Assessing child health is critical to a variety of child health, educational, and
social programs, as well as to clinical research and practice. However, despite the
apparent wealth of measures available in health, education, and legal and social welfare
systems, little agreement exists as to what are the most important measures and for
what domains of health. Development of improved measures may capitalize on advances
in conceptualization of child health, including the dynamic nature of the interplay
of child health and development over time. The need for enhanced measures can be illustrated
by consideration of various aspects of pediatric care: well-child care, acute illness
care, and the management of children with special health care needs. In particular,
the strong theoretical perspectives on aspects of development such as cognition and
behavioral development need to be informed by the experience of various states of
health and their developmental implications. If generalist academicians are to further
their research and educational mission, they must engage, and urgently, in the development
and measurement of child health.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 21,
2007
Received:
February 5,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Ambulatory Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
