16/03/2026
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๐ข๐ฃ๐ง ๐ฃ๐น๐๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐: ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ง ๐ฃ๐น๐๐ ๐๐ค๐
Let us recall that the Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus is the annual growth assessment for all children aged 0 to 59 months in the barangay. This is being done to generate data on the nutritional status and locate malnourished (undernourished and overnourished) children needing nutrition intervention. The conduct of OPT Plus is mainly done by a trained OPT Plus Team headed by the Rural Health Midwife (RHM), assisted by the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) and Barangay Health Workers (BHW). Other members of the team can be the Barangay Kagawad on Health and Nutrition, other barangay officials and staff, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, Day Care Workers, teachers-in-charge, zone leaders, among others.
The OPT Plus protocol covers five (5) major activities that the OPT Plus Team should strictly follow to generate timely, reliable, accurate, and precise OPT Plus data.
โข ๐๐ซ๐-๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฅ: Organization and training of the OPT Plus Team, household profiling and spot mapping, and preparation and verification of measuring tools and equipment.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ: Actual taking of anthropometric measurements and checking for edema, feedbacking to parents the nutritional status of children, and referral of identified malnourished children.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: OPT Plus processing, using the electronic OPT Plus tool, and data quality check.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ : Use of OPT Plus results, report generation, data analysis and interpretation, and data utilization and action planning.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐
๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ: Monthly monitoring of children aged 0-23 months, and those older malnourished children, semestral monitoring of 24-59 months old children, and Barangay Nutrition Action Plan (BNAP) monitoring.
Understanding the prevalence and burden of malnutrition is influenced by the quality of data collected and generated. At each phase of the program implementation, from initial development, training, fieldwork, data recording, and analysis, there are risks to the quality of the data. Further, prevalence of malnutrition is impacted by the frequent inaccuracies and gaps in anthropometry data quality, particularly in large-scale survey implementation.
The OPT Plus Data Quality Check (DQC) is a quantitative assessment of the accuracy, reliability, completeness, timeliness, and usefulness of the OPT Plus results of each local government unit (LGU). DQC tool measures the accuracy of OPT Plus results and targets to eradicate factors affecting anthropometry, such as improper age reporting and calculation, imprecise anthropometry measurements, incomplete anthropometry data, incompetence of measures, data manipulation, and contextual factors.
Using a reliable tool for child anthropometry and data quality assessment is a strong data management method. Certain improvements in data quality can be identified by tools that can clean criteria and feedback through plausibility checks. As for the OPT Plus DQC established by National Nutrition Council, the following dimensions are identified for evaluation to ensure accurate and quality data:
a. ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฒ: it seeks to determine the quality of measurements and the tools used for measurement, and it is associated with the correctness of data so that it measures what it intends to measure.
b. ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: focused on generating data using standard protocols or methods that are recurring regardless of the user or frequency of the actions being performed. This involves OPT Plus Team training, standardization, and the team's capacity to adhere to established standards and protocols while measuring children's length/height and weight.
c. ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ: pertains to how well the target population is covered by the data collected. This dimension seeks to guarantee that 80 to 110% OPT Plus coverage is attained and to avoid missing information of children and their mothers or caregivers.
d. ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ: refers to the review of the OPT Plus data and reports that were submitted to key personnel and offices within the time frame stipulated in the protocol.
e. ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ: refers to providing nutrition services to identified children and in what activities and meetings the OPT Plus results were used (i.e., BNAP formulation, conduct of Program Implementation Review, etc.).
Supportive supervision is an integral part of the OPT Plus DQC in which the supervisors guide, oversee, and teach the OPT Plus Team to guarantee the success and appropriate implementation of the OPT Plus. Additionally, by demonstrating proper procedures and nurturing team members' proficiency, the supervisor assists the team members in making things work, identifying errors, and correcting them at the same time during the supportive supervision. OPT Plus DQC ensures that the data and nutritional status of children are accurate and free from errors.
High-quality data is essential for better information necessary in decision-making and policy making. In nutrition, quality anthropometric data and quality socio-demographic information such as s*x and age are critical in order to have accurate and reliable nutritional status assessment. This information will be the primary basis of policymakers, program managers, researchers, and advocates of nutrition in planning their nutrition programs and interventions. (Nutrition Officer II Keishe Jan T. Aban/ [email protected] / 0963-109-0198)
Reference:
National Nutrition Council, University of the Philippines Los Baรฑos, and UNICEF. 2023. Operation Timbang Plus Manual of Operations and Data Quality Check Protocol. Manila, Philippines.
