A National School Health Campaign in Lebanon on Children Aged between 3 and 12 Years Old: Concordance Level between Parents’ Reports and Medical Visit Findings about Physical and Mental Health

Children · 11 authors, 8 centres

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FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

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TL;DR

The central result was that parents reported more accurately on observable physical symptoms but showed significant mismatch or unawareness for non-observable issues like mental health.

Full summary

502 CHARS

The authors note that kappa statistics for low-prevalence conditions may be less reliable. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, reliance on self-reporting leading to potential social desirability and recall biases, and the inability to determine which informant (parent or child) is more accurate. The findings imply a need for improved parent-physician communication and parental education, particularly regarding children's emotional and mental well-being, to address these knowledge gaps.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

pediatrics

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10887313

A National School Health Campaign in Lebanon on Children Aged between 3 and 12 Years Old: Concordance Level between Parents’ Reports and Medical Visit Findings about Physical and Mental Health

Children

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ABSTRACT

Abstract A school’s commitment to promoting health extends beyond students’ efforts to encompass parental involvement and must recognize the critical role of parents in enhancing overall student well-being. This study, conducted in 27 schools across Lebanon, assessed parents’ awareness of their children’s physical and mental health. A school health campaign involved direct medical interventions on 7184 students, followed by phone interviews with 3880 parents to compare their responses with the medical findings. Discordances ranged from extreme mismatches (≥50%) to mild mismatches (<15%), with notable disparities in incomplete vaccination (67.8%), BMI (59%), and mental health indicators (expressions of sadness (69.1%), loneliness (61.0%), and anxiety (53.4%)). Factors such as school type, child’s age, governorate, family income, parents’ occupation, education level, and marital status significantly influenced discordance rates. Notably, mental health aspects exhibited higher disparities, emphasizing the need for improved communication between parents, physicians, and children. Bridging these gaps could empower parents with better knowledge, fostering environments conducive to lifelong healthy behaviors in children. The study underscores the urgency for enhanced communication strategies to bridge discrepancies and ensure a more comprehensive understanding of children’s physical and mental well-being. Keywords: children, parents, Lebanon, schools, interventions, screening, mental health, concordance, mismatch

CITATION EXPORT

Léa Tahan, Peter Habchy, Charbel Moussi et al.. A National School Health Campaign in Lebanon on Children Aged between 3 and 12 Years Old: Concordance Level between Parents’ Reports and Medical Visit Findings about Physical and Mental Health. Children. (2024). https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020214

AUTHORS

11 · 8 CENTRES

Léa Tahan, Peter Habchy, Charbel Moussi, Tia Khadra, Melissa Jawich, Alain Njeim, Ogarite Kattan, Leila Abou Habib, Wassim El Bitar, Béchara El Asmar, Mirna N Chahine

1Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; [email protected] (L.T.); [email protected] (P.H.); [email protected] (C.M.); [email protected] (T.K.); [email protected] (M.J.); [email protected] (A.N.); [email protected] (O.K.)
2Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (Order of Malta Lebanon), Vanlian Bldg, 6th Fl. City Rama Str. Dekwaneh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-4286, Lebanon; [email protected] (L.A.H.); [email protected] (W.E.B.); [email protected] (B.E.A.)
3Department of Pediatrics, Bellevue Medical Center University Hospital, Mansourieh P.O. Box 295, Lebanon
4Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon
5Department of Cardiology, Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital, Achrafieh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-5190, Lebanon
6Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon
7Foundation-Medical Research Institutes (F-MRI®), Achrafieh, Beirut P.O. Box 64, Lebanon
8Foundation-Medical Research Institutes (F-MRI®), 1211 Geneva, Switzerland