Children as Stakeholders of Their Own Health: A Health Promotion Strategy

Background: The objective of this study is to know the primary school children’s perception about their health and the way it is expressed.

Methods: Discussion groups with primary school children between 8-12 age of 3º y 6º course in public and private schools in Alicante city as an intentional sample were realised. The children´s perception about their health and associated factors were analised. Six discussion groups with the participation of 8-10 children were carried out. The inclusion criteria to participate in the groups were: Public/private school; centre / residential/ working-class urban; boys/girls/ mixed group; 3º and 6º course. The discourses were recording and translating with ATLASTI.v.4.1. P. program. A descriptive and exploratory study was carried out.

Results: The children perceived physical, psychological, social and enviromental issues as health problems and furthermore they identified some personal and environmental factors that affect their health. Among the physical health problems they identified the asthma, allergic and accidents. The psychological problems expressed admitted were their emotional status, and the depression and sadness. The socials and enviromental factors that the children emphasized were the unemployment, mistreatment, abandonment, deteriorated environment and the wars. The personal factors communicated were the diet, the hygiene, the rest, the leisure time and the relationships. The environmental factors identified by the children were the physical infrastructure and aspects related to the the environment of the school as the deterioration of the furniture and the hygienic conditions.

Conclusion: The children have the capability to identify their own health problems and its determinants from a holistic perspective. The self-percieved health is one of the more used indicators as a guide to imply new health strategies. To improve the health interventions is necessary to foment children´s participation and to recognize their right to express their beliefs.