The Science Behind the American Public Health Association/American Academy of Pediatrics National Health and Safety Guidelines for Child-Care Programs

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101-1104
Author(s):  
Susan S. Aronson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Child Care ◽  
American Academy ◽  
National Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
American Public Health Association ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Health Association

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE APHA/AAP STANDARDS In 1992, the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published the long-awaited Caring for Our Children—National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs.1 This publication was the product of a 4-year effort involving many experts in child health and safety and day-care providers. The standards document provides a national consensus on approaches to reducing diseases and injury and promoting prevention among children and providers in group-care settings. Consumer protection initiatives are needed because market-place forces are inadequate to ensure a health environment for children in child care. Over the past two decades, a growing number of investigators have documented the increased occurrence of infectious diseases2-4 and injuries,5-7 and missed opportunities for health protection and promotion in child care.8 Despite the tendency to focus on reports of negative health outcomes, children and families thrive in early childhood programs that provide safe, nurturing care and developmentally appropriate education. Day-to-day excellence in child care depends on committed, well-educated care givers who work in a child-friendly and staff-friendly environment. In the US, good child care is limited. Few parents can afford the full cost of care. Most lack the knowledge, skills, or objectivity to critically evaluate the care they choose for their children. Convenience, availability, and affordability motivate parents when they choose child care. Parents are pressured to meet occupational expectations, and tend to overlook significant risks in their children's child-care arrangements. Even parents who are pediatricians (who are expected to be well-versed in child development, health, and safety) ignore hazards and poor quality when rating convenient and available child-care arrangements (Aronson S, unpublished data).

American Public Health Association/American Academy of Pediatrics National Health and Safety Guidelines for Child-Care Programs: An Overview

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107-1108
Author(s):  
Albert Chang
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
American Public Health Association ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Child Care Setting ◽  
Health Association ◽  
Safety Guidelines

Caring for Our Children represents a model collaboration of government, voluntary health associations, and individuals in a national aspiration to create in every child-care setting a safe, healthful, and nurturing environment for our children, our most valuable resource and our future.

American Public Health Association/American Academy of Pediatrics National Health and Safety Guidelines for Child-Care Programs: Featured Standards and Implementation

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 1110-1112
Author(s):  
Debra Hawks ◽  
Joan Ascheim ◽  
G. Scott Giebink ◽  
Stacey Graville ◽  
Albert J. Solnit
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
National Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Content Areas ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Health Association ◽  
And Control ◽  
Safety Guidelines

In response to the potential for illness and injury in group care for children and a growing need for national guidance on health and safety aspects of child care, the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) developed national health and safety guidelines for child-care programs. This collaborative effort culminated in the publication, Caring for Our Children—National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs.1 The APHA/AAP guidelines address the following technical content areas: • environmental quality; • prevention and control of infectious diseases; • injury prevention and control; • general health; • nutrition; • prevention and management of child abuse; • staff health; • children with special needs; • health concerns related to social environment and child development; • health and safety organization and administration. While all of these content areas are important in terms of health and safety, some tend to receive more attention. Certain standards in each of the featured content areas are highlighted on the basis of the perceived significance to care givers and health professionals; the reflection of new knowledge and state of the art; possible controversy; on considerations for implementation. HEALTH CONCERNS RELATED TO SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT This technical area describes the standards on social environment and child development in the service of promoting physical and mental health. One of the most substantial achievements was to describe the qualifications, numbers, and availability of adults caring for young children in out-of-home settings.1 The National Research Council in its report, Who Cares for America's Children?

Infectious Disease in Child Day Care: An Overview

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 987-990
Author(s):  
Michael T. Osterholm
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Science ◽  
American Public Health Association ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Health Association ◽  
Care Health

In the early 1980s, the Minnesota Department of Health began to address the growing concern of the risk of infectious diseases in child day care by initiating a planning process that resulted in the first national symposium on infectious diseases in child day care. That symposium, which was held in June 1984 in Minneapolis, highlighted the fact that different vocabularies and points of reference would need to be bridged if day-care providers and regulators, clinicians, and public health practitioners are to work side-by-side in defining the risk of infectious diseases in day care and in developing appropriate prevention strategies.1 As a result of this meeting, the Minnesota Public Health Association submitted a resolution to the American Public Health Association (APHA) in the fall of 1984, stating that child-care standards, especially in the area of prevention of infectious diseases, were needed. This resolution, together with a simultaneous recommendation from the APHA's Maternal and Child Health Section for the development of health and safety standards for out-of-home child-care facilities, began a process which eventually led to the monumental effort now known as the American Public Health Association/American Academy of Pediatrics, National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs.2 In June, 1992, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored the "International Conference on Child Day Care Health: Science, Prevention and Practice," a historic meeting bringing together concerned individuals from many disciplines to further define and set the future agenda for the science, prevention and practice of child day-care health.

PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1949 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 848-849
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
American Academy ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Child Health Services ◽  
American Public Health Association ◽  
White House ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Health Association

AT THE Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association held in New York City on Oct. 24 to 28, 1949, a series of resolutions were passed, many of which concern child health. Such resolutions are customarily presented by one of the several sections of the Association after consideration by the membership of the section and those particularly interested in the specific problems. Subsequently, the content of each resolution is reviewed carefully by the Governing Council of the Association, a widely representative body, and the resolutions in which there is general concurrence are passed and become official statements. The following resolutions are selected from those passed at the recent Annual Meeting as being of particular interest to pediatricians: Resolution on Child Health Services Whereas, the Study of Child Health Services of the American Academy of Pediatrics has shown that many children, especially in rural areas, still lack adequate public health services, and Whereas, present laws provide limited amounts of federal funds, and Whereas, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers recently indicated the need for additional funds, be it Resolved, that the American Public Health Association recommends that all states and territories increase their respective appropriations in order to furnish to the people those services shown to be lacking by the Study of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Resolution on the Mid-Century White House Conference Whereas, the series of White House Conferences on Children and Youth have added much to the health, happiness, and well being of children, and

Flame-resistant Fabrics

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 796-797
Author(s):  
MERRITT B. LOW
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
American Academy ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
National Fire Protection Association ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
York Academy ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
American College Of Surgeons ◽  
Health Association

On December 2-3, 1966, I attended a Conference on Burns and Flame-Retardant Fabrics at the New York Academy of Medicine, to represent the American Academy of Pediatrics. The General Chairman of this conference was Dr. Paul Joliet, Chief, Division of Accident Prevention, United States Public Health Service with whose group we are in official liaison. Other sponsors were the American College of Surgeons, the New York and Brooklyn Trauma Committee, the National Fire Protection Association, the Section on Plastic Surgery of the New York Academy of Medicine, in cooperation with the National Safety Council, the American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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