Now, get online guidance for your kids’ health

Nagpur: The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) Maharashtra has joined hands with the Maharashtra unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to launch a first-of-its-kind online guidance on children’s health for parents, teachers, and caregivers.The IAP’s YouTube Channel MAHAIAP will host an expert lecture every day on children’s health. Paediatricians from across the state will speak on different child health issues for an hour. Initially, the doctors had planned lectures daily up to May 25. But, their long-term plan is to continue this for 105 days, except Sundays. “As it was International Nurses Day on May 12, we used this opportunity to train nurses on various issues. Experts shared valuable tips about improvement of physical‚ mental‚ psychological and social health of nurses,” said Dr Anjali Gokarn, who coordinated the online event. As the initiative was started on Nurses Day, the first week of lectures will be dedicated to nurses.From Nagpur, veteran paediatrician Dr Vasant Khalatkar participated in the discussion and spoke about the importance of nurses in children’s health care. “During the Covid pandemic, I realized that the work of nurses is as life-saving as oxygen in a pandemic,” said Dr Khalatkar, who also heads the infectious disease committee of the Academy of Paediatrics.Dr Archana Joshi, veteran paediatrician from Virar, shared valuable tips for nurses working in children’s hospitals. She told them the nuances of interacting with children, their worried parents and relatives, and how to bridge the communication gap between doctors and patients. “Nurses are more important in the children’s hospital because kids need care more than medicines. So, we started this event on Nurses Day and dedicated first seven days for nurses’ education,” she said. The ALPAC formula shared by her — which is an abbreviation of Ask, Listen, Praise, Advise, and Check — was a valuable communication tip for all those who interact with children and their parents.Dr Hemant Joshi, a child heath crusader, said 105-day-long initiative is planned for parents to make them aware of various aspects of children’s health. “In 2022, the AOP and doctors had penned 105 booklets on different aspects of child health. We translated them into Marathi too. But, we realize that YouTube interaction reaches people more than books. So, we have planned to share the contents of each book online, free of cost, and in simple Marathi,” he said.
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