Talk:Undernutrition in children

Use of photos of malnourished children

Just to say that I am very uncomfortable with images of malnourished children as used on this page. Can they really have given informed consent for the image to be used in an encyclopedia? I doubt it, personally. JMWt (talk) 08:47, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

Ah, I was just going to say the same thing on Twitter: we need better photos for this article! I assume for these two photos consent may have been obtained by the legal guardian (theoratically). But in any case, these photos are misleading. They make people think of the immediate crises but what's more important here is the long term malnutrition that is with the children for years and years... I'd rather have a photo of a breastfeeding mother, to be honest, to stress the importance of breastfeeding to combat malnutrition. I think I will move these two photos back to the main page on malnutrition which is where they came from. EvM-Susana (talk) 08:52, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

We use these images on the malnutrition article. One was taken by the US army medical team. The other was taken by voice of america. The problems is it is hard to convince people to release images under an open license and thus we often use what is available. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 19:38, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

It doesn't matter to me who took it. If it was a journalist, it is highly unlikely that there was informed consent given for reuse of the image in this way - which parent would want to see an emacipated image of their child spread across the internet for millions to see? This is akin to opening up a medical record without asking for the global public to pore over. There is a lot of discussion of these kinds of images in development circles - for example here http://lindaraftree.com/tag/poverty-porn/ - they are demeaning and they are often totally unnecessary. Their availability does not mean that they are right to use. Now, I appreciate that we are here talking about a medical condition, but there ought to be some consideration of the feelings of surviving relatives vs any possible encylopedia benefit to the use of the image. JMWt (talk) 09:16, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

It's an interesting question that you posed but I assume it has been discussed in medical circles before and a solution been found. I mean how about all the photos depicting all sorts of "gross/ugly" diseases that you'd find in medical textbooks? Most likely the patient or legal guardian has given consent for the purpose of teaching and helping doctors figuring out how to cure this stuff. Also images on Wikipedia would serve that purpose (to help prevent further suffering), so there is no real difference between such photos in medical textbooks or on Wikipedia, is there? - The photos are not trying to show a dying child but rather showing how doctors are treating the child and preventing the death from occurring. I think it's OK here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition#Management

But for this article here, I'd rather include something that shows children in a classroom looking tired and not able to concentrate too well due to malnutrition. EvM-Susana (talk) 20:47, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Yes it is partly editorial judgment. Okay with what you propose.Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 21:13, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Summarizing a source

Typically one dose not need to state "one report". This is an estimate by WHO. If they no longer support this estimate than we would update it.

Does someone state "However, the lack of global data might make this claim hard to prove."? If so we need to attribute and reference this statement. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 22:53, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Proposed Edits

Hello! I am considering adding a bit more information to this page. I would potentially like to expand on some of the existing sections, and add more about the effects of poverty, food deserts, and approaches that are being taken to help alleviate childhood nutrition. Any feedback is appreciated. Check out my user page to see my sources! Courtwang (talk) 04:09, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Hi, User:Courtwang, sounds great! Go for it. Regarding sources, just be careful that you try to stick to the reliable sources (see WP:Reliable and more specifically WP:MEDRS). The standards are very high when it comes to health topics to not quote isolated primary research studies but ideally review papers, Cochrane reviews, WHO, UNICEF and that kind of thing. Fee free to ask if anything is unclear. - This article certainly could do with being beefed up! Also more photos would be good. EvMsmile (talk) 04:15, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Health box

This is a health condition. I have added further items to the box. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 15:34, 24 May 2017 (UTC)

I suppose this is a first step, it would probably be appropriate to continue completing it. The work of these infoboxes is long and complicated. You're doing a great job! Best regards. --BallenaBlanca (Talk) 16:07, 24 May 2017 (UTC)

What's the plan with these info boxes and does it really help the layperson much? Is this really a "disease" (is health condition the same as a disease)? Isn't it more a symptom of other things (e.g. other diseases), and mainly due to poverty in developing countries? Just wondering, asking from a lay person's perspective. EMsmile (talk) 21:18, 24 May 2017 (UTC)

The box is called "infobox medical condition". We could change the name to "infobox health condition". I think it is reasonable to call it a health condition. Obesity is a health condition. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 00:31, 25 May 2017 (UTC)

"Health condition" would be better than "medical condition". Still not sure what the box aims to achieve apart from perhaps giving the link to the medical classification of diseases? Can you point me to another Wikipedia talk page where these info boxes are being discussed? I thought the general trend was more to add such kind of information at the bottom by using templates or categories. EMsmile (talk) 20:13, 26 May 2017 (UTC)

It does not provide classifications of diseases anymore. Discussion was here[1] Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 03:12, 27 May 2017 (UTC)

Is the new picture of breastfeeding African child suitable?

Someone recently added this image to the article:

Breastfeeding can help prevent malnutrition (example from Omo Valley, Ethiopia)

I think it's good to have a breastfeeding image but I just wonder if it's suitable as the image might portray breastfeeding as something rural/backward/African/non-Western. It is also not a very good example of how the baby is meant to attach to the breast (pulling too much on it). I am just wondering how this image might look in the eyes of African readers ore breastfeeding advocates? EMsmile (talk) 18:59, 4 June 2017 (UTC)

Does commons have one you prefer? Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 04:18, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

Well there are bound to be other breastfeeding photos in Commons but first I would like to hear from others if they feel this photo here is suitable? I like that it shows an African mother & baby but it's more the way the breast is depicted and that it looks so rural and therefore possibly sends the message "breastfeeding is old fashioned". Just not sure. EMsmile (talk) 10:35, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

Agree it is not the best positioning. This works for older children but not younger ones. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 13:42, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

I have replaced the image now with one from India that is more "modern"/aspirational looking. EMsmile (talk) 14:59, 26 June 2017 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Global Poverty and Practice

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 23 August 2023 and 20 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Csteel3777 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Laguan0206, Alisha2003.

— Assignment last updated by Laguan0206 (talk) 23:14, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

I think it would be important to revise the images being used as I don't know if they are necessarily very appropriate. Besides that and a few edits to grammar and rephrasing sentences, I really appreciate all of the different topics that are covered. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Csteel3777 (talk • contribs) 22:58, 13 November 2023 (UTC)