Infant mortality rate refers to the deaths of children below the age of one year divided by 1000 live births in a given place in one year (Dufour 2012). These statistics are used to determine the health of a population at any given time. This makes mortality rate statistics important to the government.
High infant mortality rates suggest that a community is unhealthy. If high mortality rates are recorded in particular parts of the country, the government should conduct research to establish the cause of the high mortality rates. If the causes of the high mortality rates are health related, the government should take measures to address the issue. Findings might reveal that the high mortality rates are caused by poor reproductive health. This will put pressure on the government to create more awareness on reproductive health. The government should always ensure that proper measures have been put in place to make sure the mortality rates remain low.
Asthma, common cold and diarrhea are the three common health problems facing children (Dufour 2012). These conditions are dangerous and could easily put the life of a child in danger. Common cold is caused by a virus that can be transmitted easily from one person to another. The family of the child should make sure they don’t expose the child to things like cigarette smoke. This has made the society more responsible. The community should make sure that the health of their young ones is not affected by some of their practices. The community has been forced to maintain a clean environment. Diarrhea is mainly caused by consuming things that are contaminated. Families should make sure they disinfect the toys of their children. The community has been forced to maintain high levels of hygiene (Dufour 2012).
Adolescents have been known to engage in behavior that may end up affecting their health. Some of them have multiple sexual partners. This exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases. Adolescents are also known to eat fatty foods (Davis & Carpenter 2010). This exposes them to heart related conditions, obesity and arthritis. Young adults also engage in risky behavior that exposes them to various injuries.
The community is obliged to take good care of their young men and women and make sure they don’t engage in any risky behavior that might expose them to severe health conditions. The community should, therefore, make sure they educate and take corrective measures when young people engage in risky behavior (Davis & Carpenter 2010).
The role of the community health nurse is to advice the child’s parents on measures that they should take to ensure their child is not exposed to any health related problem. A good example is when a parent takes a child to a health facility for check up. The nurse will take the weight and height of the child and use this information to advice the parents on issues concerning the health of the infant. The nurse in the acute care setting on the other hand, is charged with the responsibly of offering care services to a child for a limited duration of time (Dufour 2012). This is usually done to diagnose and treat short term illness. If a child is taken in sick, the child is normally put in acute care to help the medical staff understand what the child might be suffering from.
References
Davis, B., & Carpenter, C. (2010). Adolescent Health. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 505-510.
Dufour, D. L. (2012). Nutrition, Activity, And Health In Children. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26(1), 541-565.