MDHB News

Public Health: Child & Youth Health Services

MidCentral Health’s Public Health Service provides a range of health services within the early childhood, primary and secondary education sector.

Further information about child and youth health can be found in the document 'The Determinants of Health for Children and Young People in MidCentral'.

Lady and two young girls walking along a footpath in the rain with umbrellas

Maximising child health gains requires a focus on improving health outcomes for children in the MidCentral District Health Board district. The Public Health Service takes a “whole child approach” to planning and providing services for children, their family and the immediate community.

MDHB Child Health Strategy Vision:

“Children/tamariki and their families/whanau are paramount in our community and we will work together to improve their health outcomes by considering their wairua (spirituality), and physical, mental and social wellbeing”

Public Health Service Early Childhood Centre & School based services include:

Public Health Nursing Service
Vision Hearing Screening Service
Medical Officer
Health Promoting Schools

Public Health Nursing Service

Public health nursing is a specialised field of nursing practice within the wider area of health.

MidCentral Health’s Public Health Service is committed to maintaining and enhancing the health status of children, adolescents and their families in the preschool and school setting. The focus is the identification of children with health needs and onward referral, health promotion and disease prevention.

Public Health Nurses (PHNs) are registered nurses who collectively bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their work. Public Health Nurses:

Work to ensure the well being of children, young people and their families.
Advocate for children, young people and their families by working alongside their families/ whanau, school staff, allied health professionals and social agencies to ensure positive health outcomes.
Organise and deliver immunisation programmes in schools.
Follow-up children and young people with identified hearing/ vision needs.
Provide specialist nursing services to school children as required.
Resource schools in planning health education and health promotion in the following Public Health programmes; Well Child, Nutrition and Physical Activity, Tobacco Control, Mental Health promotion, Communicable Disease and Immunisation programmes.
Resource the Early Childhood sector in planning health education and health promotion in the following Well Child Public Health programmes; Oral Health, Hearing Loss Prevention, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Asthma Prevention, Parenting Programme and Skills Promotion.
Work closely with schools to promote and support development of Health Promoting Schools.
Work closely with schools to promote and support the delivery of the Fruit In Schools Initiative - Decile 1 & 2 only.
Provide specialist youth clinics in high schools and the community.
Have general linkages to Public Health Programmes e.g. responding to emergent health events.

Referrals can be received from

Parent/ Caregiver
Education Services – RTLBs (Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour), Early Childhood Centres and schools,
Primary Health Organisation (PHO) / General Practice Team (GPT),
Child Youth and Family (CYF),
Interagency Coordination (Strengthening Families),
Paediatricians
Dental Services

Vision Hearing Screening Service

Public Health Vision Hearing Screening Service is a specialised field of practice within the wider area of health. Their committment is to maintaining and enhancing the health status of individual children, adolescents and their families in the preschool and school setting. The focus is the detection and referral of children with identified hearing and vision problems to appropriate agencies for assessment and or intervention. This minimises the impact of hearing and vision problems on the child’s overall development.

“ Screening is a health service where people from certain population groups, (who may not see they are affected by disease or at risk) are asked a question or offered a test. This is to identify those people who may benefit from future tests or from treatment to reduce the risk or effects of a disease or condition.”

The Vision Hearing Screening Service offers

The Vision Hearing Screening programme is a national programme designed to identify the prevalence of undetected vision and hearing problems at specific targeted age groups in New Zealand children.

Vision Hearing Technicians;

Undertake screening of children aged 3 to 11 years
tympanometry screening at 3 years and 5years
audiometry at 5 years
squint and visual acuity at 4 years, 5 years
visual acuity 11 years
colour vision at 11 years (boys only).
Refer children with identified vision/hearing problems to appropriate agencies for assessment and/or intervention.
Have established links with other health professionals -especially for those children who may be at risk of adverse outcomes.
Promote understanding of the Vision Hearing Screening services in registered educational settings, so that educational staff can refer appropriately.
Provide a culturally appropriate screening service and provide information to all children and their families/whanau. We recognise the needs of identified priority groups including tamariki Maori and Pacific children.

Admission Criteria

Any child registered in an early childhood centre if aged 3 years plus with informed parental consent
Any school aged child with informed parental consent

Referrals can be received from

Parent/ Caregiver
Education Services – RTLBs (Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour), Early Childhood Centres and schools,
Primary Health Organisation (PHO) / General Practice Team (GPT),
Child Youth and Family (CYF),
Interagency Coordination (Strengthening Families),
Paediatricians,
Dental Services

Medical Officer

The Child and Youth Service of MidCentral Health’s Public Health Service has a Medical Officer. This Doctor works with Public Health Nurses and Vision and Hearing Technicians to optimise the health and well being of pre-school and school age children and young people. Advice and medical services are provided.

The service is particularly provided to families with no regular general practitioner (e.g. mobile families) and to “at risk” children and families. Clinics are held at Public Health bases and at schools and early childhood centres, in the MidCentral Health region.

Services provided by the Medical Officer include:

Providing health education and advice to children and youth.
Making referrals as appropriate e.g. to general practitioners, audiologists or specialists
Providing medical advice and support for public health nurses throughout the Midcentral Health region.
Providing medical advice and support for the vision hearing technicians. e.g. Assessment and medical examination of children who have failed tympanometry, hearing, or vision tests
Assessment and medical examination of students (primary & high school) and young people referred by the public health nurses, vision hearing technicians, teachers, school counsellors and parents
Providing medical advice and/or assessment and examination for high school students and young people who have self-referred
Providing contraceptive advice and treatment to high school students and youth
Providing treatment for the prevention of Rheumatic fever

Health Promoting Schools

MidCentral Health’s Public Health Service works with schools throughout our region on Health Promoting Schools strategies and projects.

What is a Health Promoting School?

The World Health Organisation defines a Health Promoting School as “ a school that is constantly strengthening itself as a healthy setting for learning and working”. This sets the Health Promoting School approach – not a programme as such but a hikoi or journey to health, for students, staff and community encompassing many different activities and aspects of health.

The main focus is on low decile school communities, however we work with all interested schools. Can get advice and assistance. Strategies foster supportive school environments and the mapping process gets students, staff and whanau to look at what does a healthy school mean. The first step is to identify and celebrate the good practice or strengths, and then prioritise what is to be worked on.

What is emphasised?

Health is for everyone to think about – not just nurses and health teachers

Making it easier to have healthy choices
Using a “whole school” or systems approach to change
Te Whare Tapa Wha (four cornerstones of health) model of Maori Health

All this is set within the framework of reducing inequalities and improving access for communities

Resource persons to assist schools in the process:

Health Promoting Schools Advisor
Fruit in Schools Advisor
Public Health Nurses
Health Protection Officers and other Health Promoters are available for advice on a wide range of areas from lifestyles to food and water safety.

What are schools doing?

After consulting their wider school communities schools have addressed a broad range of topics. A number address food and physical activity, some address surrounding infrastructure. A sample:

Replacing winter sausage sizzles with soup and bun lunches or healthy hamburgers
Fundraising with sunblock not chocolate
Lobbying for roading changes
Recycling
Upgrading school water quality
Shared school breakfasts
Revamping canteen and food choices
Walking programme for staff and students
Involvement with neighbouring wetlands

Schools in the district that are participating include:

Ashhurst School
Cornerstone Christian School
Fairfield School
Foxton Beach Primary
Hillcrest Primary – Pahiatua
Horowhenua College
Otaki College
Pahiatua Primary

For further information:

Kidshealth
Joint initiative between Starship Foundation and Paediatric Society of N.Z.
Extensive information on Conditions, tests and treatments; Parent Support;
Support groups and Keeping Your Child Well.
NZAAHD
New Zealand Association for Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD) is a national network organisation for people who work with young people (12 - 25).
Site has news, updates, reports and documents.
(IMAC) NZ
Immunisation Advisory Centre
Allergy NZ
Allergy news, information, and support.
Asthmanz
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of NZ website has information, news, research and resources relating to asthma and other lung illnesses.
Sexual Health Service
Information, links, clinic and contact details. (Or ring 06 350 8602)
Health Promoting Schools - resources, discussion forums, newsletters, research and links.
Fruit in schools Ministry of Health information on goals and objectives, case studies, FAQs, publications, how to create your own FIS programme.
SmokeFree Schools-Fruit in Schools Links and criteria
Education-NHF National Heart Foundation page for Schools and Early Childhood Centres outling the programmes offered around healthy eating policies plus body facts, heart health and under fives nutrition.
Heart Health-NHF Page with links to statistics, FAQs and information on healthy living.
Healthy Eating-NHF Food and Nutrition information.

Contact Details

Public Health Nursing Service office Hours: 8am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday (not open on public holidays)

Public Health Clinics
Palmerston North Health On Main 575 Main Street Palmerston North Ph (06) 350 4560 Fax (06) 350 4561 Freephone 0800 153 042	Dannevirke Gordon Street Health Centre 11 Gordon Street Dannevirke Ph (06) 374 8496 Fax (06) 374 8937
Pahiatua Pahiatua Medical Centre Corner Main and Centre Streets Ph (06) 376 7444 (option 4) Fax (06) 376 6136	Pongaroa PO Box 20 Weber Road Ph (06) 376 2807 Fax (06) 376 2511
Horowhenua Horowhenua Health Centre Liverpool Street Levin Ph (06) 366 0888 Fax (06) 366 4049	Manawatu Clevely Health Centre Duke Street Feilding Ph 06 323 6658 Fax 06 323 8388