Manual de tratamiento de la diarrea en niños

La reducción de la mortalidad en menores de cinco años en la Región de las Américas es fundamental para disminuir las grandes brechas entre países, áreas y grupos humanos, y lograr la equidad en el acceso a estrategias disponibles para la prevención y el tratamiento de las enfermedades, así como la promoción del crecimiento y el desarrollo saludable de la niñez. El Objetivo de Desarrollo del Milenio número 4 está relacionado con reducir la mortalidad en menores de cinco años en dos terceras partes entre 1990 y 2015... El componente comunitario de la Estrategia AIEPI contiene orientaciones preventivas de salud para que las familias las incorporen en sus hábitos y se constituya así en practices de buena salud para un desarrollo saludable de los niños, orientaciones sobre cuidados adecuados en el hogar en caso de enfermedad y, lo más importante, orientaciones para detectar oportunamente los signos cuando se requiera traslado urgente a un servicio de salud. Este material realizado por el Área de Salud Familiar y Comunitaria/Unidad de Salud del Niño y del Adolescente de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, fue elaborado como parte de un esfuerzo para mejorar la detección de signos de peligro durante la enfermedad diarreica y contribuir de esta manera a la reducción de la morbilidad y mortalidad en niños y niñas menores de cinco años en la Región de las Américas.

Operations research on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) / Investigaciones operativas sobre Atención Integrada a las Enfermedades

[Preface]. The commitment assumed by the countries during the Millennium Summit to reduce mortality in children under 5 by two-thirds over 1990 figures by the year 2015 restores the priority and importance accorded to child survival for improving the health of the population. In the Region of the Americas, meeting this target will require the continued strengthening of interventions for the prevention and effective treatment of infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, and malnutrition, which are still responsible for roughly 30% of the deaths each year in children under 5. However, since these diseases and health problems no longer cause most of the deaths in this age group, attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) will require the prevention and control of other health problems, such as peri-neonatal disorders, which account for 40% of the mortality in children under 5 and 60% of infant mortality. Ensuring that more and more children survive the first years of life cannot be the sole objective of action to improve the health of the population. It must be complemented with interventions designed to provide all children with the proper conditions for growth and development. This is the only way to help boys and girls grow into healthy adolescents, young adults, and adults who can contribute to the development and growth of their families and communities...Thus, the IMCI operations research projects are presented as a tool to support the ongoing identification of problems and actions to solve them and to assess the impact of these actions. Within this context, these protocols are expected not only to demonstrate the impact of the strategy on child health, but to provide more in-depth knowledge about the health situation of children, in addition to boosting local capacity to identify and solve problems. In light of all this, it is hoped that just as the benefits of the IMCI strategy extend beyond child health, improving the ability of families to prevent disease and promote health, the application of these protocols will also extend beyond actions in child health, upgrading the skills of all people working in local health services and the community to improve the health of the population.

Monitoring child development in the IMCI Context

[Preface]. If child survival is one of the most important unfinished challenges bequeathed to us by the twentieth century, then guaranteeing healthy growth and development for all children, a goal that is already being addressed in the twenty-first century, is key to meeting this challenge. The progress that has been made, especially in recent decades, in the prevention of diseases and the effective treatment of many of them, has had a major impact on the overall living conditions of people throughout the world, including the Region of the Americas. Life expectancy has increased in the last twenty years, and an important part of this increase has been due to the countries’ efforts to reduce infant mortality. The number of deaths in children under 5 years of age was drastically reduced between the early 1980s and the end of the 1990s, and the goal to reduce the 1990 figure by one-third was attained in 2000... The present manual is intended to provide health professionals—from those involved in academic training to personnel who work directly in child health care—with the tools, integrated into IMCI and placed within the population’s reach, to make effective interventions for the improvement of child development. These conditions will undoubtedly hasten achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015 to which all the countries are committed. By ensuring that all children and their families have the opportunity for healthy growth and development throughout childhood, they not only improve child survival but also make a difference in the lives of those who survive.