The month age is a very important index in the health care for children. There are many factors affect to the information of children’s birthday. A common main factor is the confusion of lunar with solar calendar. The data of birth date collected from 547 children in Thanh Hãa province showed that a significant number of children have the birth date that were recorded by lunar calendar, result in errors in determining their age of month. The authors have proposed computer software that could change automatically the lunar day to the solar day.
Child ; Delivery of Health Care

Background: The strategy of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) was developed as an approach/tool for reducing the childhood mortality in developing countries. IMCI was approved by the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam and has been implemented in more than 3500 communal health centers nationwide. Aims: 1) To discover the quality of health care services for children under-5 and the situation of IMCI in health facilities. 2) To propose solutions to improve the quality of health care services for children. Materials and method: The cross-sectional study using quantitative and qualitative approaches conducted 58 direct observations in health workers, interviewed 58 caretakers, comprehensively interviewed 20 local leaders and technical staffs, facilitated 12 focal group discussions and reviewed 120 records of 12 commune health centers. Results: IMCI was considered by all of the participants as a comprehensive approach to improving the quality of childhood health care at first-level health facilities. IMCI contributed towards improved case management skills of health workers, improved the supply of essential drugs and supplies for child health care. As a result, the quality of health services for children under-5 has been promoted (93% of illness children were correctly assessed and classified, 84.6% of them were correctly treated and counseled). Health workers in Ly Nhan district, Ha Nam province adhered to 8.4+/-1.5 out of 10 essential steps of comprehensive child health care. Contrarily, this indicator was low in the districts of Bac Giang province (4.8+/-1.5), not much different to untrained IMCI health workers. Conclusion: IMCI is a useful strategy to improving the quality of child health care. But there were some difficulties that affected the implementation of this strategy in first-level health facilities.
IMCI ; Child health care

A study on 2 pilot communes of Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province showed that: the morbidity rate was 13,9% among children under 5 years old within 2 weeks while this rate among children over 5 years old was only 3%. Among children suffering the disease, the children with acute respiratory tract infection was 83,3%; diarrhea 7,5%, rate of lack of toilets with proper hygiene was 62% of households. 9% children with disease had treated at communal health stations, while 48% of them received private health services. The health education and communication was still limited.
Child ; Delivery of Health Care

The study is a survey on oro-dental diseases in 1132 children who were over 6 years old and living in the North Central Coastal and South Central Coastal areas. The subjects were divided into 4 age groups: 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17. Results: The percentage of children 6-8 years old with caries in the primary dentition was high, from 83.7% to 91.6%. The percentage of children who had caries in the permanent dentition increased across the age groups. The percentage of children who had not caries was much more lower than WHO’s standard. In all age groups, the percentage of children in the South Central Coast who had dental caries was higher than children in the North Central Coast. The percentage of children 6-14 years old with gingivitis in the South Central Coast was higher than in the North Central Coast
Child ; Delivery of Health Care

Maternal morbidity and mortality remain major global concerns in developing and underdeveloped countries. Various international interventions have been made over the last 50 years but with essentially the same targets and indicators. This review traced the development of programs on maternal and child health based on major global policies, from the 1978 Declaration on Primary Health Care to the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals, and related the approach they engendered to the Philippine experience. Health outcomes have not significantly improved despite adherence to recommended goals and programs. New strategies purportedly propose novel and innovative methods, but are burdened by essentially the same old presumptions: government resources are limited, and interventions need to be supported by whatever funds are available. Preference for low-cost and measurable programs providing minimal essential care persists with the current socio-economic conditions characterized by neoliberal and conservative policies. There is a need to return to the fundamentals of the Comprehensive Primary Health Care, linking the health of vulnerable groups, like women and children, to social and economic development. Inter-agency and multi-sectoral approach, community participation and empowerment, real political commitment and major rethinking are needed in national and international discourses on health not just to attain better maternal and child health but to achieve health for all.
Maternal Health ; Child Health ; Primary Health Care

The Cordillera is home to indigenous pregnancy and childcare practices. This study describes the Ibaloy traditional health practices of which little are known. It seeks to contribute to the literature about indigenous pregnancy and childcare practices. This two-year ethnographic study was conducted in Mangagew, Poblacion, Bokod, Benguet. Data was gathered through field observations and interviews with mothers, elders, and traditional birth attendants. The findings showed that Ibaloys are strongly connected to their traditional beliefs and possess strong family and community support for pregnant women and their children. Most of the traditional beliefs and practices of caring are still observed, alongside modern healthcare principles and practices. There are myriad of factors that influence Ibaloy health care decisions apart from their traditional beliefs and practices. Achieving health for these vulnerable groups requires multi-sectoral linkages and active community participation. The result of this research serves as a basis for culturally appropriate evidence-based care for both the Ibaloys and similar groups, and as reference for the Ibaloys’ slowly fading traditional beliefs and practices
Female ; Pregnancy ; Child Care ; Child Health ; Delivery of Health Care

The study was conducted to investigate knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) according to 12 basic practices in household healthcare skills among mothers who have children under five years of age; and to assess survey’s results of the knowledge and practices of health workers at community level and leaders of Tam Cuong commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city. A model of health education interventions was chosen. Strategy of the model is: using community-based management to integrate activities in health communication and education; to encourage active participator of community and kindergarten teachers in improving effectiveness of activities. After 11 months of intervention activities, the mother’s knowledge and practices with 5 basic household healthcare skills had been considerably improved.
Delivery of Health Care ; Child ; Education

Background: Child health care practices in the context of households and community is an important factor to improving the health of children. Some indexes were proposed by the World Health Organization to evaluate these practices. Objectives: To describe the knowledge and practice of pregnant women, under-5-year-old children\u2019s health care and assess the application of the survey toolkit in evaluating various indexes of healthcare practice at family and community levels. Subjects and method: By employing a structured interview, this cross-sectional survey has been conducted in Tu Liem district - Hanoi city and Tien Hai district \u2013 Thai Binh province. 120 mothers of under-5-year-old children participated in the survey. Results:98% of mothers had at least 3 antenatal visits during pregnancy. The rate of complete tetanus vaccination reached 43.3% in Tu Liem and 65% in Tien Hai. Prevalence of infant with low birth weight for age accounted for 8.3% in both districts. The percentage of children given complementary feeding at age of 6 to 9 months as the National Nutrition Program recommendations was only 30%. 65.7% and 68.5% of under-2-year-old children in Tu Liem and Tien Hai were breastfed within the first 30 minutes after delivery. There were a small proportion of mothers who gave complementary food either too early or too late, 8.3% and 8.4% in Tu Liem, 6.7% and 6.6% in Tien Hai, respectively. More than 90% of children were given normal feeding as usual during last their illness, but only 50% of children were given more fluid than usual. 98.2% of mothers knew 2 signs to immediately bring the child to health facilities. The most common injuries in under-5-year-old children were animal bites (62.5%) and falling (31.3%), however only 62.5% of mothers knew at least two measures of injury prevention. Conclusion: The toolkit for collecting data of practical index assessment can be applied at communes.
child health care ; practice ; knowledge

A cross-sectional survey by interviewing 1599 mothers having children under 5 years old was carried out at 4 provinces of the Mekong Delta, South of Vietnam, in June 1996. The results: the proportion of using health services at commune health stations was nearly similar with this at private sectors. The reasons for not seeking the commune health stations were far from the household, poor attitude of health workers, prolonged recovery time, lacking the diagnosis and treatment facilities, long waiting time. The rate of pregnant women having 3 prenatal checkups was low. 79.5% of children under 3 years old were followed up to measure weight and height. 64.5% of mother have used ORS packets when their children get diarrhoea.
Delivery of Health Care, Child, Mothers

The study was carried out at 30 communes in 3 districts of Can Tho province to assess basic knowledge on ARI, CDD and EPI among 534 enrolled mothers with children under 5 years old and/or being pregnant. The results showed that knowledge on child health care of these mothers was quite low. Only 5.9% of them could name all 6 common diseases of the EPI program. Signs of severe ARI such as tachypnea, rib-cage constriction, and stridor were recognized by a small proportion of mothers: 1.7%, 0.2% and 10.7%, respectively. Similarly, the low rates were in detecting the critical signs of diarrhea such as thirst, more frequent bowel movements, and bloody stool: 44.2%, 2.8%, and 5.6%, respectively. The authors also indicated that knowledge on child health care of mothers with lower education or living in poor households was lower than those with higher education or living in wealthier households.
Delivery of Health Care ; Child, Mothers