Child Health

The care of newborns and infants is of prime importance in maintaining the health of a country. In Kerala the public health standards are much developed resulting in a lower IMR than the national average. to maintain and improve the status the care of newborns and infants from the grass root level should be strengthened. This unit sheds light on the normal growth and development of children, the milestones and delayed milestones, developmental delay , assessment of delayed development, care of newborns, breast feeding, immunization, weaning, and all growth related needs and care aspects. The role of the health workers in remote and underserved areas in regard to emergency newborn care is mentioned in detail.

The module deals with various disease conditions seen in children according to various body systems such as nervous system, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system,  renal system, certain hepatic disorders, various cancers, miscellaneous conditions such as dental caries, protein-energy malnutrition, severe acute malnutrition, Hand foot and mouth disease, whooping cough, diphtheria,  and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. The early warning signs, clinical features, assessment, emergency, medical management, and prevention of various conditions are dealt with in detail. The various disorders causing mental retardation, management of children with these, and the rehabilitation are explained in detail.

The session deals with the medical, surgical, and nursing management of the child with hydrocephalus, spina bifida, cleft lip & palate, tracheoesophageal fistula, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, congenital pyloric stenosis, appendicitis, intussusception, Hirschsprung’s disease, omphalocele, gastroschisis, anorectal malformations, biliary atresia, undescended testis, developmental dysplasia of the hip, clubfoot and burns.

This is a training for preparing a group of nurses to assist and coordinate clubfoot care services offered by CLUBFOOT CLINICS established at different Secondary and Tertiary care public sector hospitals in Kerala. The trainees are selected MLSP nurses who are working in the health institutions where the Clubfoot clinics are established. There will be two parts to the training, which include knowledge building and skill development.

Home-Based Care for Young Child Programme (HBYC) is rolled out as an extension of the Home Based New Born Care program (HBNC) which is currently implemented across the country. Under HBNC, home visits by ASHAs to the infants end at the 42nd day after birth and there existed a gap in the household contact of ASHAs with the child beyond this period except for the ones for immunization. Realizing the importance of interventions for reducing diarrhea, pneumonia, and undernutrition including the role of WASH on overall child survival and development, addressing this gap in health system contact was crucial. The training will focus on making the group understand all the above-mentioned processes for implementing the program

This is a training for preparing a group of assessors to do hospital assessment to certify the applied hospitals under the banner of “MBFHI- Mother and Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative”. There is a set of eligibility criteria for the applicants and once announced they can apply through a process, the applications will be verified and allowed to join the LMIS platform to attend the training.

The short course deals with the different aspects of Facility Based Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness.  (F-IMNCI) F- IMNCI is an integration of the existing IMNCI package and the Facility Based Care package in to one package. The integrated approach of IMNCI and Facility based care; (F-IMNCI) therefore provides a continuum of quality care for severely ill new-borns and children from the community and to the facility.