Locyer Vanessa, Porcellato Lorna, Gee Ivan
NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.
Community Pract. 2011 Mar;84(3):23-6.
Within the UK rickets is emerging as a national public health issue, particularly among at-risk groups. There is concern that health professionals are overlooking recommendations for vitamin supplementation and opportunities for prevention. This paper reports on a study that aimed to identify current knowledge and practice regarding vitamin D deficiency and supplementation among community midwifery and health visiting teams employed in one NHS trust. A questionnaire was distributed to all health visiting and community midwifery team members (n=96), with a 76% response rate (n=73). Results suggest varying levels of awareness about vitamin D deficiency and groups at increased risk. Only 52% reported that they were aware of health department recommendations for vitamin supplementation. Health visiting teams recommended supplements more frequently than community midwives, but overall the recommendations were implemented inconsistently. Participants identified families eligible for the government Healthy Start scheme, but fewer were recommending Healthy Start vitamins. A deeper understanding of vitamin D deficiency and health department recommendations for vitamin supplementation is required by health professionals to ensure families are advised about appropriate prevention messages and to implement recommendations effectively.
在英国，佝偻病正成为一个全国性的公共卫生问题，尤其是在高危人群中。人们担心卫生专业人员忽视了维生素补充的建议以及预防的机会。本文报告了一项研究，该研究旨在确定在一个国民保健服务信托机构工作的社区助产士和健康访视团队中，关于维生素D缺乏和补充的现有知识及实践情况。向所有健康访视和社区助产团队成员（n = 96）发放了问卷，回复率为76%（n = 73）。结果显示，对维生素D缺乏以及高危人群的认知程度各不相同。只有52%的人报告称他们知晓卫生部门关于维生素补充的建议。健康访视团队比社区助产士更频繁地推荐补充剂，但总体而言，这些建议的执行并不一致。参与者识别出了符合政府“健康开端”计划条件的家庭，但推荐“健康开端”维生素的人较少。卫生专业人员需要更深入地了解维生素D缺乏以及卫生部门关于维生素补充的建议，以确保向家庭提供适当的预防信息并有效执行建议。
