Family Health Paper II (D)

Course description

The family health component of the curriculum is designed to increase the knowledge and competency of students in addressing issues in family health. The course is designed to help the students understand family health issues with a holistic rights based approach and life cycle perspective as well as apply them in addressing the problems of family health in a comprehensive manner.

General objectives

At the end of the course the students will be able to explain the concept of family health, its determinants and needs; the life cycle perspective with major issues, their determinants, and appropriate measures to address them at different stages of life and importance of nutrition in health, nutritional requirement at different stages of life, breast feeding and supplementary feeding, nutritional problems, and measures to address them, anthropometric parameters, Governmental policy and strategies in nutrition.

Specific objectives:

Unit 1: Concept of Family Health

Students will be able to

  • explain concept on family health
  • describe holistic — biomedical and bio-psycho-social model of family health
  • describe functions of family and its relation to health care utilization (for example, sickness role, interactions among family members in health disease, counselling and rehabilitation)
  • describe determinants of family health (Living and working conditions; physical
  • environment, personal health practices, etc.)
  • explain the concept and social construct of gender, interpret gender as determinant of health.
  • describe the problems faced by the family and their impacts on family health, for example, Teenage marriage and its consequences; Broken and dysfunctional families; Disability and rehabilitation; Substance abuse; Gender based violence including girl trafficking
  • identify the role of medical professional in addressing these family health problems

Unit 2: Family Health in Life Cycle perspective

2.1. Child health

Students will be able to

  • analyze the child health situation of the region and Nepal
  • describe the causes and childhood morbidity and mortality — neonatal, infancy and under five year old children.
  • explain the mother’s health and its relation with child health
  • describe the child survival strategies historical perspective and the current approaches
  • identify the social problems in children (child abuse, abandoned or street children, child labour, conflict and refugee situation and its impact on child health)
  • describe importance and methods of child health surveillance
  • analyze the importance of child rights and protection in child development aspect

2.2. Adolescent Health

Students will be able to

  • identify the adolescent health needs for growth and development.
  • analyze adolescent’s problems in Nepal, including teenage pregnancy, STDs, drug abuse, alcoholism, smoking, accidents, violence, crime etc.
  • describe approaches to address the adolescent health problems, life skill education and national adolescent health strategy

2.3. Reproductive Health

Students will be able to

  • describe the evolution of the concept of reproductive health, its components and relevance.
  • Explain the major problems related to reproductive health (STD including HIV/AIDS)
  • describe the approaches to address the reproductive health problems

2.4. Maternal Health

Students will be able to

  • describe maternal health situation (morbidity and mortality)
  • identify the approaches to address the maternal health problems

2.5. Aging and Health

Students will be able to

  • identify the issues of healthy aging
  • identify the major health problems and their magnitude
  • describe approaches to address the health of elderly people

2.6 Family Planning and Contraceptive Use

Students will be able to

  • Describe types and recent trends in contraception, their mode of action, efficacy, indications and contraindications. Importance of counselling and follow-up; calculation of indicators that are commonly used.
  • analyse the importance of FP program in health (social, economic, environment, quality of life etc)
  • discuss factors associated with use and non use of contraceptives, benefit, side effects, and contraindication of contraceptive devices
  • explain approaches in Family Planning program: Right-based, Responsible parenthood

Unit 3: Food and Nutrition

Students will be able to

  • describe nutrition and importance of food and nutrition
  • explain the metabolism of nutrients, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, minerals and vitamins
  • analyze the nutritional value of locally available food, cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, egg, milk and dairy products
  • discuss the food hygiene and effect of unhygienic food
  • describe the food processing, its effects on nutrients of food processing and storage
  • describe the food adulteration and health hazards
  • discuss mycotoxin and nutrition

3.2 Nutritional requirement at different stages of life

Students will be able to

  • identify balanced diet and its importance for different age, sex, occupational groups
  • analyze and describe nutritional needs during different stages of life: infancy, adolescence, pregnancy, lactation and old age

3.3 Breast feeding

Students will be able to

  • describe the physiology of breast milk production
  • discuss the advantages of breast-feeding
  • explain artificial feeding and its impact on health
  • analyze breast-feeding in different health conditions including HIV/ AIDS

3.4 Supplementary feeding

Students will be able to

  • describe the types and approaches and importance of supplementary feeding

3.5 Problems related to nutrition and health

Students will be able to

  • describe the malnutrition, its types, magnitude and management
  • analyze the poverty, infection and malnutrition

3.6. Anthropometric measurement

Students will be able to

  • identify the indicators of nutritional status
  • describe and apply the measurement technique: weight for age, height-for age, weight for height and mid arm circumference
  • interpret the anthropometric findings

3.7 Nutrition plans, policies and program in Nepal

Students will be able to

  • describe the national policy and strategies in nutrition
  • analyse nutritional programs conducted by GO, NGO/ INGO
  • describe and analyse food supplementation programs
  • discuss the legislative issues and quality control regarding food production, transportation, marketing and consumption

Unit 4. Nutritional survey

Students will be able to

  • identify the nutritional survey in Nepal
  • analyze the nutritional status of Nepalese people and current nutritional studies and research
  1. Adhikari RK, and Krantz ME. Child Nutrition and Health. Health Learning Material Center, TU, lOM
  2. King FS and Burgess A. Nutrition for Developing Publication Countries. Oxford Medical Publication
  3. The Health Aspect of Food and Nutrition, WHO
  4. Vidhybhushan. Fundamentals of Sociology
  5. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, 2006