Objectives. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) policy encourages foster care during refugee emergencies. We examined evidence to support this policy using data from the 1994 Rwandan refugee crisis. Methods. The association of weight gain and acute illness with family status (foster children vs children living with their biological families) was examined using latent growth curve and repeated measures logistic regression analysis. Results. Weight gain for all children averaged 0.40 kg/month and was associated with child's age but not with family status, child's or caregiver's sex, caregiver's marital status, possession of blankets or plastic sheeting, severe malnutrition, month of enrollment, or acute illness. Illness was not more common among foster children than among children living with their biological families. Conclusions. This analysis supports the UNHCR/UNICEF recommendation of fostering for unaccompanied children during an acute refugee crisis.

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refugee logistic regression analysis health care policy Rwanda human sex difference Refugees child nutrition Foster Home Care statistics controlled study comparative study acute disease United Nations Food Services ethnology Democratic Republic Congo catering service marriage Humans family Adolescent Infant, Newborn male preschool child female Infant Child, Preschool Multivariate Analysis newborn Child Welfare Democratic Republic of the Congo Article major clinical study growth curve foster care data analysis Utilization Review malnutrition disease severity Child Nutrition Physiology weight gain caregiver Child