2017 health concerns

CHILDREN are very vulnerable to negative health consequences associated with many environmental and lifestyle habits to which they are exposed. Every year a trend is predicted in light of the challenges of the previous year. This often assists health care professionals to equip themselves with adequate and up-to-date information for them to be able to manage these varying health conditions that children will turn up with at various treatment centres.

Dr Anona Griffith, paediatrician, has already started to map her own predictions of special health issues that health care professionals and caregivers should take note of in 2017. She shares a few below:

Sudden death in children

Sudden death in children will remain topical in 2017. The story of St George’s College football team captain Dominic James, for example, who collapsed during a football match and later died at hospital, rocked the nation, driving fear into the parents of many student athletes.

“To address this, we must continue to support partnership and action to improve the welfare of our children. It would be prudent that coaches, teachers, school and sporting administrators, support staff, and anyone involved in sports gain certification in basic life support. The training is available and must be utilised,” Dr Griffith cautioned.

Chronic non-communicable diseases

“Chronic non-communicable diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, their prevention and treatment, will remain at the forefront of our minds,” Dr Griffith noted. She pointed out that these conditions generally start from childhood, and so prevention or proper management and control is of utmost value. She said that a part of the drive to focus on these illnesses will focus to a large extent on healthy lifestyle practices.

Viral illnesses

“Viral illnesses both ‘old’ and emerging will continue to challenge us. Zika, for example, remains at the helm,” Dr Griffith stated. She underscored that as its impact unfolds and new data on complications emerges, there will have to be adjustments made to handle those as they present themselves.

Mental and emotional health

“Last year was rife with trauma and loss of life. Our children have been exposed to it whether directly or indirectly, often with the exposure being inappropriate for age and unfiltered,” Dr Griffith said. She noted that this could debilitate the psyche and mental well-being of our children.

Grief/trauma

Death is a sensitive issue and a very traumatic experience even for children who have not experienced it first-hand. Without the required assistance through counselling, this could severely impact the mental health of children and certainly their way of interacting with each other.

Managing interpersonal conflicts

Conflicts are unavoidable. Misunderstandings, bullying (especially on social media), the inability to keep or make friends, are just a few issues that children contend with daily. But with the spike in violence, one thing is clear — children are unaware of how to cope with these issues. Children ought to be taught how to resolve conflicts without becoming violent. The problem is that many of them see their parents being abusive to each other. Such a dysfunctional domestic environment will ultimately create aggressive adults . Well trained guidance counsellors can play a major role in helping to discourage the perpetuation of angry, violent adults in our society.