Hi,

I have a question about the SMART's Flag.
They are defined as WHZ <-3 and >+3 (standard under ena software).
Among themn they are some that are excluded for the WHZ analysis. What is the threshold for the flag SMART excluded for the WHZ analysis?
In the methodology they talk about physiological limits -5 and +3...
Is there also a way to "see" children excluded for the analysis?

Thanks a lot

Anaïs.

Hi Anaïs,

I'm sorry for the delayed answer to your question. I hope it's not too late.

As you know, the SMART Flags takes into consideration your sample data and not the reference population. So, that is why, experts recommend using the -3 to +3 z-scores as limits to 'clean' data before the analysis. The WHO recommends using the -4 to +5 as limits as it is biologically unlikely to find a child beyond that (WHO, 1995).

The reason experts recommend to stick with the -3 to +3 is again to allow standardization in order to be able to compare surveys. Otherwise, you will be having surveys that have excluded more children that others if you increase the range.

To see the children that were excluded, you look at your plausibility report that gives you all the SMART Flags. You'll then be able to identify those children according to their IDs.

I hope this answers your questions, and please, feel free to ask more if you wish.


Asmaa