Global mid-upper arm circumference cut-offs for adults: a call to action.

Since 2009, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) has become an accepted measure for screening children for acute malnutrition and determining eligibility for services to manage acute malnutrition. Use of MUAC has increased the reach and enhanced the quality of community-based management of acute malnutrition services. Increasingly, MUAC is also used to assess nutritional status and eligibility for nutrition support among adolescents and adults, including pregnant and lactating women and HIV and TB clients.

A 6-Country Collaborative Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Nutrition and Decrease Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Mother-Infant Pairs.

Despite advances in coverage and quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs, infant protection from postnatal HIV infection remains an issue in high HIV-burdened countries. We designed a quality improvement (QI) intervention-the Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS)-to improve infant survival. PHFS convened leaders in 6 sub-Saharan African nations to discover together the best strategies for implementing and scaling up existing PMTCT protocols to ensure optimal health of mother-baby pairs and HIV-free infant survival.

Reducing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Using Quality Improvement Approaches.

Over half of mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) occurs postdelivery. Keeping mother-infant pairs in care remains challenging. Health workers in 3 countries used quality improvement (QI) approaches to improve data systems, mother-infant retention, and facility-based care delivery.

Nutrition assessment, counseling, and support interventions to improve health-related outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review of the literature.

Background: Although numerous studies have shown that severe to moderate wasting at the time of antiretroviral therapy initiation is strongly predictive of mortality, it remains unclear whether nutritional interventions at or before antiretroviral therapy initiation will improve outcomes. This review examines data on nutrition assessment, counseling, and support interventions in resource-limited settings.

Methods: We identified articles published between 2005 and 2014 on the effectiveness of nutrition assessment, counseling, and support interventions, particularly its impact on 5 outcomes: mortality, morbidity, retention in care, quality of life, and/or prevention of ongoing HIV transmission.