Promoting health literacy for children in a developing Country Assignment

Promoting health literacy for children in a developing Country regarding gastro-enteritis by way of primary and secondary care - Assignment Example Gastroenteritis is one disease that affects infants, children and adults. The disease is common in both the developed and developing countries. Notably, due to the lack of appropriate resources and machinery, the developing countries may lack the knowhow and the technology to identify the disease. This essay focuses on the illiteracy found in this country, it tries to devise ways in which awareness can be promoted. This study ventures into the field of health issues and focuses on the impacts of health illiteracy across the board in the society with some emphasis made on the effects of Gastroenteritis in children. Health literacy according to US Library Of Medicine (2010) is the ability to read, understand and act on medical guidelines. It involves the ability of the public to understand various disease symptoms, and interpret the prescriptions as instructed by the health officer. Gastroenteritis is one the major killer of children above 5 years, BMC Public Health (2007) estimates th e mortality number of children under the above age to be between 450,000 to 700,000 each year. Other 2 million kids are hospitalized every year due to the disease. The disease in previous years took the lives of more children than the number quoted above. In the recent years the number has reduced considerably due to the introduction of vaccines. Notably, Gastroenteritis is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract which inflames the system leading to symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, cramping and severe abdominal pains. The virus responsible for the disease is known as rotavirus in children, norovirus and Campylobacter in adults. The disease is not likely to be caused by bacteria or parasites. Notably, the disease is more present in the less developed countries due to the low hygienic standards. This includes contaminated water since less developed countries do not have the required resources to improve water circulation hence making the disease more prevalent. Secondly due to the lack of proper food sources and poor living standards less developed countries with per capita income of less than a dollar, citizens may eat poorly cooked food which in turn results into Gastroenteritis. According to MacDonald. et al (2012) most of the cases of Gastroenteritis are in children in less developed countries. This is a result of the scarcity of health centers where medical care is limited, According to GlaxoSmithKline (2012) notes that the infection rate of the rotavirus gastroenteritis is similar in both developed and developing countries, the only difference is the measures taken to improve the hygiene, sanitation and living standards. This has a hand in reducing the causes of the occurrence of the disease. As quoted earlier the quickest solution to curbing the spread of the disease which according to research can be spread from one person to the other is through vaccination. The developed countries can easily access vaccination medicine since they have enough capital and better policies to govern such institutions unlike developing countries who not only struggle with economic development but also do not have enough resources to cater for the upcoming national problems. Consequently they are left at the mercy of international organization such as the red cross, Used and AUSaid which chip in their support when the situation has been aggravated and it is in the limelight of the international and regional media stations. Children affected by the disease require close care and affection.