THE ROLE OF THE PATRONAGE NURSE IN THE PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION OF DISEASES IN CHILDREN UP TO 12 MONTHS OF AGE

Abstract

The potential of the health visitors’ home visit in prevention and early detection of diseases in children up to 12 months of age was evaluated by analysis of the correlation among the time of the neonatal death and causes of infant mortality in the Republic of North Macedonia for the period 2013-2017. It was found that the infectious diseases were the most attributable for neonatal deaths in infants older than 1 month suggesting the need for higher involvement of the health visitors in addressing this issue. The role of the health visitor is in terms of education, care, promotion of hygiene and improvement of living conditions, as well as in stimulating the exclusive breastfeeding of up to 6 months of age of the infant, and demystifying the parents' doubts regarding timely immunization. Through a cross-sectional on-line survey into the current situation in the Rep. N. Macedonia, it was found that a significant percentage of the respondents were dissatisfied with the counselling approach and the competence of the health visitor; some of them were not even visited by the service. Due to this dissatisfaction, the trust in the medical personnel is reduced, particularly regarding the immunization concerns. The survey data demonstrates the need for improvement of the health visiting service in terms of advancement in counselling skills, rigorous work monitoring, and higher level of health visitors training regarding the recognition of the symptoms of infectious diseases, the methods for successful breastfeeding, and their capability to raise awareness for timely immunization.