Rigby Michael J, Köhler Lennart I, Blair Mitch E, Metchler Reli
Project Manager, CHILD Health Indicators Project/Centre for Health Planning and Management, Keele University, UK.
Eur J Public Health. 2003 Sep;13(3 Suppl):38-46. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/13.suppl_1.38.
Measurement of children's health is important for two reasons: first, because young people are citizens in their own right, yet largely unable to act as self-advocates, particularly at the population level; and second, because their health determines the health of the future population. Indicators based on measurements of child health are important for identifying progress, problems and priorities, changes over time, and newly emergent issues. The European Community Health Monitoring Programme (HMP) is a comprehensive programme to develop and implement a set of national-level indicators. The Child Health Indicators of Life and Development (CHILD) project is the only population group-specific project, seeking to determine a holistic set of measures.
The project endeavoured to address all aspects of child health and its determinants, balancing positive and negative aspects. It undertook a structured search of published evidence to seek to identify, and validate, indicators of health and illness, health determinants and challenges to health, quality of healthcare support and health-promoting national policies. A systematic approach was used in identifying valid indicators, and in assembling a balanced composite list. All ages from infancy to adolescence were covered.
The project's final report identifies 38 core desirable national indicators, citing purpose and evidence for each. Of equal importance, it also identifies 17 key child health topics on which further research work is needed in order to identify and validate indicators appropriate across different national settings.
儿童健康的衡量至关重要，原因有二：其一，儿童本身就是公民，但很大程度上无法自我主张权益，尤其是在人口层面；其二，儿童的健康决定着未来人口的健康。基于儿童健康衡量的指标对于确定进展、问题和优先事项、随时间的变化以及新出现的问题十分重要。欧洲共同体健康监测项目（HMP）是一个旨在制定和实施一套国家级指标的综合项目。儿童生命与发展健康指标（CHILD）项目是唯一针对特定人群组的项目，力求确定一套全面的衡量标准。
该项目致力于涵盖儿童健康及其决定因素的各个方面，平衡积极和消极方面。它对已发表的证据进行了结构化检索，旨在识别并验证健康与疾病指标、健康决定因素以及对健康的挑战、医疗保健支持质量和促进健康的国家政策。在确定有效指标以及编制平衡的综合清单时采用了系统方法。涵盖了从婴儿期到青春期的所有年龄段。
该项目的最终报告确定了38项核心的理想国家指标，并列举了每项指标的目的和证据。同样重要的是，它还确定了17个关键的儿童健康主题，需要进一步开展研究工作，以确定并验证适用于不同国家背景的指标。
