology solutions to increase participation and empowerment of older patients and their families, in relation to frequent problems during hospitalisation and the time after. The aim for the substudy Food'to'Go is to test the feasibility and efficacy of ICT-supported energy- and protein-enforced home-delivered main and in-between meals on older patients, discharged from acute hospitalisation in medical wards. Hereunder: Test the technology's relevance, suitability, acceptability and ease of use in relation to the target group Test the communication loop between patient and kitchen, and relatives external access to the related website Welfare and health technologies are often directed at solving problems and meeting the needs of society's most vulnerable groups, often not familiar with computers. We will, in addition to developing the technological solution, examine user-related barriers and preferences for health technology and try to find solutions that can increase older people's possibilities for using technology and achieve empowerment. The program incorporates research and innovation in an iterative process where research provides answers and solutions to the issues arising in relation to the development of the technology (innovation) and the use of it.

Investigators propose a feasibility and pilot study for a cluster randomised controlled trial. The proposed trial will evaluate the effects of an economic intervention (microfinance) in self-help groups of poor and marginalised women in three provinces in northern India, upon the health of these communities, with a focus on children under five years. This feasibility and pilot study will determine whether accurate data can be collected on mortality by means of a house to house survey or from the register of births and deaths. The feasibility stage will also determine whether village volunteers can accurately weigh children under five and record their weights alongside the financial data already recorded by the self-help group. If these data are accurate and can be collected reliably, the investigators will calculate the power and sample size needed for a future cluster randomised trial, as well as analysing preliminary results from the current project. The investigators will evaluate health outcomes, relating to two Millennium Development Goals: number of children under five years of age who are underweight and the under five mortality rate.

This research will test alternative methods of ensuring compliance with recommended preparation and targeting of supplementary foods for malnourished children under five years of age. The hypotheses that the proposed study intends to test are as follows: With appropriate behavior change communication (BCC) and social support, and with provision of CSB and FVO in the correct proportions, it is possible to get women to prepare CSB with oil in the recommended ratio of 100:30, and in quantities just sufficient for the target child. Providing CSB to Beneficiary Mothers/Caretakers pre-packaged bags of 2 kg with appropriate messaging and with instructions to direct the food to children and to prepare the CSB with oil in the recommended ratio and feed as instructed will result in better compliance.

Background: In elderly subjects frailty and malnutrition are very common and can lead to serious health hazards, increase mortality, morbidity, dependency, institutionalization and a reduced quality of life. In Austria, the prevalence of frailty and malnutrition are increasing steadily and are becoming a challenge for our social system. Physical training and adequate nutrition can invert it. Methods/Design: In this randomized, controlled trial 80 malnourished, frail, community-dwelling patients (≥ 65 years) are recruited. Additionally, 80 lay volunteers (≥ 50 years) named buddies are recruited and subsequently trained regarding health enhancing physical activity and nutrition in three standardized training sessions. These buddies visit the malnourished, frail subjects at home twice a week for about one hour during an initial period of 10-12 weeks. While participants allocated to the intervention group (n=40) conduct intervention to improve their fluid intake, their protein and energy intake, perform strength training and try to increase their baseline activities, the control group (n=40) only gets home visits without any special intervention. After 10-12 weeks, both, the intervention and the control group, receive the nutrition intervention and the physical training. Health, nutrition and frailty status, physical fitness and body composition and chronic inflammation of buddies and frails are recorded before the intervention, after 10-12 weeks, and after 6 and 12 months. Discussion: To the investigators knowledge this trial is the first of its kind to provide nutrition and physical activity intervention to malnourished, frail, community-dwelling subjects by trained lay buddies, in which the health status of buddies is also expected to improve. This study assesses the effectiveness of such an intervention. If successful, the intervention offers new perspectives for the management of frailty and malnutrition.

Addition of α-amylase is considered as one of most effective solution to improve energy density of cereal based porridges (WHO, 2008). By adding α-amylase, the viscosity of porridges will be decreased while keeping dry matter content constant. Potential positive impact is to significantly improve efficiency of WFP nutritional programmes targeting vulnerable groups suffering from acute malnutrition. The acceptance of porridges made with α-amylase is tested compared to porridges made without α-amylase among 12-36 months old children and their caregivers. Acceptance is measured based on energy intake. The porridges tested consist of fortified blended Supercereal (12- <24 months) and Supercereal-Plus (24-36 months) based on Corn Soy Blend (CSB) extruded or drum dried, Wheat Soy Blend (WSB), Rice Soy Blend (RSB), all with and without α-amylase, or a commercial porridge, or eeZee bar.

Insufficient nutritional intake, with or without concomitant morbidity, leads to weight loss or insufficient weight gain, is related to an increase in morbidity and mortality and exposes the child to medical complications. In addition, obesity is also related to complications during hospitalization and complications in general, and therefore early identification of these children is extremely important. Studies show that malnutrition is frequent among children upon hospitalization, where the risk of pediatric nutritional deterioration increases, even in the presence of mild stress factors. This risk is frequent mainly among children that arrive at the hospital with an initial poor nutritional status. Improving the nutritional status as part of the standard of care already at the ambulatory setting might improve the prognosis of children when ill. In Israel, nutritional screening in not conducted among children since there is no proper validated screening tool. Study objectives: To test the accuracy of the STAMP Screening Tool for pediatric nutritional risk which is designed to be used by nurses, and to compare it to a complete nutritional assessment conducted by a dietician in Clalit Health Care Services clinics. In addition, the investigators wish to examine the effects of using a screening tool for nutritional risk on the medical staff's attention to the nutritional status; this is measured by the collection of nutritional status-related data and their recording in the patient file. Methods: 100 boys and girls aged 1 to 6, attending Clalit Health Care Services Pediatric Centers, will undergo an assessment using the STAMP Tool; a questionnaire including 3 questions with a summary score, according to which the nutritional risk level shall be determined. These children shall also undergo a complete dietician assessment in order to examine the validity of the STAMP Tool. In addition, 150 files shall be reviewed in the beginning of the research and after 6 months in order to estimate the change in medical staff's attention to nutritional status, by way of noting relevant diagnoses, reference to nutritional status- related tests and recording of anthropometric measurements. A statistical analysis to examine the validity of the STAMP Tool shall be carried out using the kappa test (K) (30). The effect of the STAMP Tool use shall be calculated using the chi square test.

This pilot study aims to determine whether an agricultural intervention will improve food security, prevent treatment failure, reduce co-morbidities, and decrease secondary HIV transmission risk among people living with HIV/AIDS. The intervention will include: a) a human-powered water pump and other required farm commodities, b) a micro-finance loan (~$75) to purchase the pump and agricultural implements, and c) education in sustainable farming practices.