Operations research on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)

Abstract

[Preface]. The commitment assumed by the countries during the Millennium Summit to reduce mortality in children under 5 by two-thirds over 1990 figures by the year 2015 restores the priority and importance accorded to child survival for improving the health of the population. In the Region of the Americas, meeting this target will require the continued strengthening of interventions for the prevention and effective treatment of infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, and malnutrition, which are still responsible for roughly 30% of the deaths each year in children under 5. However, since these diseases and health problems no longer cause most of the deaths in this age group, attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) will require the prevention and control of other health problems, such as peri-neonatal disorders, which account for 40% of the mortality in children under 5 and 60% of infant mortality. Ensuring that more and more children survive the first years of life cannot be the sole objective of action to improve the health of the population. It must be complemented with interventions designed to provide all children with the proper conditions for growth and development. This is the only way to help boys and girls grow into healthy adolescents, young adults, and adults who can contribute to the development and growth of their families and communities...Thus, the IMCI operations research projects are presented as a tool to support the ongoing identification of problems and actions to solve them and to assess the impact of these actions. Within this context, these protocols are expected not only to demonstrate the impact of the strategy on child health, but to provide more in-depth knowledge about the health situation of children, in addition to boosting local capacity to identify and solve problems. In light of all this, it is hoped that just as the benefits of the IMCI strategy extend beyond child health, improving the ability of families to prevent disease and promote health, the application of these protocols will also extend beyond actions in child health, upgrading the skills of all people working in local health services and the community to improve the health of the population.