Cohort study is an irreplaceable method for studies related to maternal and child health. Compared with other countries, China's maternal and child cohort studies started relatively later but has its unique developing track. This paper summarizes the basic information and characteristics of the maternal and child cohorts with wide and great influence in China in the past 25 years.
Child ; Child Health ; Child Health Services/organization & administration* ; China ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Maternal Health ; Maternal Health Services/organization & administration*

Child ; Child Health Services ; organization & administration ; trends ; Forecasting ; Humans ; Singapore

In Papua New Guinea there are many organizations providing sparsely spread and fragmented health services. Government health facilities are often relatively well functioning in urban and periurban areas, but sporadic or nonexistent in rural areas. In some remote areas churches are the major health service providers. Increasingly other community groups are providing village-based health services. Much financial support is now pledged by major international donors for community-based health services, but few people working at a district or community level have the management skills to access the funds or plan programs effectively, and few of the major donors have any significant presence in rural areas. Such a management skill gap also exists at the level of many provincial health offices and this seriously limits the effectiveness of all major donor projects. There is need for integration of health services to avoid replication and to extend services to areas where no effective services are currently provided. There is also a great need to train people at a community and district level in program planning and management. Non-government organizations (NGOs) working at a district or community level have the potential to bridge this skill gap and to help integrate community-based services with government institutions. This paper reports, as an example, the activities of Save the Children, an international NGO in Papua New Guinea. Essential for the success of community-based health projects is the development of local management skills, reliable funding, integration with established health institutions, objective evaluation and community support. Skilled NGOs working at a community, district or provincial level can have important roles in assisting local people to run effective and sustainable health programs.
Child ; Child Health Services - organization & ; administration ; Child Welfare ; Community Health Planning ; Community Health Workers ; Papua New Guinea

Child ; Child Health Services ; organization & administration ; China ; Health Care Sector ; standards ; trends ; Humans ; Patient Care Team ; standards ; trends ; Primary Health Care ; organization & administration

Child ; Child Health Services ; trends ; Delivery of Health Care ; organization & administration ; Education, Medical ; Hospitals, Pediatric ; economics ; organization & administration ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; trends ; Specialization ; Urban Population

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze and assess the current situation of Korea's school health education program and to establish measures to efficiently carry out school health education in Korea. METHOD: The survey was conducted through the internet with the health educators of elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide to assess the current condition of school health education programs, and 2,459 samples were collected which accounted for 23.4% of the total respondents. RESULTS: According to school health educators on the enforcement of health education, the higher the education became, the less the health education was enforced. The enforcement rate was 96.9% in elementary schools, 76.7% in middle schools, and 67.3% in high schools. The major reasons were found as difficulty in securing class time (54.5%) and other excessive workloads (20.9%). As a result of the health education awareness survey, over 99% answered that health education is needed, over 80% answered that the education requires independent health textbooks, and over 95% answered that health educators are suitable for the person in charge of the education. CONCLUSION: This study will be a useful in establishing a detailed policy on enhancing school health education in the future.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Health Education/organization & administration/*trends ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Questionnaires ; School Health Services/*trends

Intellectual disability is known to be associated with a high incidence of psychiatric co-morbidity and problem behaviours. However, there are many challenges in trying to meet the mental health needs of people with an intellectual disability, and these are often not adequately addressed in Singapore's current healthcare system. This article outlines the present service provisions for this area in the country and details the importance of, as well as difficulties in the integration of health and social care measures in service development and delivery.
Adult ; Child ; Education, Special ; Health Services Accessibility ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; epidemiology ; rehabilitation ; therapy ; Intelligence Tests ; Mental Health ; Mental Health Services ; organization & administration ; Mentally Disabled Persons ; Program Development ; Quality of Health Care ; Singapore

Early childhood intervention programmes can shift the odds toward more favourable outcomes in development, especially for children at risk. However, there is no quick fix in the world for early childhood interventions. Programmes that work are rarely simple, inexpensive, or easy to implement. Each country must decide its own model and strategies and develop its resources based on existing infrastructures. Since its independence to become a sovereign nation in 1965, Singapore has undergone significant socio-economic changes. The infant and under-5 childhood mortality rates are among the lowest in the world. A number of "new morbidities" have been identified to pose major challenges to child health in the next decades. They are chronic medical illnesses, developmental disabilities, learning problems, injuries and neglect, behavioural disturbances and disorders, sequelae associated with unhealthy life-styles, and social and emotional disorders. The need for a comprehensive child development programme is therefore obvious. The main objectives are identification and treatment of children with developmental and behavioural problems so as to correct developmental dysfunctions, minimise the impact of a child's disability or of prevailing risk factors, strengthen families, and establish the foundations for subsequent development. A child development programme has evolved in Singapore over the last 20 years. The programme is multi-disciplinary, community-based, family-focused, and child-centric, with partnership and integration between government and voluntary community organisations.
Child ; Child Behavior Disorders ; Child Development ; Child Health Services ; history ; organization & administration ; Child, Preschool ; Community Participation ; Disabled Children ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Program Development ; Singapore ; Social Support

OBJECTIVETo study the efficacy of community management model of bronchial asthma in children.

METHODThrough community outreach and clinic, 120 cases of children with asthma were enrolled from the 11 000 children aged 0 to 14 in Zhanlanlu area, and a community management model of asthma was established according to the Global Initiative for Asthma requirements combined with the actual situation of the community, both physicians and patients participated in case identification, file creation, and long-term standardized management. Through repeated medical education, the telephone hotline and interactive network of asthma among physicians, children and parents, a physician-patient relationship was established. The data of standardized medication, scheduled re-visit to the hospital, frequency of asthma attacks, antibiotic use, medical expenses, the loss of parents work hours etc. before and after the implementation of community management model were analyzed and compared.

RESULTAfter implementation of community management model, the use of systemic corticosteroids (19.4%), oral medication (31.6%) was significantly lower than those before implementation (68.3% and 90.0%) (χ(2) = 51.9, 41.1, P < 0.01), use of inhaled corticosteroids (76.5%) and oral leukotriene receptor antagonist (79.6%) was significantly higher compared with control and before management level (10.0%), χ(2) = 106.0, P < 0.01. The days of attacks of asthma (4.6 ± 2.3), the use of antibiotics (16.2 ± 6.1), (5.7 ± 2.9) and the cost of treatment significantly decreased. In 16 cases (13.3%) two-way referral was applied. In this study, the dropout rate was 18.3%, by telephone and network supervision of lost cases, re-education, made some children return to management, eventually the dropout rate was 9.2%.

CONCLUSIONEnrollment of children with bronchial asthma into community management model made the children adhere to the management regularly and a standardized management was achieved.

Adolescent ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Asthmatic Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Child ; Child Health Services ; methods ; organization & administration ; Child, Preschool ; Community Health Services ; methods ; organization & administration ; Community Networks ; Disease Management ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Patient Compliance ; Patient Education as Topic ; organization & administration ; Self Care

Community-based rehabilitation for those people with a physical disability is a policy promoted by the World Health Organization. In order to assess whether such a program might be useful to the disabled people of the highlands of Papua New Guinea a survey was conducted which first identified those people with a severe physical disability and then investigated the degree that they were handicapped in terms of their social and physical environment. The survey was performed in the Tari area of the Southern Highlands Province in conjunction with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR). By using the PNGIMR demographic surveillance system it was possible to calculate a prevalence level of physical disability (including walking disability, deafness and blindness) of 46 per 10,000 (0.46%). A significant physical disability was identified in 114 people, of whom 54 were given personal interviews to establish their quality of life. The survey found the social and economic situation of disabled people to be generally good although there is a lack of basic material aids for handicapped people. The disabled people and their families do not need extra knowledge about how to care for their disabilities and a formal community-based rehabilitation program would be inappropriate, but they would find mobility aids such as wheelchairs and artificial limbs of enormous help. The regular health care services are widely used although both people with a disability and health service staff are not always aware of the types of treatment which can usefully be provided.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Altitude ; Attitude to Health ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Community Health Services ; organization & administration ; utilization ; Disabled Persons ; rehabilitation ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Health Priorities ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Health Services Research ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Papua New Guinea ; epidemiology ; Residence Characteristics ; Self-Help Devices ; supply & distribution ; Socioeconomic Factors