A review of the contents about childhood health care in middle & high school textbooks

Abstract

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to investigate the material in middle school and high school textbooks covering child care and children's health for medically inaccurate content and to make sure that the correct information is given to students. Methods : We have examined 47 kinds of textbooks on the subjects 'Home economics' and 'Technology and home economics' published in 2007 to find out how much importance is placed on children's health and childcare and to search for incorrect definitions, inaccurate facts or insufficient explanations. We have also analyzed the credentials of the writers of these textbooks. Results : Textbooks of middle school cover psychological and physical changes during adolescence and nutrition, and those of high school cover marriage and childcare. These materials covering health made up 27.5%, 11.7% of middle & high school texts. Age definitions of neonate and infant were incorrect. Inaccurate facts were mostly about fontanelles, primitive reflexes, breastfeeding and weaning. There also were wrong informations on the umbilical cord care and developmental milestones during infancy. The childhood immunization schedules and the growth curves were not up to date. Most of the authors major in home economics and the others were school teachers. There was no evidence of any review by a medical society or an expert. Conclusions : When writing about children's health and childcare in textbooks, a board-certified pediatrician or The Korean Pediatric Society should be consulted to provide accurate medical information to middle and high school students.