Sathirapanya Chutarat, Khwanmad Suweena, Sathirapanya Pornchai
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai 90110, Songkhla, Thailand.
Research Center for Kids and Youth Development, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai 90110, Songkhla, Thailand.
Children (Basel). 2024 Oct 6;11(10):1217. doi: 10.3390/children11101217.
Children living in an area distant from or associated with barriers to travelling to health service centres usually experience health and well-being disparities. This is a survey of child health and well-being on Bulon-Don Island, located 22 kms. from the southern mainland of Thailand, to gather essential background data before activating responses from local service provider agencies.
Demographic data, physical and crude psychological health, harm to health, and living conditions of Bulon-Don children aged 1-14 years were studied and compared with the results of the corresponding national child health survey. Descriptive statistics were used for the statistical analysis of significance ( < 0.05).
A total of 21 male and 41 female children (N = 62) participated in the survey after obtaining consents from parents or care providers. The islanders are Indigenous people who use their own languages and have traditional beliefs. Comparing with the children of the national survey, most children aged <5 years were found to have significantly lower height and weight according to their age ( = 0.044 and = 0.043, respectively), whereas those aged >5 years had a similar nutritional status. In addition, there is a lack of facilities for healthy living. However, the mean total psychological and ethical standards scores were significantly higher in the 1-5 and 6-9-year-old children.
Disparity of socio-political status, cultural beliefs and practices, socioeconomic basis, and geographic distance from the mainland were the social determinants and barriers of low health service accessibility for the islander children. Comprehensive child health and well-being evaluation in an enclave of isolation like this is mandatory before an integrated intervention carried out by the local healthcare and living facilities providers is implemented.
居住在距离医疗服务中心较远或前往医疗服务中心存在障碍地区的儿童，通常在健康和福祉方面存在差异。这是一项对位于距泰国南部大陆22公里的布隆 - 东岛儿童健康与福祉的调查，旨在收集基本背景数据，以便促使当地服务提供机构做出响应。
对布隆 - 东岛1 - 14岁儿童的人口统计学数据、身体和粗略心理健康状况、健康损害以及生活条件进行研究，并与相应的全国儿童健康调查结果进行比较。采用描述性统计进行显著性统计分析（<0.05）。
在获得父母或照料者同意后，共有21名男童和41名女童（N = 62）参与了调查。岛上居民为使用本族语言且拥有传统信仰的原住民。与全国调查的儿童相比，发现大多数5岁以下儿童的身高和体重按年龄计算显著较低（分别为 = 0.044和 = 0.043），而5岁以上儿童的营养状况相似。此外，缺乏健康生活设施。然而，1 - 5岁和6 - 9岁儿童的心理和道德标准总平均分显著更高。
社会政治地位、文化信仰与习俗、社会经济基础以及与大陆的地理距离等差异，是岛民儿童获得低水平医疗服务的社会决定因素和障碍。在当地医疗保健和生活设施提供者实施综合干预之前，必须对这样一个与世隔绝的地区进行全面的儿童健康与福祉评估。
