Characterization of Young Child Health Surveillance in Portugal During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply influenced the primary healthcare system in Portugal. Knowing that the first two years of life are a period of major development, it is necessary to comply with all the standard moments of screening, surveillance and immunization in this period. The aim of this study was to characterize health surveillance in the first two years, as well as to evaluate the fulfilment of the guideline 008/2020 release on 26th March 2020 by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study based on the application of an anonymous questionnaire to caretakers of children until 24 months of age through social media. The collected data refers to the period of March 2020 to March 2021. Results: This study included 452 children. The coverage of the newborn metabolic screening was 99.6%. Regarding vaccination, 81.9% of the children fulfilled the national program on time and 15.9% with delay. Around 1/3 of the children experienced delay and/or cancelation of the routine consultations. In the group of children aged between 12 to 18 months (n=150), 69.3% complied with the minimum of six consultations during the 1st year of life; and in the group aged between 18 to 24 months (n=116), 72.4% complied with the minimum of one consultation during this period. Conclusion: It is necessary to create strategies to improve compliance with the 008/2020 guideline, especially regarding immunization and consultations at the defined ages, in order to optimize children health surveillance even during pandemics.
Portuguese Journal of Pediatrics, Vol. 1 N.º 1 (2010): Online First