Today I remembered when before the spring of 2013, pediatric professionals in our country recommended increasing the pediatric age to 18, according to the experience of other European countries. It was when reading a story that, in Andalusia, the revisions of the "Healthy Child" will be extended from the age of four, and until the age of 14.
I have thought “how good”, because when they grow up they don't get so sick anymore, and if they do, parents usually resolve infections at home (and we know how to recognize when it is so serious for a medical visit to be justified); Well, they no longer go through pediatricians.
And when I say they don't pass, I say we don't take them, of course. I usually keep the annual visit so they get used to the doctor taking an interest in their diet, in case they do school well, if they do sports, or "how about with friends". I want them to know that their development is important to us, but that taking advantage of the pediatrician's experience and professionalism, we all learn a lot, and It is a great occasion to ask questions.
My son recently asked his pediatrician if he would have to see him for a long time (situation: a consultation full of babies between 0 and 4 years old, and some other child of maximum 7), to which he replied amused that there was a stretch, and he probably already had signs of a beard when he changed from a pediatrician to a family doctor.
I return to the news of which I speak: one of the main novelties of the new Child and Adolescent Health Program of Andalusia, includes this expansion of pediatric reviews, and the measure will begin to be applied in 2015.
Then they will be incorporated revisions at six, between nine and 11, and between 12 and 14. In the new consultations, health professionals will carry out controls to determine if children suffer from vision problems (amblyopia, strabismus or refraction disorders), abnormalities in psychomotor and affective development, iodine deficiency or oral health problems.
Not only revisions
Pediatricians will also record tobacco use in the family, and propose smoking cessation actions, and offer advice on medication use, hygiene and accident prevention, benefits of physical activity; as well as oriented to the prevention of risks due to sun exposure and obesity.
In those over 12 years old, the program will focus on the risks of toxic and alcohol consumption; social relations and the risks of harassment. Likewise, these periodic reviews will provide information on sexuality and analyze physical growth and pubertal development.
The new Child and Adolescent Health Program proposes specific strategies to identify social and health risks. Thus, tuberculosis screening and prevention of rickets, iron deficiency (decreased iron in the body), hypercholesterolemia (excess cholesterol) or high blood pressure are included.
Specific attention
Specific follow-ups are established for children with disabilities or Down syndrome and their families, those from other countries and those with some prevalent diseases (such as cystic fibrosis or celiac disease), and also for premature infants under 32 weeks or underweight 1.5 kilos.
The Junta de Andalucía will also distribute thematic guides on how to act in the different stages of childhood and adolescence, address conflict situations as a process of separation and divorce, or issues related to child autonomy and the arrival to adolescence.
To develop the new program, there has been participation of parent associations, scientific societies, University of Seville and more than a hundred professionals in the field. The strategy lends special attention to new health challenges such as emerging pathologies, mental health problems, eating disorders and psychosocial pathologies (addictions to new technologies and bullying, among others). In recent years, the incidence of many of these diseases is also presenting a determining relationship with the economic crisis.
The development of the new measures will require the coordination of different areas. In addition, health promotion and disease prevention activities will be carried out in collaboration with the education and municipal social services sectors
I celebrate this initiative - even if I don't live in Andalusia - and I like to know that institutions take an interest in children and families, expanding the goals of pediatric care.
