A case for school wellness checkup for children

The need of the hour is a more holistic screening by a physician along with the services of a dentist, psychologist, and other paramedical staff

Preventive wellness is a form of healthcare that embodies the adage “prevention is better than cure.” Even while people of all ages require preventive care, it’s crucial that children receive extra attention, more so in the prevailing digital age. Digital technology has brought about lifestyle changes that have resulted in obesity, anxiety, depression, and gaming addiction among children in recent years.

The statistics are mind-boggling and worrisome. India has the second highest number of obese children in the world. More than 10 percent of Indian children have undetected refractive errors. Around 10 percent have mild hearing loss. One in four in the 13-15 age group suffer from depression and 39 percent are addicted to smartphones.

While issues like ADHD, amblyopia, and hearing loss can go undetected for several years, many of the problems have a better prognosis if detected early or within eight years of age. Indians in general avoid wellness checkups and it is almost nonexistent in children. 

While we all want our children to be healthy, strong and successful in their student life, the current levels of pollution, addiction to gaming, unhealthy lifestyle, and sleeping habits all contribute to various problems. Lack of awareness among parents leads to various underlying conditions that can go unnoticed for years. Covid has made it worse by making children attend school online, reduce their social connections, and become addicted to gadgets.  

Globally, school health checkups are very effective at catching these conditions early so that they can be arrested and possibly reversed or corrected. It is time, India also wakes up to this urgent need.  Though, the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram or RBSK program of the Government, tries to address this very problem in the anganwadis and government schools, the need of the hour is a more comprehensive and holistic screening  by a physician along with the services of a dentist, psychologist, and other paramedical staff. It can include a number of parameters of health which are measured,  digitally recorded and made available to parents. The focus should be on vitals, vision, dental hygiene, ENT, learning agility, sports fitness among others. 

Of course, the role of artificial intelligence holds great promise in the healthcare domain. We should use AI and machine learning in various aspects of child screening. For example, we can use machine learning to accurately predict certain health conditions.

The screening process can also use gamified Apps and non-invasive medtech devices.   AI-powered customized health notifications for parents also will be desirable. 

Early detection and prevention are definitely better than cure. Covid pandemic has brought the focus back on health awareness, importance of hygiene, immunity and preventive wellness. 

Our current healthcare system is catering to sick-care and it needs to change. With 70 percent of healthcare costs being out of pocket, the right intervention at the appropriate time can make a huge impact. 

As we step into a new year, holistic child health screening is one of the critical health initiatives the government needs to focus on . There is also the need to organize health awareness workshops and tele-counseling. We can also develop newer technologies for non-invasive screening as well as products and services for colleges and other educational institutions especially in the area of mental wellness.

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