Reliability of anthropometric measurements of a digi-board in comparison to an analog height board in Namibian children under 5 years

Poor measurement quality has set back the utility of anthropometry in defining childhood malnutrition, prompting calls for alternative measurement techniques. This study aimed to assess the reliability of anthropometric measurements using a digital height board in comparison to an analog height board in Namibian children under 5 years of age. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted (n = 425) between the age of 6 and 59 months, using anthropometric measurements of weight, height and mid-upper arm circumference. Two trained enumerators each collected four height measurements of each child: two using an analog height board and two using a digi-board. The repeated height measurements between and within the enumerators were used to determine intra- and interobserver reliability. Reliability of the digi-board was assessed using the technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM (%TEM), intraclass correlation and a Bland-Altman analysis to assess the agreement between the two methods. In all these assessments, the analog height board was considered as the gold standard and used for comparison. The digi-board showed superiority to the analog height board in terms of reliability (analog TEM = 0.22, digi-board TEM = 0.16). Although the digi-board has potential to improve child anthropometry, further clinical and large survey studies are needed to validate the used of this tool in routine population-based surveys. This study examines the reliability of anthropometric measurements using digital height boards compared to traditional analog boards in Namibian children under five. Results indicate that digital boards show superior reliability, suggesting their potential to improve childhood anthropometric methods; yet, further validation in population surveys is warranted. image Malnutrition is a global health concern, specifically in children under 5 years, emphasizing the need for interventions to address malnutrition at the population level. Moving anthropometric measurement from analog (which is prone to human error) to digital has the potential to improve data quality in anthropometric measurements in children. Accurate and reliable measurements are important in identifying populations that are at risk of malnutrition. The digi-board has better reliability compared to the analog height board. An increased measurement error was observed in younger children (6-23 months) compared to children between 24 and 59 months of age for both the analog board and the digi-board.