ORIGINAL PAPER
Universal Health Coverage “Leave No Child Behind”
1
Stichting Shwachman Syndrome Support Holland, Stichting RareCareWorld, Netherlands
2
Department of Child, Adolescent & Developmental Neurology, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
3
Child Development Centre, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata, India
4
Tóth Ilona Healthcare Center, Budapest, Hungary
5
Pediatric Surgery Center, Tbilisi, Georgia
6
Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
7
Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
8
Medical College of Rzeszow University, Poland
9
The Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Warsaw, Poland
10
University Children’s Hospital, Medical School, Skopje, Macedonia
Submission date: 2021-01-20
Final revision date: 2021-02-04
Acceptance date: 2021-02-04
Publication date: 2021-03-28
Pediatr Pol 2021;96(1):1-6
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Multiple stakeholders are involved in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The estimated more than 90 million children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable members of the world’s population. Paediatricians around the world have united to promote a world where all children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can enjoy a healthy life and well-being. We examined: “What would be the least paediatricians could do to contribute to the UHC?”.
Material and methods:
In a cross-sectional study, paediatricians engaged in care for children with disabling and rare conditions were questioned on 8 of the UHC statements concerning child health, primary care services, availability and affordability of diagnostics and therapies and digital health, as well as country of residence and level of practice.
Results:
The responders were from Europe and Israel, Asia, and the US practicing at primary-, secondary-, and tertiary care levels in high and middle economy countries. Promotion of paediatric primary care could reduce mortality and morbidity, according to 39/48 (81%) respondents. An active role of paediatricians in providing quality information would increase access to health services for children with disabilities, according to 40/48 (83%) responders. Improved data exchange is necessary to deliver primary care as a cornerstone, according to 38/48 (79%) responders. Respondents practising in middle-economy countries reported significantly more frequently than their colleagues in high economies countries about “out of pocket” payments for diagnostics and therapies as well as reduced availability. In order to increase global awareness and international solidarity, a panel of participants in a paediatric network felt that paediatricians should undertake necessary actions to support the achievement of UHC.
Conclusions:
The economic gap in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in paediatric practice should be considered in achieving UHC. An international paediatric network should support achieving the UHC by providing adequate paediatric training and quality (digital) information.
Multiple stakeholders are involved in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The estimated more than 90 million children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable members of the world’s population. Paediatricians around the world have united to promote a world where all children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can enjoy a healthy life and well-being. We examined: “What would be the least paediatricians could do to contribute to the UHC?”.
Material and methods:
In a cross-sectional study, paediatricians engaged in care for children with disabling and rare conditions were questioned on 8 of the UHC statements concerning child health, primary care services, availability and affordability of diagnostics and therapies and digital health, as well as country of residence and level of practice.
Results:
The responders were from Europe and Israel, Asia, and the US practicing at primary-, secondary-, and tertiary care levels in high and middle economy countries. Promotion of paediatric primary care could reduce mortality and morbidity, according to 39/48 (81%) respondents. An active role of paediatricians in providing quality information would increase access to health services for children with disabilities, according to 40/48 (83%) responders. Improved data exchange is necessary to deliver primary care as a cornerstone, according to 38/48 (79%) responders. Respondents practising in middle-economy countries reported significantly more frequently than their colleagues in high economies countries about “out of pocket” payments for diagnostics and therapies as well as reduced availability. In order to increase global awareness and international solidarity, a panel of participants in a paediatric network felt that paediatricians should undertake necessary actions to support the achievement of UHC.
Conclusions:
The economic gap in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in paediatric practice should be considered in achieving UHC. An international paediatric network should support achieving the UHC by providing adequate paediatric training and quality (digital) information.
REFERENCES (21)
1.
UN UHC draft declaration 2019 (accessed 28 April 2020). Available at: https://www.un.org/pga/73/wp-c....
2.
WHO Fact Sheet WHP 24 January 2019 (accessed 28 April 2020). Available at: https://www.who.int/en/news-ro...).
3.
Countdown to 2030 Collaboration. Countdown to 2030: tracking progress towards universal coverage for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. Lancet 2018; 391: 1538-1548.
4.
Odugleh-Kolev A, Parrish-Sprowl J Universal health coverage and community engagement. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Geneva 2018; 96: 660-661.
5.
Strengthening NCD service delivery through UHC benefit package, Technical meeting report, World Health Organization, Geneva 14-15 July 2020. Available at: https://www.uhcpartnership.net....
6.
World Bank (2020) The World by income (accessed 28 April 2020). Available at: https://datatopics.worldbank.o....
7.
Ehrich JH, Tenore A, del Torso S, et al. Diversity of Pediatric Workforce and Education in 2012 in Europe: A Need for Unifying Concepts or Accepting Enjoyable Differences? J Pediatr 2015; 167: 471-476.
8.
Amouzou A, Leslie HH, Ram M, et al Advances in the measurement of coverage for RMNCH and nutrition: from contact to effective coverage. BMJ Glob Health 2019; 4 (Suppl 4): e001297.
9.
Završnik J, Stiris T, Schrier L, et al. Basic training requirements for health care professionals who care for children. Eur J Pediatr 2018; 177: 1413-1417.
10.
Sen ES, Dean P, Yarram-Smith L, et al. Clinical genetic testing using a custom-designed steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome gene panel: analysis and recommendations. J Med Genet 2017; 54: 795-804.
11.
Brunelli L, Jenkins SM, Gudgeon JM, et al. Targeted gene panel sequencing for the rapid diagnosis of acutely ill infants. Mol Genet Genomic Med 2019; 7: e00796.
12.
Agampodi SB, Amarasinghe GS, Naotunna PGCR, et al. Early renal damage among children living in the region of highest burden of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka. BMC Nephrol 2018; 19: 115.
13.
Palmer EE, Schofield D, Shrestha R, et al. Integrating exome sequencing into a diagnostic pathway for epileptic encephalopathy: Evidence of clinical utility and cost effectiveness. Mol Genet Genomic Med 2018; 6: 186-199.
14.
Tan TY, Dillon OJ, Stark Z, et al. Diagnostic impact and cost-effectiveness of whole-exome sequencing for ambulant children with suspected monogenic conditions. JAMA Pediatr 2017; 171: 855-862.
15.
Wastnedge E, Waters D, Patel S, et al. The global burden of sickle cell disease in children under five years of age: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Glob Health 2018; 8: 02110.
16.
Ochocinski D, Dalal M, Vandy Black L, et al. Life-threatening infectious complications in sickle cell disease: a concise narrative review. Front Pediatr 2020; 8: 38.
17.
Global Burden of Disease Health Financing Collaborator Network. Trends in future health financing and coverage: future health spending and universal health coverage in 188 countries, 2016-40. Lancet (London, England) 2018; 391: 1783-1798.
18.
WHO guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening. World Health Organization, Geneva 2019. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
19.
Roehrs A, da Costa CA, Righi RD, de Oliveira KS. Personal Health Records: A Systematic Literature Review. J Med Internet Res 2017; 19: e13.
20.
McKnight J, Wilson ML, Banning P, et al. Effective coding is key to the development and use of the WHO Essential Diagnostics List. Lancet Digital Health 2019; 1: e387-e388.
21.
Abul-Husn NS, Kenny EE. Personalized Medicine and the Power of Electronic Health Records. Cell 2019; 177: 58-69.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
