Health conditions of children under five years old who participate in the “from zero to always” program in pamplona, norte de santander Condiciones de salud de niños menores de cinco años que participan en el programa “de cero a siempre” en pamplona, norte de santander

Abstract

The objective of this article is to determine general health conditions of the children who participate in the “From Zero to Always” program. A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed applied to the legal guardians of the children participating in the “From zero to always” program in Pamplona (Colombia) during the second semester of 2012. The average age of the children whose parents were evaluated was 2.98 years (±1.15). 85.2% of the surveys were answered by the children's mothers, who have a primary (43.6%) and secondary (42.3%) educational level and mainly belong to stratum one (51.9%) and two (40.7%). The average breastfeeding duration of the children was 14.29 months (±9.68). In motor development activities, children began to sit up alone at 6 months, crawl at 8 months, walk unassisted at 13 months, and run at 17 months. 96% of homes have a public water supply. 22% of infants are around someone who smokes. Some have a history of serious health problems (37%) such as respiratory infections and bronchitis. As conclusions, some behaviors related to the health of children under five years of age and their families have been identified. In general, parents maintain practices that prevent the appearance of diseases, except for living with smokers. The characteristics related to motor development evaluated are consistent with the reference parameters established in the literature.