A ddressing the H ealth N eeds of C hildren

A ddressing the H ealth N eeds of C hildren Institutions, teachers and reviewers play an important role in addressing the health needs of children. These are discussed below. Role of Schools Schools play a vital role in promoting the health and safety of young people and helping them to establish lifelong healthy behaviours. It is easier and more effective to develop healthy behaviours during childhood than trying to change unhealthy behaviours during adulthood. Many health risks behaviours are often established during childhood or adolescence and continued into adulthood. The following are the leading causes of diseases, death, disability, and social problems: •• Inadequate physical activity •• Unhealthy diet •• Substance misuse (Tobacco, alcohol and other drug use) •• Stress •• Behaviours that contribute to unintentional injury and violence •• Risky behaviours that can result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy. Regular physical education classes can help children to develop a healthy lifestyle. Role of Teachers Teachers have a very important role to play during the period spent in schools. They need to understand and address the diverse needs of their students through innovative teaching methods, counseling and referral to specialists wherever required. They need to work closely with the parents and community on sensitive issues and the emerging challenges being faced by the children. The teacher can plan various need- based health promotion programmes for the empowerment of children such as, engaging in games and sports, physical activities, curricular and extra-curricular activities, nutrition education programmes, and preventive measures for substance misuse. Role of Adolescent-friendly Health Services The children during adolescence are usually considered a healthy cohort. They generally do not have any medical problem. They just want to have some more information or knowledge about some of the concerns that may be troubling their mind. Often they do not get any proper answer for their concern and get frustrated and feel lost. They can easily be misled, and hence get into wrong habits and adopt risky behaviours. Adolescents are often quite reluctant to share many of their problems with parents, family members and