PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN HEALTH PRIORITIES IN A HEALTH DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN ITALY - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

In 1988 a cross-sectional study was carried out in a health district of southern Italy by home interviews; our goal was to evaluate the main health needs of a 3-5 years-old children sample. A random sample of 360 children was studied (CI 95%, standard error 5%). The main themes considered were nutrition, obesity, immunisation, drugs use, primary care, accidents. 34.4% of children was breastfed more than 3 months, 25% of ideal caloric intake per day was introduced with snacks; the prevalence of obesity was 22.2%; non-compulsory immunisation coverage was poor: measles 4.2%, whooping cough 0.6%; 14.7% of children attended pediatric clinics, the mean incidence rate of recovery for accidents was 8.1% per year; the mean incidence rate of recovery was 6.2%; feprazone, an antiinflammatory drug with unfavourable risk/benefit ratio, was the most used drug: in 64.9% of the visited families was present a feprazone confection partially utilized for the sampled child. These data show the necessity both of current data about children health and of health education programs toward pediatricians and families in our country.