Children are the future. This is an immutable fact. Every society has the mandate and responsibility of caring and providing for them. United Nations member states passed the famous Millennium Development Goals in the year 2000. Some of the practices seek to improve the overall child’s health and the health condition of mothers (Reduce Child Mortality).
Child healthcare faces many challenges amid laws and regulations passed by State and Federal governments. Pediatricians and health practitioners experience challenges that are beyond their control. Clinical experts express optimism citing that implementation of Clinical Advocacy will improve on children’s condition and the overall family’s situation.
Inadequate infrastructure is an enormous impediment to child care for the disabled. Before the period 1990, most health facilities lacked ample parking for the handicapped. The US Congress passed the Americans with Disability Act to ensure that children and parents with disabilities were offered protection from discrimination in the provision of services (ADA National Network).
A language barrier is another setback limiting service delivery in the child care unit. In a survey conducted by the Medicine National Institute of Health, it was observed that 84% of patients who visited health facilities spoke English. The rest of the patients mostly spoke Chinese, Russian and Spanish. The report warns that non-English speakers had higher adjusted odds of readmission (Gannon 1).
Hospital management has come up with measures that aim to solve the prevalent language barrier. For instance, a hospital in Boston paid for the services of an interpreter, a Jewish, to translate for the Russian patient admitted to the child care unit (Palfrey 90).
The treatment for children has become expensive to most parents. In the year 2013, a report compiled by Child Poverty Action Group has indicated that the UK incurs a total of 29 billion pounds yearly due to child poverty. Out of this, 20.5 billion pounds translate into a direct cost to the government.
To overcome the issue of child poverty, clinicians encourage parents to obtain health insurance cover for their children. As such, some clinics can refuse to offer treatment in the event that the patient fails to produce an insurance cover. Medical practitioners, however, blame the state terming that the process of acquiring health insurance cover is hindered by the strict administrative bottlenecks that the government has put in place (Palfrey 92).
Time is another barrier that limits service delivery. Pediatricians have developed ways that can help reduce the time spent on asking questions. Clinicians are encouraged to ask open-ended questions, which patients quickly understand. It will as well help organize the doctor’s schedule (Palfrey 98).
Children have the right to play. Research done in the US warns that children who are not playful are likely to suffer physical fitness in the future. The United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child entitles children with the right to engage in recreational activities and play (Forbes 45).
Accident is another significant risk to children’s health. According to the report published by Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, over one million children below the age of 15 are involved in various accidents yearly. Although it warned that most of the accidents happened in the living room, it was alleged that fatal injuries occured in the kitchen. The figure of children hurt in the kitchens estimated at 67000 yearly (Accident to Children). Safety agencies in various states offer education for both drivers and the students. The measure aims at inculcating road safety measure and the importance of observing road signs. For instance, in the city of Osage, Kansas, the Ministry of Transportation supports driver’s safety event for secondary students. Local police stations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, inspect car seats free of costs. Sinai Hospital in Chicago donates infant car seat to every mother who has attended the facility more than two times (Palfrey 110).
Coordination, accessibility, family centeredness, compassionate delivery and culturally active understanding are the fundamental pillars of change. Clinical Advocacy Principal lobbies for child’s well-being by embracing the above pillars (Palfrey 118).
Works Cited
“Accidents to Children.”RoSPA Home Safety RSS. Web. 2015.
“ADA National Network.”Welcome to the Americans With Disabilities Act National Network. Web. 2015.
Forbes, Ruth. Beginning to Play Young Children from Birth to Three, Buckingham: Open University Press, 2004. Print.
Gannon, Frank. “Language Barriers.” EMBO Reports. Web. 2015.
Palfrey, Judith. Child Health in America Making a Difference through Advocacy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2006. Print.
“Reduce Child Mortality.” Millennium Development Goal 4.Web. 2015.