Descriptive Study on Benchmarking of the Results from the Performed Activities in the Preventive Medicine in Schools in Some Regions of Republic of Bulgaria | Chapter 5 | Challenges in Disease and Health Research Vol. 5

Introduction: The Strategy for the Efficient Functioning of Maternity, Child and School Health requires steps for coordinated systemic approach and advertising for the health of children. The health status of the population depends, for the most part, on factors whose impact begins in infancy. It is also a reflection of the argument that child health care is an investment in future healthy generations, as the foundations for human health are laid in childhood and the health behavior of each person is created, ensuring the national human capital's higher quality of life and health. Health promotion and prevention steps taken in early childhood, because of their progressive and long-term impact, can be expected to dramatically and permanently limit the pandemic of chronic and other diseases. The goal of the present work is to research, by benchmarking, the health and dental status of pupils aged 7 to 15 from the municipalities of Kardzhali and Sandanski.

Materials and methods: Schools from the municipalities of Kardzhali and Sandanski are included in the study, decided by a system of random selection. 1594 children aged from 7-15 years are included in the study. Physician-specialists: a pediatrician, an otorhinolaryngologist, an ophthalmologist and a dentist were involved in the tests. The "Dental Treatment/ Examination Form" and "Medical History and Screening Form" are used for registration of data from prophylactic examinations. Fisher's criterion is used for the statistical analysis of data.

Results and Discussion: The comparative study of the health and dental status results of the children studied from the municipalities of Kardzhali and Sandanski indicates a statistically important difference in the early development of children from both municipalities in favor of children from the municipalities of Kardzhali and Sandanski (94 percent against 1 percent for Sandanski). There is a large difference in allergies between them, 1.38 percent and 15.44 percent, respectively. Diseases (heart disease and diabetes) were also identified in children from Kardzhali. The physician-otorhinolaryngologist test shows substantially lower levels of all the markers of the Kardzhali children tested. In contrast with the children of Sandanski, the visual acuity of the children of Kardzhali is 79 percent versus 64 percent with better values. The primary proportion of color deficiency cases is also lower in Kardzhali-0.13 percent than 1.29 percent . Esotropia/exotropia cases indicate higher levels of Kardzhali in the patients studied (4 percent against 0.4 percent ). The dental condition of the children from Kardzhali is stronger as a whole (64% versus 53%), but more favorable values of the children from Sandanski are observed by indicators: the incidence of caries, gingivitis and orthodontic problems.

Conclusion: The findings shown are alarming and there is a need to implement an intervention program that incorporates preventive measures aimed at encouraging wellness and health improvements in the community and children's way of life.

Author(s) Details

J. Staykova
Preventive Medicine Department, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria.

R. Chilingirova
Regional Health Inspectorate, Kardzhali, Bulgaria.

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