Introduction of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness - Research Paper Example

Over the last 10 years, much attention has been paid to early childhood health and care services by the government, parents, local communities as well as the researchers. With more women joining men in the working industry, non parental care has risen. It is therefore significant to recognise the need to practice early childhood care. Intervention is a means of preventing problems occurring in families with young children in addition to protecting these children deemed to be at risk (Alaanen & Mayall 2001, p. 128). Childhood and child health care are conditions for both urban and rural development and play part of the social and economic infrastructure of healthy and wealthy communities. This study will analyse common risk factors in child development. It examines means of preventing maltreatment and strategies meant to address these issues as well as the role of intervention programs in relation to child’s health. Research shows that sick children are improperly treated. Pharmacists, doctors or traditional healers that parents run to once their children get sick do not always offer the right treatment. It is for this reason that WHO and UNICEF have looked and to this matter by developing a strategy meant to address this challenge. Introduction of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) focuses on the child’s well-being and aims at reducing infant mortality, illness and disability. The system also promotes growth and development in children especially those below the age of five. It has both preventive and curative measures implemented by families and societies in addition to health facilities. The main reason for early childhood intervention is to cater for those children with disabilities. It is best defined as a system intended to sustain families in respect to interaction with their children which promote child development, children’s coping confidence and avoiding future disabilities (UNESCO 2001). Clients are aware of the social determinants that affect childhood development especially in low income families. These social needs can be avoided by raising awareness about health and related factors. The society ought to develop a sustainable collaborative work that will ensure that children from disadvantaged families are not isolated. Need to communicate with the entire community about the issue of maintaining their health and social well being is required. Actions to be taken to achieve this should be critically discussed and implemented. This will help people to develop confidence of others and also the groups of people around them and to influence them to use the available services acting as advocates. This action plan encourages teamwork to protect health to the public (Bhargava 2003). Community planning have two main aims. One is that they ensure that the public is fully engaged in decisions made on public services and of which have an impact on them. Two, they aim at a commitment to work as a team in provision for better public services. It also involve improving all sectors for instance economic factors such as ensuring that there are available jobs to every member of the society so as to facilitate flow of social amenities. Economically they support small businesses by giving out subsidies to those lacking enough capital to raise the standards of their businesses. The programs also offer transport links for example through provision of ambulances to take people to health centres in case of emergencies. They offer training and development of skills to the physicians for them to give the right medication and also to widen their knowledge. Communication is improved through improved technology in the community example through the provision of telephones. Swift (1997) shows that social factors include provision of good quality and improved accommodation. This problem is mostly faced by either immigrants or the displaced persons. They also encourage safe communities by providing security guards in the hostile communities and by ensuring lighting systems at night. They encourage voluntary work where the community interact thus improve their relationships. The parents are encouraged to carefully look after their children especially the most vulnerable ones and those with special needs such as the blind or deaf by ensuring that they grow to become people of importance. This is by making sure that children access leisure and education institution to develop physically and socially (UNICEF 2008). The health related factors include improvement in physical, social and mental health. Developing and implementing policies that have a positive impact on the lives of children and mostly in health inequalities. Finally the environmental factors include provision of clean air, water, and surrounding. It also refers to the quality of built environment as well as the removal of graffiti. Another factor that involves the environment is to protect the community against threats of climate change such as global warming, flooding. There is also need to promote biodiversity and improved accessibility to nature. For this body to implement the above it has to work in an integrated method with statutory and other voluntary organisations locally and nationally (Dahlberg et al. 1999, p. 200). This integration is thought to bring benefits in relation to reducing management costs as it acts as motivation to attaining objectives. However, reduction in costs is not enough to motivate health and social care professionals this is because they focus on the patients journey unlike integration that focus on the co-ordination between health services and social care providers. In this, there in need for family support which helps to respond to problems and without it then there is inadequacy. The fact that most children spend less time with their children should be avoided and they indentified a threefold model for this social support. This comprised of support arising from pre-existing social networks, semi formal support that arises from activities organised by the community and finally the support from the statutory services. Childhood illness becomes chronic once it is permanent. Studies show that one in seven children suffer from a chronic disease such as epilepsy, asthma, sickle cell anaemia, cancer or other conditions related to HIV infections. Children who are under nourished are likely to suffer from pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea (Boyden & Holden 1991, p. 15). Chronic illness affects a child in relation to how the family perceives the child’s condition. Parents who are more careful about their children conditions tend to do everything to prevent risks, improve chances of recovery and avoiding relapses. When this is taken further it may prevent a child from participating in other childhood activities such as playing. Other communities view childhood chronic illness as a curse and therefore shun both the child and the family. This act affects the child’s development as it will not associate with other children. This illness makes a child uncomfortable due to pain and psychological problems associated with for example HIV infection. Children who are chronically ill tend to lose their appetite and this affects their nutrition and growth. They may therefore need to spend more time in bed and miss school classes. It is for these reasons that make these children unable to live normal lives. These difficulties affect a child’s development and thus lowers their self esteem, adapt aggressive behaviours and other interpersonal difficulties. They may even adapt impaired emotion regulation capabilities and show signs of internal problems. Maltreatment and the limited funds in addressing the problems that face childhood development have led to international intervention programs. One of these programmes is UNICEF that cares for both the child’s health as well as education. It works by involving all sectors in the society such as government, globalisation of the economy as well as the environment. Interrelationships of all these sectors play a part in childhood and child’s health. It is acknowledged that the individual state of good and bad health does not decide human survival but rather the social determinants of health. In reference to these factors, the United Nations has come up with millennium development goals. These goals are mostly rely in the development of child such as reducing child poverty, improving maternal health and achieving universal primary education. Improving the physical and emotional needs of children reduce extensive interventions in future. At the same time, efforts to improve children’s health is viewed as a critical aspect of these early interventions having in mind that physical and cognitive development are related to good health. One method that these programmes are using in order to facilitate childhood development is the use of health grants (Bhargava 2003). The grants are meant to cover a particular group of economically disadvantaged youths. During recession periods, especially between 1999 and 2003, children’s health grant making rose inappropriately to other funding related to health in addition to other grants. Health funding rose from 20 percent to 22 percent of grant dollars. Private foundations are making significant investments of both time and money in health problems affecting children. Philanthropy is dealing on the issues affecting young people and for various reasons. First, it is the fact that children represent the future of a nation and therefore improving their health status offers long-term returns. Moreover, determinants of adult health originate from childhood. The second reason is that children and youth are perceived as been vulnerable and dependent in growing up safely to become productive members in the society. They therefore need family support to enable them get to this point. However, this support is insufficient given the social, environmental and economic conditions that affect a child as it grows. To help a child develop both physically and socially, the granters have tried to provide vaccines to prevent diseases affecting these children such as malaria. They have also strengthened need for training the community paediatrics, improved the ability of meeting the needs of critically ill children through academic health centres. They have also offered services of meeting the health issues of children born from unstable families. Some of these granters fund medical care as others opt to strengthen families and communities to create a good environment in which children can thrive. They put more concentration on delivering direct services, capacity building, youth development, and public education aw well as advocacy projects (Bhargava 2003). They mostly focus on crucial health issues; firstly, promoting health behaviour. United Nations puts more focus on the primary prevention. This is because once an issue is solved at its earlier stages can reduce burdens in future. They risk factors such as poor diet, smoking, and insufficient physical activities. In reference to poor health, studies show that 15 percent of children ranging from 6 to 19 years are overweight. This is why children are encouraged to get the right amount of exercise. By doing this, problems such as diabetes are easily avoided. To increase awareness of this issue, the foundation has funded small projects. These projects will aim at training physicians available in the health centres as well as educating the public on health eating interventions. They have also made efforts to campaign against smoking among the youths through advertising, grassroots actions as well as on-line techniques meant to expose the industries marketing practices. The second factor is to improve access. The international programs have tried to expand coverage of their services. Uninsured children lack regular source of care thus fail to receive primary care and preventive services. They also focus on creating enrolment opportunities at schools, food banks or to other social service agencies in addition to engaging more employers to provide outreach and enrolment. Most of these efforts are country driven but it is proposed that is it to become a state- wide program. Out reach of operational investments and technological initiatives are underway as well as providing subsidies for premiums (Bhargava 2003). Strengthening mental health is another factor that the program has aimed to attain. A survey carried out shows that one out of ten children suffers from mental health and only 20 of these receive proper medical care (Penn, H 2004). Moreover, it is expected that neuropsychiatric disorders will rise over the next ten years. Community based collaborations have been introduced to improve access to mental health services especially to low income children and families. Another program is meant to focus on avoiding suicide and offering support to immigrants and refugees. It is also promoting education programs meant to eradicate people’s negative attitudes towards those in need of mental health services such as those in juvenile system and runaway. The third factor that the program is concentrating on is to offer a broader definition of health. These are strategies meant to improve the physical, mental and social well being of a child and not simply the absence of a disease or infirmity in the body structure. The strategies will also include means of strengthening families, building the flexibility of children and also concentrate in the relationship between social, economic and environmental conditions related to health. According to Davey et al. (2001) community based contributions is meant to eradicate social isolation, increase in accessibility to the economic conventional and finally improving the conditions in the health centres. More emphasis is being put on raising awareness on the important of the presence of parents in children’s lives. This campaigns title encouraged parents to take time and make a difference in their children’s lives. The other aim of this program is to reduce racial and ethnic discrepancies. Most of these health problems affect children o color and it is for this reason that this strategy was introduced. This program will reveal reasons for differences in care given to minority children. International programmes recognize that overriding early and across a range of factors that influence health protects children as well as giving them a better start in life, and is also a good investment in reducing health risks in adulthood stage. Support for advocacy, policy, and access to public programs reflects a growing approval that innovative local programs must be coupled with broader system change to have a lasting impact. As this commentary illustrates, foundations have different ways of approaching similar issues, depending on their missions, preferred strategies, and resources (Gray 2001, p. 108). They are concerned about issues of childhood such as childhood obesity and mental health and make strategic decisions about the definition of health and where to intervene. Their investments whether small is compared with the total amount they spend on health care, they fill gaps, expand accessibility of public programs as well as providing models that give many children the chance to live healthy lives. International organizations helps states that are poor in resources and incapable of guaranteeing adequate food and the right to freedom from hunger to all citizens, either temporarily, periodically or long- term. The support they offer is either in kind or in cash, technical or financial support and as advisory service. The opportunity of receiving support does not guarantee states to flee from their immediate obligations under the right to adequate food. People are therefore to use maximum of available resources as quickly as possible. International organizations offer political, legal or administrate advice to states especially those that are not complying with their duties regarding the right to adequate food, though they could adopt adequate policies. Hallett and Prout (2003, p. 98) describes that the reasons for offering inadequate policies can be diverse; this is because the powerful lobby groups are unwillingness to make necessary changes. They also lack enough knowledge about the possible impact of certain policies and programmes. The third role of international programs lies in the dynamic support of the right to ample food. These organisations promote actively the full implementation these rights through advising states or either through analysing and releasing problems hindering implementation of these rights. This is achieved through encouraging and supporting important actors in the government and in communities to (Claxton & Harrison 1991). The fourth role is that international organizations have to protect the fact that their policies or programmes do not hinder governments from implementing the right to adequate food. Increase in interdependence and interrelatedness of national economies also increases the sensitivity and vulnerability of each and every society against international tendency and development. This tendency limits the ability of states to oversee national policies to ensure that they are favorable to the implementation of food and nutrition rights. The fifth role is that international bodies monitors their own policies and programmes to guarantee that they do not contribute to violations of the right to adequate food. Problems related with the understanding of ESC-rights and the right to adequate food in particular through the process of increasing interdependence occur. If the government of that state is able to implement human rights is changed by international policies and programmes or generally international developments (Panter 1998, p. 19). Three processes contribute to a decline in states resources to implement ESC-Rights: the first one is the development of a set of new international rules, regulations, policies and developments the other factor is the rising influence of policies on national developments finally the increasing significance of other actors particularly in the economic globe. The ability of nation to implement national policies and programmes can be influenced by international rules and programmes required to fully implement ESC-Rights. This influence in two directions: one is that they can encourage the realization of ESC-rights and at the same time a negative influence on the ability to guarantee ESC-rights. Copenhagen Declaration and the Plan of Action helped the international community to secure social and economic impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and minimized it. Effort has been made to minimize negative impacts of these programmes yet the effect is usually negative. If sufficient support is not offered to the affected sectors of society, vulnerable groups in these communities will be at much higher risks of poverty than ever before. The centre peace of all activities of the United Nations relies on the Human Rights. These activities have to respect, support and promote the complete realization of these rights. That was clearly made by the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan. Human Rights offer guidance to all international policies. They also provide the right standards for the work of all international organizations. They work towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights rather than increasing the amount of resources available for assistance (Gow and Desmond 2002). It is necessary to ensure the impact of own policies and programmes on the satisfaction of the rights of mainly vulnerable groups. Moreover, directing all support and endorse activities in a manner that they support the accomplishment of the respective rights, in this case the right to adequate child health. Implementation of the right to adequate health requires one to come up to maintain food and nutrition issues. It is therefore worthwhile to look deeply for the rights approach basing on economic, social and health rights, in particular the right to sufficient health services. Secondly it is significant to confer the conduct in which the right to good health can be strengthened to stop violations of it right via other international policies or disciplines (UNICEF 2008). In order to show the meaning of a rights approach more accurately the following has to be sustained. One is by describing the contents of the rights to food and nutrition. Two we briefly present the diverse levels of duties connected to the rights of a society. References Alaanen, L & Mayall, B 2001, Conceptualising child-adult relationship, Falmer Press, London, p. 128. Bhargava, PH 2003, The elimination of child labour, Whose responsibility? New Delhi, Sage, p. 132. Boyden, J, & Holden, P 1991, Children of the cities, Zed Books, London, vol. 2, p. 15. Claxton, R, & Harrison, T 1991, Caring for children with HIV & AIDS. Dahlberg, G, Moss, P, & Pence, A 1999, Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Postmodern perspectives, Falmer Press, Abingdon, p. 200. Davey, B, Gray, A, & Seale, C 2001, Health and disease: A reader, Open University Press, Buckingham. Gow, J & Desmond, C 2002, Impacts and interventions: The HIV/AIDS epidemic and the children of South Africa, University of Natal Press. Scottsville, South Africa. Gray, A 2001, World health and disease. Open University Press, Buckingham, p. 108. Hallett, C. & Prout, A 2003, Hearing the voices of children London, Routledge, 1st edn, pp. 98-117. Panter, C 1998, Bio-social perspectives on children, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 19-37. Penn, H 2004, Childcare and early childhood development programmes and policies: Their relationship to eradicating poverty, CHIP, London. Swift, A 1997, Children for social change: Education for citizenship of street and working children in Brazil, Education Heretics Press, London. UNESCO, 2001, Learning to live together: Have we failed? International Bureau of Education, Geneva. UNICEF, 1990 -2004, State of the worlds children, Oxford University Press. UNICEF 2000, Poor children in rich countries, Oxford University Press, Oxford. UNICEF 2008, State of the Worlds Children, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Read More