Introduction In 1996 there were 1,847,440 pupils in 4007 primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) who were targeted for school Health Inspection (HI). In the same year there were only 95 school health teams who were visiting schools for HI. The School Health Service (SHS) had been running on a racial basis since the Apartheid era of government, and needed to be reviewed in order to measure its effectiveness and to make it relevant to the new government and its new health policies. Purpose To review HI as a key component of School Health Services (SHS) and make recommendations to improve it's impact on the health of the school child and on health promotion in schools. Objectives To describe the structure, process, output and outcome of HI in KZN; to measure the impact of HI on the health of school children; and to calculate the SHS consultation cost and compare it with other primary health care services. Methodology A cross sectional study involving 21 schools covered by the SHS and 5 schools not covered by SHS was undertaken. The study area was KZN and the sample area was Indlovu region. All health authorities and racial groups participated in the study. Results A total of 212 children and 129 parents were interviewed. Of the children interviewed, 156 pupils (73.5%) had been involved in HI and 56 (26%) had not. The average nurse/pupil ratio was 1:49301. HI coverage was 62%. Of the 156 pupils examined, 108 were referred and 53% of them went for treatment. 93 % of parents interviewed gave a positive comment on HI and 24.8 % of them did not know their children's problems before they were informed by the SHN. Std. 5 pupils interviewed before and after HI were compared and it was found that 57% from the after-HI group went for treatment for their health problems compared to 53% before HI. Subjective feelings improved from 15% pain before HI to 0% after HI. Conclusion HI had a positive influence on encouraging pupils to seek recommended treatment and this is likely to improve their health. / Thesis (M.Med.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

To investigate the effect of environmental pollution on the health of children in the Durban South Industrial Basin (DSIB) due to its proximity to industrial activities, 233 children from five primary schools were considered. Three of these schools were located in the south of Durban while the other two were in the northern residential areas that were closer to industrial activities. Data collected included the participants' demographic, health, occupational, social and economic characteristics. In addition, environmental information was monitored throughout the study specifically, measurements on the levels of some ambient air pollutants. The objective of this thesis is to investigate which of these factors had an effect on the lung function of the children. In order to achieve this objective, different sample survey data analysis techniques are investigated. This includes the design-based and model-based approaches. The nature of the survey data finally leads to the longitudinal mixed model approach. The multicolinearity between the pollutant variables leads to the fitting of two separate models: one with the peak counts as the independent pollutant measures and the other with the 8-hour maximum moving average as the independent pollutant variables. In the selection of the fixed-effects structure, a scatter-plot smoother known as the loess fit is applied to the response variable individual profile plots. The random effects and the residual effect are assumed to have different covariance structures. The unstructured (UN) covariance structure is used for the random effects, while using the Akaike information criterion (AIC), the compound symmetric (CS) covariance structure is selected to be appropriate for the residual effects. To check the model fit, the profiles of the fitted and observed values of the dependent variables are compared graphically. The data is also characterized by the problem of intermittent missingness. The type of missingness is investigated by applying a modified logistic regression model missing at random (MAR) test. The results indicate that school location, sex and weight are the significant factors for the children's respiratory conditions. More specifically, the children in schools located in the northern residential areas are found to have poor respiratory conditions as compared to those in the Durban-South schools. In addition, poor respiratory conditions are also identified for overweight children. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Water is an indispensable basic human need which is protected by several provisions within legislation. However, despite extensive legislation access to water is problematic for many rural schools in South Africa. The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and national goals that are time bound are not possible with the structural barriers that loom. This research study, sketches the experiences of learners and educators who have been exposed to poor access to water within a rural primary school in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This research study employs a qualitative research paradigm using a case study method to provide an in-depth understanding of the schooling context where there is poor access to water. The main aim was to explore in-depth how the schooling community is affected and what coping strategies are employed to deal with poor access to water. The research study was approached using ecological systems and social justice perspectives. Findings suggest that the consequences of poor access to water at school level are numerous and become even more complex when there is a lack of water at community level. In a compounding manner the consequences have the potential to, in the long term, have irreversible negative effects on learners and their potential to access quality education. Furthermore educators and management are placed in an invidious position to accommodate the challenges associated with poor access to water at school as part of their everyday teaching routine. Educators are failing to teach and learners are failing to learn thus the education system is rendered dysfunctional. The recommendations echo those of the participants who maintain that the community and the school must have access to water in order to improve the quality of life of all. Changes at the structural level in terms of how access to education is defined are a necessity. Co-operative governance, more stringent monitoring and evaluation of the education system, approaching education from a child-friendly perspective, adopting a human rights approach to fiscal spending and the involvement of chapter 9 institutions to ensure social justice are examples of the structural changes required and are part of the recommendations. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Based on oral histories of agriculture and health in the Mae Chaem valley, northern Thailand, this work documents changing child health and medical practice since the 1950's and explores possible connections with increasing pesticide use. The research shows how local knowledge can help us understand relationships between changing technology, ecology, and human health. Parents and farmers in the Mae Chaem valley of Chiang Mai province, Northern Thailand, live at the intersection of multiple local and global streams of land use and child health biotechnology. Based on systematically collected autobiographical oral histories from parents and farmers, as well as interviews and participant observation with land use and child health experts the study considers the relationships between child health and land use change, and particularly the rise of pesticide intensive cash cropping, since the late 1950’s. Introductory chapters on theory and methods precede a description of the ethnographic context. Case studies illustrating parent and farmer histories of child health and land use change spanning fifty years are provided. Seven streams of biotechnical expertise are identified, and mini-ethnographies are provided for each including domestic, Buddhist, Muang, spirit, market, national, and Christian. These seven streams are analyzed using actor-network theory (ANT) with relationships to particular notions of ontology, cosmology, and ecology. Results demonstrate the ongoing importance of parents and farmers as decision making agents at the intersection of multiple and competing cultural and biotechnical streams, even where they face efforts by large multinational corporations or other agencies to advertise, constrain and monopolize local biotechnical choice. Within the fifty year time period under consideration, the oral histories describe particular child health and land use trends. These locally perceived trends provide challenging perspectives on the relationship between ‘development’ and child health in Thailand. While children die far less often now than in the past, oral histories suggest that both children and fields now suffer from more kinds of illness, and more often, than before. In particular, both qualitative and more quantitative analysis suggests differences in the experience of child health among pesticide and non-pesticide using households.

Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti darbo kompiuteriu ir vaikų sveikatos pakenkimų sąsajas. Uždaviniai: 1.Ištirti regėjimo funkcijos sutrikimų, netaisyklingos laikysenos ir skoliozių dinamiką; 2.Nustatyti sveikatos sutrikimų/nusiskundimų (regos ir kaulų - raumenų sistemos) ir darbo kompiuteriu sąsajas; 3.Įvertinti moksleivių darbą kompiuteriu namuose ir jo aplinką. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrimas buvo atliktas 2006 - 2008 metais. Tyrime dalyvavo 428 Kauno X gimnazijos pirmų ir ketvirtų klasių moksleiviai, atsako dažnis 92.24 proc. Duomenys rinkti iš medicininių dokumentų ir anketinės apklausos būdu. Statistinė duomenų analizė atlikta naudojant kompiuterinį SPSS 13.0 statistinį paketą ir MS Excel. Rezultatai. Nustatyta, kad apie 40 proc. vaikų turi regėjimo ir 33 proc. kaulų - raumenų sutrikimus. Nustatyta statistiškai patikimas regėjimo aštrumo blogėjimas ir didėjantis moksleivių skoliozių dažnis. Pagrindiniai regėjimo sutrikimai dirbant kompiuteriu yra: 42,3 proc. akių skausmas, 38,6 proc. akių paraudimas, 32,9 proc. pablogėjęs matymas, 26,2 proc. ašarojimas, 23,8 proc. akių džiūvimas, 19,6 proc. mirgėjimas akyse. Nustatytas ryšys tarp valandų praleistų prie kompiuterio ir regėjimo aštrumo mažėjimo. Dažniausi kaulų - raumenų sutrikimai: 42,3 proc. stuburo, 36 proc. kaklo, 16,8 proc. pečių lanko, 14 proc. riešo, 11 proc. juosmeninės dalies skausmai. Nustatytas ryšys tarp laiko praleisto prie kompiuterio ir juosmeninės dalies skausmo (p=0,033). Mergaitės daugiau laiko praleidžia rašydamos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. The objective of this study is to evaluate correlation between health disorders and work with the computer. Objectives. The goals of this work are to study dynamics of disorders of the function of vision, bad posture, and scoliosis; to establish correlation between health disorders/complaints (sight, bone-muscle system) and work with the computer; to measure students’ work with the computer at home and its environment. Methods. The research was done in 2006-2008; it involved 428 participants of 1ST and 4th form students of X Gymnasium. The percent of frequency of response was 92,24. Data was collected from medical documents and by carrying out a survey. Statistical analysis of data was done using computer-based statistical batch SPSS 13.0 and MS Excel. Results. The results show that 40% of students have vision disorders and 67% - musculosceletal disorders. There is statistical evidence of growth in eyesight worsening and growing frequency of scoliosis among students. The main vision disorders caused by computers include: 42,3% eyestrain, 38,6% red eyes, 32,9% reduced vision, 26,2% running eyes, 23,8% dry eyes, 19,6% flicker. Connection is established between the time spent at a computer and reduced eyesight. Most frequent musculoscelatal disorders include: 42,3% pain in the spinal column; 36% - neck area, 16,8% - shoulder arch, 14% - wrist, 11% - girdle pain. There is relation between time spent at a computer and girdle pain (p=0,033). Girls spend... [to full text]

Children are not obtaining adequate amounts of physical activity (PA) and it is important to determine how we can increase PA. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a physical activity curriculum resource, Busy Bodies©, on preschool children’s physical activity levels. A total of five preschools from the NW quadrant of Calgary, Alberta were included in this study. The 48 participants involved in the study were all 4 years old. The preschools were divided into three groups: Control Group (no intervention), Intervention Group (school received the resource), and Intervention and Teacher Training Group (schools received the resource and teacher training). The researcher placed pedometers on all participants and observed selected participants using the System of Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). The results of this study did not confirm that teacher training impacted physical activity levels. The effects of the resource on the Intervention and Intervention and Teacher Training groups were similar as derived from pedometer and direct observation. Alternative forms of teacher intervention may further increase physical activity. / x, 92 leaves ; 28 cm

This study’s main aim is to investigate the impact of adult household members’ employment on the health of children aged 6 to 60 months, with a particular focus on whether the gender of the employed adults matter. The study uses South African data from the nationally representative National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), and children’s health will be measured using the two anthropometric indicators height-for-age and weight-for-age to indicate stunting and underweight respectively. The sample consists of about 1700 children, and both descriptive and econometric analysis are utilised to show correlations between child health outcomes and employment. The econometric analysis was performed using a logit model, and results show an association between employment in the household and child stunting, while no association is found between employment and child underweight. The main finding of the study is that living in households where one or more women (and no men) have employment reduces the likelihood of children being stunted. No health gain is found for living in households with only employed men, or living in households where both men and women have employment, relative to living in households where no one has employment. These results are robust to controlling for household expenditure per capita and a variety of other household characteristics. Employment thus seems to have a positive impact on children’s health, but the effect is only present in households where only females have employment. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This study aims to explore educators' understandings of the effects of hunger and malnutrition on learners' academic performance. The study reveals that there are various social conditions that contribute to poor learner performance at school such as poor family background, absenteeism due to hunger, diseases, pedagogic relationship and high levels of unemployment. It came to light from the study that, in spite of the attempts by the Department of Basic Education to eradicate hunger by, for example, providing child support grants and the Nutrition Programme, there are other challenges that hinder learners' progress. The study reveals that the majority of children are orphans and come from impoverished backgrounds. They come to school hungry without breakfast and without lunch-boxes. They do not have the educational materials that are needed by the educators. The study reveals that vulnerable learners, coming from impoverished backgrounds are victims of the situations as they face many problems that hinder their well-being, both at home and at school. The study also reveals that, if a child lives in poverty, that child might perform poorly at school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

In 2001, the percentage of fourth grade students who were overweight (26%) in Wells County, Indiana was twice the national average (13%). A Robert Wood Johnson Local Initiative Funding Partners grant was submitted and received to provide this community with resources to help combat unhealthy lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in body mass index, food choices and nutrition knowledge and attitudes of fourth grade students in Wells County to determine if the prevalence of overweight had been reduced, and provide insight into children's food choices and nutrition knowledge. Of the 1,347 fourth grade students who completed the SPAN questionnaire over the four years, 23 percent were overweight. Over the four years, the prevalence of overweight did not increase to higher levels, providing modest support for the impact of Operation Wellness on students' weight. The students in this rural community ate fewer meals, snacked more frequently, did not eat enough fruits or vegetables, and ate too many high-fat/high-sugar foods compared to recommended standards. Students from the Southern Wells School District were significantly more aware of the relationship between diet, weight, and health than students in the other two school districts. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Based on oral histories of agriculture and health in the Mae Chaem valley, northern Thailand, this work documents changing child health and medical practice since the 1950's and explores possible connections with increasing pesticide use. The research shows how local knowledge can help us understand relationships between changing technology, ecology, and human health. Parents and farmers in the Mae Chaem valley of Chiang Mai province, Northern Thailand, live at the intersection of multiple local and global streams of land use and child health biotechnology. Based on systematically collected autobiographical oral histories from parents and farmers, as well as interviews and participant observation with land use and child health experts the study considers the relationships between child health and land use change, and particularly the rise of pesticide intensive cash cropping, since the late 1950’s. Introductory chapters on theory and methods precede a description of the ethnographic context. Case studies illustrating parent and farmer histories of child health and land use change spanning fifty years are provided. Seven streams of biotechnical expertise are identified, and mini-ethnographies are provided for each including domestic, Buddhist, Muang, spirit, market, national, and Christian. These seven streams are analyzed using actor-network theory (ANT) with relationships to particular notions of ontology, cosmology, and ecology. Results demonstrate the ongoing importance of parents and farmers as decision making agents at the intersection of multiple and competing cultural and biotechnical streams, even where they face efforts by large multinational corporations or other agencies to advertise, constrain and monopolize local biotechnical choice. Within the fifty year time period under consideration, the oral histories describe particular child health and land use trends. These locally perceived trends provide challenging perspectives on the relationship between ‘development’ and child health in Thailand. While children die far less often now than in the past, oral histories suggest that both children and fields now suffer from more kinds of illness, and more often, than before. In particular, both qualitative and more quantitative analysis suggests differences in the experience of child health among pesticide and non-pesticide using households.