Child Health Part 1 Flashcards
What is a life course approach to health?
- A persons physical and mental health and wellbeing are influenced by the wider determinants of health. A Life course approach to health considers all of these factors and their contribution to health and wellbeing throughout an individuals life, not at just one point in time.
- Right from pre-conception, to the early years of life, to childhood, adolescence, adulthood, later life and end of life these factors influence out health.
- In looking at health from a life course perspective, rather than a ‘disease-focussed’ approach, we approach health more holistically and can take a more proactive role in promoting and restoring health and wellbeing at different stages of an individuals life and in turn prevent ill health in the future
Why are the early years of life so critical?
Marmot review:
The foundations for virtually every aspect of human development, physical, intellectual and emotional,
are laid in early childhood.
Which aspects of health and wellbeing are affected during early years?
obesity, heart disease and mental health to educational
achievement and economic status.
What can inadequate foetal nutrition lead to?
irreversible delayed cognitive or motor development in the child.
What plays a role in the weight of a child in childhood as well as adulthood and in the risk of type 2 diabetes?
Foetal nutrition and maternal physical activity levels during pregnancy
What term describes lifestyle factors being inherited influencing an individuals future health before even born?
intergenerational relationship
During the first two years of life, What factors influence the foundations of behaviour formed during this time such as cognitive, physical, social and emotional development?
diet, physical activity, relationships, sleep, stress and socioeconomic status.
Which interventions are crucially important in getting a healthy start to life? What group is uptake of these interventions lower in?
- breast feeding and vaccinations
- uptake of these interventions is lower amongst more deprived groups in society.
Define school readiness.
a marker linked to educational attainment, life chances and even involvement in crime.
- Modifiable factors in early years influence this
Why is it imperative for children to get a healthy start?
- to reap a double dividend of better health now,
- but also in reducing health inequalities across the life course.
What is the most reported disturbing trend amongst school children in the UK?
epidemic of childhood obesity
What is the umbrella term for obesity and overweight
Unhealthy weight
Whats one way unhealthy weight can be managed?
lifestyle interventions.
What does current data show in terms of childhood unhealthy weight.
- one in five children entering reception class, that’s as young as four and five years old, are already overweight or obese.
- Overweight infants are five times more likely to be obese in later childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
Other than unhealthy weight, which other conditions are increasingly being observed in children?
conditions associated with lifestyle such as Type two diabetes, fatty liver disease and arteriosclerosis
Why is intervention at the early stage crucial?
Behaviour in childhood lays the foundations for behaviour in adolescence and adulthood.
Why are those who are physically active in childhood much more likely to be physically active as adults.
Behaviour in childhood lays the foundations for behaviour in adolescence and adulthood.
Describe physical activity patterns of children in the UK.
- Today’s children are the least active generation that has ever been.
- only 23 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls currently meeting age specific recommendations for physical activity.
- Across the population levels of physical activity reach a lifetime peak at the age of school entry, and this typically declines with age, declining even further during the school holidays, more markedly amongst those living in deprived areas.
Is inactivity or activity a more persistent behaviour?
inactivity - so important interventions occur before this behaviour becomes habituated.
Define physical literacy.
- physical literacy = the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value physical activity throughout their life course.
Describe how physical literacy is developed.
- When children engage in inclusive, positive, meaningful physical activity that place equal value on both the physical and psychological benefits to health and well-being, children develop physical literacy
What does physical activity in children and young people contribute to?
- improved cardiovascular fitness, improved sleep and contributes to healthy weight.
- There’s strong evidence for improved learning, better academic achievement and higher executive functioning.
- Active children are happier, more resilient, report higher levels of self-esteem, confidence and are more trusting of others.
- They show reduced feelings of anxiety, stress and depression all fundamental when looking to improve children and young people’s mental and physical health.
At what age are lifelong Health behaviours established and why?
Adolescence - Between the ages of 10 and 24 years old
- individuals experience a range of changes in lifestyle with associated behavioural, emotional and social changes.
When is the best opportunity to intervene and promote positive health behaviour?
Adolescence - Children, young people start to become more independent with their behaviours,
Why is early intervention in positI’ve health behaviour so important?
- It is far easier to establish positive, healthy behaviour early in life than to change behaviour at a later stage when habit and inertia become more powerful.
- It is more cost effective, too. With earlier intervention giving greater returns to society, than later interventions.
Which individuals help form a child’s expectation of themselves and those around them?
Parents, families and caregivers are, of course, crucial for shaping childhood behaviour.
What is the single biggest risk factor for childhood obesity.
parental obesity - Lifestyle behaviours are often entirely dependent on caregivers initially, and children mirror the lifestyle behaviours of parents, for example, mirroring eating habits. - Genetic, environmental and social factors also contribute
Why is a family approach important?
It’s crucial to understand that when thinking about lifestyle interventions in children, we take a whole family approach to empower the family to make changes,
Which practise is crucial for self-regulation and internalisation of healthy behaviours amongst children.
autonomy supporting parenting practises
Outline our duty of care as physicians
- involves promoting healthy lifestyles and practising lifestyle medicine with children and their families.
- For the population - have a role in advocating to reduce and mitigate health inequalities from the beginning of the life course. It’s our moral duty as professionals.
What does giving every child the best start in life enable
- enables individuals to thrive and reach their potential,
- reducing health inequalities, preventing chronic disease and improving health and well-being.
How does encouraging a life course approach, starting early and enabling positive health behaviours benefit the society?
Making people fitter, improving employment levels, increasing tax revenues, and reducing pressure on health systems.
What did Royal College of Paediatrics and Child find?
good quality, cheap food and drink, exercise and hobbies were identified as children’s priorities for staying healthy, happy and well.
What are dental carries?
- when oral bacteria metabolise sugar and produce acid that demineralises enamel and dentin from the hard coating of the tooth
How do dental carries impact quality of life
Severe caries can cause pain and infection and can even lead to sepsis and death. Dental caries are a common cause of school and work absenteeism and impact on quality of life and wellbeing.
Describe the dental carries global impact
They are major public health problem and the most common non-communicable disease globally. Children and adolescents are most at risk of developing dental caries; in 2015 a quarter five-year olds experienced dental caries in England and between 2015-2016 it was the most common reason for hospital admission in children aged 5-9 years old.
Why is management of dental carries limited?
Management may need to involve tooth extraction – both extremely expensive, time consuming and widely unavailable in low income countries. The average cost of a tooth extraction admission for a child between 2015-2016 was £836!
Describe sugar intake, Dental carries and obesity in terms of social deprivation.
- associated with excessive intake of sugar.
- often occurs with obesity occur together,
- affecting disadvantaged populations.
How can we prevent dental carries
- sugar reduction in the diet and maintaining good oral hygiene.
- Reducing free sugar intake to less than 10% of energy intake
- Population-wide approaches can include water fluoridation, fluoride varnish programmes and sugar-reduction programmes.
What are the key social determinants and lifestyle behaviours identified in this referral letter that would be important to address when taking a holistic approach to this child’s health?
- Behavioural problems noticed at school
- ADHD – currently awaiting review from
community paediatrician
• Childhood obesity
• UTD immunisations – did not have annual flu immunisation as was moving house.
– recent course of antibiotics to treat dental abscess (amoxicillin 500mg TDS for 7/7) - Moved from Wales to London 6 months ago
- Lives with mother and 3 siblings (18 months, 7 and
10). - Mothers family nearby for support
- Safeguarding - Currently on Child in Need plan (Previous Domestic violence in home involving mothers ex-partner- no Longer in contact). No immediate concerns.
Family History
• Mother Previous Depression/anxiety – well managed.
• 10 year old brother ADHD under CAMHS - severe early dental caries affecting upper and lower molars and canines
- pain causing to disturb sleep, has led to a loss of appetite and avoidance of certain foods and may be contributing to behavioural problems at school.
- school absenteeism
- diet that is high in sugar and consumes sugary drinks. difficult to encourage him to try different foods
- overweight
- compliant with brushing his teeth daily, though did suggest sometimes she does not
always check he has brushed his teeth as caring for four children so daily life can be chaotic. - recent abscess and symptoms disrupting daily life.
- age
- area
What are adverse childhood experiences. Give examples.
ACES are stressful events that occur in childhood. They include, but are not limited to:
Experiencing abuse: Physical, sexual, psychological or neglect.
Witnessing domestic abuse
Having a close family member or caregiver who misused drugs or alcohol
Having a close family member or caregiver with mental health problems
Having a close family member or caregiver who served time in prison
Experiencing parental separation or divorce on account of relationship breakdown.
Summarise Study about ACEs
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266717301184
- ACEs often cluster in children’s lives and a growing body of research is identifying cumulative relations between multiple ACEs and poor health.(1990s.)
- multiple ACEs affect health-harming behaviours and development of health conditions, including non-communicable diseases.
- individuals with at least four ACEs were at increased risk of all outcomes examined
- Associations were weak or modest for physical inactivity, overweight or obesity, and diabetes (ORs of less than two), moderate for smoking, heavy alcohol use, poor self-rated health, cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease (ORs of two to three),
- strong for sexual risk taking, mental ill health, and problematic alcohol use (ORs of more than three to six), and strongest for problematic drug use and interpersonal and self-directed violence (ORs of more than seven)
- This systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the pervasive harms that ACEs place on health throughout the life-course and the importance of addressing the various stressors that can occur in children’s lives, rather than limiting attention to any one type
- strong relations between multiple ACEs and poor health suggest that a reduction in ACEs and building of resilience to enable those affected to avoid their harmful effects could have a major effect on health.