Health Promotion and Child Protection in the Paediatric Practice - Paediatricians as Protagonists in an Invitation and Reporting System for Child Health Check-ups

Abstract

Since 1971 routine child health check-ups allow the routine identification of dis-eases in children and adolescents. Paediatricians play a central role in health prevention in childhood and adolescence and are - on account of their acceptance and admission requirements - important actors in child protection. Thus, paediatric practitioners were actively involved in the invitation and reporting system for the routine child health check-ups (U6 and U7), which was introduced to increase participation rates and improve child protection in Hamburg. By means of a questionnaire survey, all paediatric practitioners practicing in Hamburg were asked a year after introduction of the invitation and reporting system to report on their practical experience, and to share their assessment and criticism of the system (response rate 73%). Out of 110 participating pediatricians (M=19.5 years practical experience), 81% evaluated the invitation and reporting system as very useful, useful or rather useful; 83% supported an expansion of the system for routine child health check-ups, and about 18% observed an increased utilisation of routine child health check-ups especially from families with a migrant background and by socially-disadvantaged families. Criticism was made concerning ineffective procedures. The invitation and reporting system for routine child health check-ups in Hamburg shows how pediatricians can be integrated into the network of prevention and child welfare. It also shows their support of this system. Paying more systematic attention and an interdisciplinary network connecting paediatricians may contribute to a more comprehensive prevention and child protection.