Anemia is most diagnosed by measuring hemoglobin (Hb) concentration in blood. Prevalence of anemia is usually estimated through household surveys, using portable devices. Many studies have reported varying anemia prevalence in similar populations at similar points in time. This can be due to differences in Hb measurements such as the mode of blood collection (venous or capillary), setting (laboratory or field), device models, environmental factors (humidity), and operational factors (sample loading time), among others. These discrepancies in hemoglobin concentration that result from different methods of collection, processing, and analysis could have a substantial effect in population-based anemia prevalence estimates.
In 2019, USAID Advancing Nutrition convened the HEmoglobin MEasurement (HEME) working group, a multi-institutional research collaborative initiative that brought together researchers and experienced practitioners working on Hb measurement from different countries. USAID Advancing Nutrition’s HEME working group developed a laboratory validation protocol to identify the most adequate procedures and methods for measuring Hb concentration. The study protocol details how to systematically compare Hb concentration using different types of blood samples from the same individuals and also compare commonly used methods (auto-analyzer or the various HemoCue® devices).
Preliminary results from the study were shared during a webinar in May 2023 and at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in October 2023.
Grant Awardees
- The American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
- eHealth Africa (Nigeria)
- Instituto Nutricional de Centroamérica y Panamá (Guatemala)
- The National Institute for Medical Research (Tanzania)
- The University of British Columbia (Canada, in collaboration with Helen Keller International, Cambodia)
Through a separate funding mechanism, Nutrition International supported Haramaya University to implement a study in Ethiopia, following the same protocol as the USAID Advancing Nutrition grantees. Colleagues from the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública of Mexico also participated in some of the discussions and shared their experiences from implementing a similar study protocol.
To learn more about other anemia-related activities, please visit the USAID Advancing Nutrition Anemia Task Force page.