Child's Health · Published 2025-09-06 · DOI 10.22141/2224-0551.20.6.2025.1900
Background. The issue of organizing and providing medical care to children and adolescents during wartime is of particular importance for Ukraine’s future and is an acute problem for primary healthcare professionals. The purpose of the study is to summarize data from global, national, and personal experience in organizing preventive care for school-age children and adolescents in order to improve the competence of primary healthcare professionals in the preventive component of medical care for school-age children and adolescents — future defenders of Ukraine. Materials and methods. The experience of implementing European models of primary care for schoolchildren was analyzed, as were regulatory documents on the organization and implementation of preventive medical examinations of school-age children during military aggression. A survey was conducted among 145 doctors who provide medical care to children and adolescents. Results. Preventive medical examinations of school-age children and adolescents are conducted in almost all European countries, but the teams of specialists, the timing, and the scope of the examinations vary. According to domestic data, annual medical examinations of schoolchildren are effective as part of the health care system. Based on the results of our own research on the organization of medical care for adolescents and schoolchildren in Ukraine during military aggression, we have identified insufficient routing of medical examinations involving specialist physicians, a shortage of pediatric specialists in various fields, and insufficient interaction between parents, teachers, and medical professionals. The implementation of the current order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 2003 dated December 3, 2024, which places all responsibility for organization, conduction, and conclusions of preventive medical examinations on primary care physicians, without ensuring cooperation with educational institutions, will not solve the issue of preserving the health of adolescents — future defenders of Ukraine. Conclusions. The organization and conduction of preventive medical examinations of school-age children and adolescents need to be improved in terms of ensuring access to specialist physicians, laboratory and instrumental examinations, improving the competence of doctors in the physiology and pathology of children of different ages, and overcoming the inconsistency between the relevant order on preventive examinations and the scope of work of primary health care doctors.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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