Child Counselling Therapy

 

Determinants of child health in Sri Lanka

Determinants of health are a range of factors that influence the health status of individuals or populations. At every stage of life, health is determined by complex interactions between social and economic factors, the physical environment and individual behavior.

Similar risk factors affecting child health can be seen in Sri Lanka as well. In recent years, there has been an increased focus on issues that affect children and on improving their health. Superficial determinates as well as hidden determents can be caused for child health. We can categorize them as biological, behavioral, sociocultural, economic, and ecological also.

Superficial determents are risk factors which we can see well. Superficial determinants for child health Sri Lanka are lack of income and social status, lack of education and literacy of parents, mothers age, less social environment, poor health care facilities, lack of time allocation, employment and working condition, social less supportive network and so on.

When we consider about hidden determents for child health in Sri Lanka, We can see tobacco usage of parents, money management, less knowledge of expand money can cause to lack of income and social status. Early marriages, school leavers, lack of experience can cause for lack of education and literacy of parents. It can be cause to less consideration about nutrition of child, illnesses and treatments and so on. Mother’s age can be risk factor for child health in Sri Lanka because under age mothers have no enough experience, less proper physical health, less endurance of parents and so on. As researches show even they haven’t proper knowledge on feeling their child a well as give perceived security to their child. Less social environment can caused by children who live in urban village as well as rural areas. Children who live in urban areas, happen to face to urbanization, lots of noises, lack of sanitation facilities and lack of healthy foods. Rural area children happen to face to lack of proper drinking water facilities, lack of sanitations, and lack of supplementations, medicines and health care facilities.

When we go through researches regarding child health, they prove that lack of time allocation can cause to child health as superficial determinant. It can be cause by busy life style of parents which can be occurred by heavy work load. Part time jobs of parents, no support from family, working without a plan can be caused as risk factors for heavy work load. Less maternal leave period for working mothers, separate from parents, busy lifestyle also because as hidden determinants for child health in Sri Lanka.Actuallly, private sector jobs provide not responsible time period for maternal leave. It can be cause to breast feeding practices of babies, as well as responsive feeding patterns of child. Separate from parents can be give raise to lack of parental love which directly occurs to Personality development and brain development of child.

As researches show, some rural areas haven’t proper health care facilities. It can be leads to child deaths, incensement in child illness and so on. Especially poverty can be hidden determinant for reaching better health care facilities as well as maintaining good health. Less chance to get services which provide by MOH for child who are live in very rural areas. They have minimum opportunities to meet PHM or PHI for getting advices for their health issues.

In addition to these standard determinants which identify by health researches, health promotion approach also provide identified some determinants which affect to child health in Sri Lanka. There are lack of quality time allocation, less supportiveness of father, lack of variety of foods as well as activities, less awareness of their child and less opportunity to collective feeding methods.

 

Finally I can say it’s very much important to get actions for reduce these above discussed determinants for developing child health of Sri Lanka.