Health Status Of School Children Research Articles

Oral health status of 6- and 12-year-old school going children in Bangalore city: An epidemiological study

Oral health is an essential component of health throughout life. However, millions of individuals suffer from dental caries and periodontal disease, resulting in unnecessary pain, difficulty in chewing, swallowing and speaking, and increased medical costs; hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate the oral health status of school children which would help us in planning and implementing necessary preventive measures. 1. To assess the prevalence of dental caries among school children, using the Dentition Status and Treatment Needs Index. 2. To assess the prevalence of malocclusion among the study population, using the WHO criteria. 3. To assess the prevalence of dental calculus among the study population using the criteria of Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs. The study was conducted at a school in Bangalore city. The study population comprised of school children of two age groups - 6 and 12 years. A total of 430 subjects of both the sexes were surveyed, out of which 229 were in 6-year age group and 201 in 12-year age group. No significant difference was observed between the age groups - 6 and 12 years - with respect to the proportion of dental caries (P > 0.05). Highly significant difference was noticed between the two age groups with respect to calculus (P < 0.01) and malocclusion (P < 0.05).

Child Dental Health Survey 2007: a snapshot of the oral health status of primary school-aged children in NSW

The Child Dental Health Survey 2007 was commissioned to establish the oral health status of school children in NSW aged 5-12 years, to provide reliable regional oral health statistics and contribute to national population-based data collections. A total of 7975 children were clinically examined at 107 public, catholic and independent schools across NSW. Key findings from the survey include: mean dmft for 5-6-year-olds of 1.53; mean DMFT for 11-12-year-olds of 0.74; 61.2% of 5-6-year-olds and 65.4% of 11-12-year-olds have never experienced decay in their primary and permanent teeth, respectively. These figures compare favourably to national benchmarks set in 2001. Data from the survey will be used as a baseline to measure the success of early intervention and prevention programs, for international comparisons, to provide solid evidence to support population oral health planning and for ongoing surveillance of populations of interest.

Oral health status of school children in Mbarara, Uganda.

Despite the need for oral health morbidity surveys to aid in reviewing of the oral health services, dental data of Ugandan children is scanty. To describe the magnitude and distribution of selected oral health conditions among primary school children in Mbarara, Uganda. A stratified two-stage cluster sample of 437 children aged 5-6, 8-9 and 11-12 was enrolled. The selected conditions included: dental caries, plaque, calculus, gingivitis, fluorosis and malocclusion (maxillary overjet). These conditions were diagnosed and scored in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria. The mean decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth (DMFT) was 1.5(±0.8 SD). Females had higher DMFT (1.6±0.8SD) than males (1.3±0.8SD). Decayed, filled milk teeth (dt) was 2.7(±1.8SD) but more in males 3.1(±2.1SD) than in females 2.4(±1.6SD). Children in private schools were likely to have more caries in both permanent teeth (DMFT: 1.6±0.9SD) and milk teeth (dt: 3.0±1.9SD). Day-scholars were likely to have more caries in permanent teeth (DFMT: 1.50.8SD). Those in boarding were likely to have more caries in milk teeth (dt: 3±2.2SD). Milk teeth caries decreased with age (p<0.0001). Eight (1.8%) had very mild to moderate fluorosis. Nine (2%) lost permanent canines due to practice of "nylon teeth mutilation." Majority 325(75%) had dental plaque, which increased with age (p<0.0001). Males significantly had plaque. Children in private schools were associated with less plaque (OR: 0.6, 95%CI: 0.4-0.9), as were those in boarding schools. Some 113(25.9%) had calculus that increased with age (p<0.0001). Calculus was more prevalent in males, government schools, and among day-scholars. Females were less likely to have maxillary overjet (OR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.8). Day-scholars were 2 times more likely to have maxillary overjet (OR: 1.9, 95%CI: 1.1-3.5). None had severe gingivitis. The oral hygiene of school children was poor with high plaque prevalence demonstrating a lack of established oral hygiene practices. A comprehensive community-focused oral health care intervention that includes oral health education in homes and the strengthening of school health programme is needed to improve the oral health status of children in Mbarara.

Nutrition and Health Survey of Taiwan Elementary School Children 2001-2002: research design, methods and scope.

The "Nutrition and Health Survey of Taiwan's Elementary School Children (2001-2002)" was to investigate the nutritional status, influential dietary and non-dietary factors, health and development, and school performance, as well as the inter-relationships among these factors. The survey adopted a two-staged stratified, clustered probability sampling scheme. Towns and districts in Taiwan with particular ethnic and geographical characteristics were designated into 13 strata including Hakka areas, mountain areas, eastern Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, 3 northern regions, 3 central regions and 3 southern regions. Eight schools were selected from each stratum using the probabilities proportional to sizes method. Twenty-four pupils were randomly selected within each school. The survey included face-to-face interviews and health examinations. Taking seasonal effects into consideration, the face-to-face interviews were evenly allocated into each of the two semesters. A total of 2,419 face-to-face interviews and 2,475 health examinations were completed. Interview data included household information, socio-demographics, 24-hour dietary recall, food frequency, dietary and nutritional knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, physical activity, medical history, oral health, pubertal development, and bone health. Health exam data included anthropometry, blood pressure, physical fitness, bone density, dental health, and blood and urine collection. SUDAAN was used to adjust sampling design effect. There were no significant differences in sibling rank and parental characteristics between respondents and non-respondents, which indicates that our survey is representative and unbiased. The results of this survey will increase our understanding on the nutrition and health status of schoolchildren and can be used to shape public health policy in Taiwan.

Health status of school children during questionnaire survey in Ogun State, Nigeria

Insufficient attention has been paid to the health problems of school-age children in Nigeria due to the absence of baseline data on the health status of this group. This paper presents results of analysis of how school children perceive their own health from questionnaire survey originally designed to identify schools in which urinary schistosomiasis occurs by masking it with other health problems. School-based questionnaire asking about recent health problems was administered by teachers to school children in 101 public primary schools in Ogun State. A total of 8,422 children aged 5 to 16 years took part in this study. Of this, 90.8 % of children reported having had one health problem in the last 4 weeks. Of the 8 health problems asked, the average number reported by each child was 3.27. The distributions of the prevalence of each condition among schools were similar. For most conditions a greater percentage of boys than girls reported each health problem. This study concluded that school children in Ogun State do not perceive themselves to be healthy and suggest the use of school health questionnaire to assess and identify common health problems in school children. Keywords : School-age children, common health problems, questionnaire, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 27 2006: pp. 81-84

Demographic and socio-economic factors affecting the physical development, haemoglobin and parasitic infection status of schoolchildren in Sanliurfa province, Turkey

A cross-sectional population-based survey was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between nutritional status and parasitic infections of schoolchildren and demographic, socio-economic factors in Sanliurfa province, southern Turkey. Nine hundred and eight schoolchildren took part in the survey: 57.2% boys and 42.7% girls. The children's mean z scores were as follows: height for age—0.8 (±1.0) and weight for age—1.0 (±0.9). The mean haemoglobin concentration was 123 g/l (±2.1) and the prevalence of parasitic infections was 55.1%. In total, 50.2% of children were hungry when they arrived at school and 13.4% worked after school. Over 70% (70.4%) of mothers and 18.1% of fathers were illiterate, 16.1% of fathers were unemployed and 46.3% of fathers were engaged in low-income labour. The mean number of children in each family was 5.4 (±2.5), and the mean number of children from each family who attended school was 2.1 (±1.1). The school-attendance ratio was 0.4 (±1.0). Data indicated that older children had significantly lower mean z scores of height ( P<0.0001) and weight for age ( P<0.0001) than younger children, and boys had significantly lower mean z scores of height for age than girls ( P<0.0001). Children living in shantytown areas had significantly lower mean z scores of height for age ( P<0.0001) and weight for age ( P<0.0001), lower mean haemoglobin concentrations ( P:0.003) and a worse parasitic infection status ( P<0.0001) than those living in apartment areas. Children who were hungry when they arrived at school had significantly lower mean haemoglobin concentrations than those who had eaten ( P:0.04). Multiple regression analyses indicated that mean z scores of height for age were significantly related to maternal (multiple R=0.183; P<0.0001) and paternal illiteracy (multiple R=0.216; P:0.004). Mean z scores of weight for age were significantly related to maternal illiteracy (multiple R=0.154; P<0.0001), as was parasitic infection status (multiple R=0.261; P<0.0001) and the number of children in the family (multiple R=0.267; P:0.005). Hunger status was significantly related to maternal (multiple R=0.095; P:0.016) and paternal illiteracy (multiple R=0.104; P:0.005), as was belonging to a large family (multiple R=0.104; P:0.009). These findings indicate that school health programmes may improve the nutritional and health status of schoolchildren. The participation of the local community, which such a programme would entail, may help to increase maternal awareness regarding the feeding of their children before sending them to school. School health programmes may also motivate parents to send their daughters to school, thus increasing maternal literacy in the future. In turn, better levels of maternal literacy will positively affect the socio-economic development of society.

Health Status of School Children in Ludhiana City

Health Status of School Children in Ludhiana City

HEALTH AWARENESS VERSUS ECONOMIC AFFLUENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH STATUS : A COMMUNITY BASED EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

A community-based cross-sectional analytic epidemiological study was undertaken to compare the health status of school children from two villages and to see the association of the school children's health status with the level of health awareness among parents and teachers. The two villages had only one major difference, i.e., one had an agriculture-based economy and was more affluent than the other village. The study, however, revealed that the overall morbidity and nutritional deficiencies were significantly less (p < 0.01) and immunization status significantly better (p < 0.01) among school children of the less affluent village, possibly because level of health awareness was significantly higher among parents and teachers of this village as compared to the more affluent one (p < 0.01). The importance of health education has been reinforced by this study.

The Health Status of School Children and the Effectiveness of the School Medical Entrance Examination

The records of 425 school children entering first grade were reviewed in order to determine their health status and the effectiveness of the medical entrance examination in detecting new conditions. The study population consisted of children from low and middle class families from a neighborhood of West Jerusalem. Thirty-nine percent of the children had at least one pathological condition of which 61 percent had been diagnosed previously. Eighty-four percent of the unknown conditions were diagnosed by the nurse by screening or interview. Since only very few new conditions needing treatment were detected by the school health service physician it is recommended that the physicians' examination be discontinued with respect to the routine health surveillance; that the screening be performed by the nurses; and that a report on the health status of the child be requested from the family physician or pediatrician. This procedure would allow allocation of school physicians' time to health promotion and health education activities.

A study on health status of school children in rural northeast Thailand--(1). Physical growth status and blood biochemical status

To clarify the health and nutritional status of inhabitants of rural Thailand, a medical survey study was carried out in a farm village with a population of about 1000 in northeast Thailand (near Kohn Kaen: Don Daeng village) in 1984 and 1985. In this report, the physical growth status and biochemical blood status of school children are presented.All physical parameters, i. e., body height, body weight, girth of chest, and skin fold thickness, were poor as compared with recent Japanese children (those of school children in the village are almost the same as those of Japanese from 1950-1955).From plasma and blood examination, the spread of infectious diseases including chronic hepatitis was presumed, and the nutritional status of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals was insufficient as compared to Japanese children. Therefore, it is postulated that there were many marginal nutritional deficiencies, i. e., thiamine, calcium, iron, etc. and that many diseases will be induced by these nutritional deficiencies.

Health of Papago Indian Children

T HE HEALTH of the American Indian is a matter of increasing concern. Considerable evidence supports the impression that health-related problems are contributing significantly to the Indians' prolonged dependency upon government services. Knowledge of developmental and disease patterns of American Indian children is basic to the understanding of their medical needs. Several studies based on a review of the birth records of all American Indian infants born in Public Health Service facilities have documented various aspects of the disease and development patterns of the newborn (1-5). 'This study was designed to follow up the results of examinations of newborns and obtain information on geneitic and environmental factors which may be important contributors to the mortality and morbidity experienced by Indian children. In view of the approximately 10,000 Indian births each year and the wide dispersion of the various hospitals, only a selected group could be examined in the detail desired. The Papago tribe was chosen for several reasons. Their uniform socioeconomic conditions, preservation of traditional culture patterns, and a relative absence of the confounding influence of miscegenation were each important considerations. More-over, the availability of extensive records of lineage made possible additional genetic studies which would have been impossible in any other group (6-8). Three major concerns influenced the collection of data on the Papago: (a) the health status of infants from birth to 1 year of age, (b) the health status of school children, and (c) the hea,lth consequences of their culture and family structure.

PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

1. The only criterion against which legislation can be measured is that it promotes continuing improvement in the health status of school-age children. Many factors are involved. Specific legislation, however, is likely to be concerned with only certain phases. Three of these needing legislative attention at this time are: 1) Health instruction and physical education Here are included those organized programs within the school providing learning experiences in personal and community health, and instructional and practice periods of physical activity. 2) Health examination services Here are grouped those activities of physicians, dentists, nurses, teachers, and other professional personnel through which the health status of school children is appraised and diagnostic service begun. 3) Treatment services Here are grouped the activities of physicians, dentists, nurses, and other health personnel; health department or other public agency; preventive, diagnostic, and treatment facilities; hospitals, clinics, and other community agencies which provide preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services to children. 2. These three phases are so closely interlocked that planning and provision for all of them are necessary in order to make maximum contribution to the health status of children. Legislation concerning any one or all of these should be evaluated in terms of principles contained in this statement. 3. These activities can be best carried out when the community provides: 1) adequate school facilities with sufficient trained professional personnel to meet the educational needs of all children in the community.