Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)
Author: Iren Calista
Background
Every day millions of parents turn to hospitals, health centers, pharmacists, doctors and healers who apply traditional practices for health care for their sick children. Studies indicate that in many cases, these health care providers do not assess or adequately treat children, and parents do not receive appropriate advice. In the first-level health services in low income, diagnostic support services such as radiology and laboratory services is often little or no shortage of medicines and equipment. The limitation of supplies and equipment, along with the irregular rhythm of the patient flow, reduce the chances that the doctors in this level of care to implement complex clinical procedures. On the contrary, to determine a treatment to the maximum of available resources are often based on medical history and examination semiological.
Due to these factors, the provision of quality care to sick children is a major challenge. To address this, WHO and UNICEF have developed a strategy called Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI).
What is IMCI?
IMCI is an integrated approach to child health that focuses on the general welfare of the child. Its purpose is to reduce mortality, morbidity and disability in children under five years, as well as promote better growth and development. The strategy includes preventive and curative components for use by both families and communities as health services.
IMCI has three main components:
Better training of health personnel in case management
Overall improvement of health systems
Improved health practices within families and communities.
In health facilities, IMCI promotes the correct diagnosis of diseases of children are hospitalized, ensures appropriate combined treatment of all major illnesses, strengthens the provision of advice to caregivers and faster referral of children with serious diseases. In the home, promotes appropriate behavior when needed healthcare and improving nutrition, preventive care and proper application of the prescribed treatment.
What are the advantages of IMCI compared to approaches that focus on a single disease?
Children for whom medical treatment is sought in the developing world tend to suffer more than one condition, so that a single diagnosis is not feasible. IMCI is an integrated strategy that takes into account the variety of serious risk factors that affect children. It ensures the combined treatment of childhood diseases and emphasizes prevention through immunization and improved nutrition.
How is IMCI?
The introduction and implementation of this strategy in a country is a gradual process that requires both a high degree of coordination among existing health programs and services as close cooperation with governments and health ministries to plan and adapt the principles of IMCI local circumstances. The main steps are:
Incorporating a holistic approach to health and child development in the national health policy.
Adopt standard clinical guidelines for IMCI to needs, available drugs and the policies of the country, as well as food and the local language.
Improving health care in local health care workers by providing training on new methods of examination and treatment of children and provide appropriate advice to parents.
Possible to improve care by ensuring that adequate stock of affordable appropriate medicines and basic equipment.
Strengthening care in hospitals for children whose condition prevents degree of outpatient treat them.
Community Support Develop mechanisms to prevent disease, assist families in caring for their sick children and moving children in need to hospitals and clinics.
IMCI has been introduced in over 75 countries around the world.
What steps have been taken to assess IMCI?
The Department of CAH has launched a multi-country evaluation to determine the effects, costs and effectiveness of this strategy. The results of the evaluation are used to plan and promote child health interventions undertaken by ministries of health in developing countries or national and international partners for development. So far, the evaluation has been conducted in Brazil, Bangladesh, Peru, Uganda and Tanzania.
The evaluation results indicate the following:
IMCI can improve workforce performance and quality of care;
if implemented correctly, IMCI can reduce mortality of children under five and improve their nutritional status;
IMCI is a worthwhile investment because its cost per child properly is six times lower than for routine care;
in child survival programs are expected greater attention to efforts to improve the behavior of households and communities;
implementation of child survival interventions should be complemented by activities to strengthen the support system;
cover only a large-scale interventions will achieve a significant reduction in mortality of children under five.
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Posted in Childhood Illnesses | 
Tags: Childhood Illness, diseases of children, health personnel, Integrated Management