Social and Behavioural Determinants of Seasonal Influenza in Children and Health Promotion Strategies Using the Ottawa Charter PHS4035

Introduction

Seasonal influenza remains a significant menace to the society specifically the under five years old as such they suffer high case of hospitalization and complications or even deaths resulting from the disease as noted by Abdullahi, H., et al., 2021). Thus, seasonal flu produces much more than inflict on separate patients and their kin, it disrupts communities and health care facilities, is costly to economy, and burdens society and health system. Read this case study for purposes of understanding how different relation between the social and behavioural factors such as socioeconomic status, healthcare facility, parental attitude, and environmental conditions make children more vulnerable to seasonal influenza. In addition, this work will reveal best practices in health promotion for minimizing loss due to seasonal flu in children according to the Ottawa charter by Valaitis, R. K., et al., (2020). It is only through defining these factors and coming up with the right programs to address the issue that the impact of seasonal influenza to the children and the public can be solved.

Impact of the Seasonal Influenza

This current flu is not to be taken lightly, especially for the kids, first, half of the flu fatalities are recorded among children below the age of five years. According to the CDC in 2020 situational analysis on influenza, children within this age group are the most at risk of hospitalization due to complications of influenza. Delahoy et al. (2023) conduct a study on similar contexts and also observe that young children are much more likely to have severe outcomes of influenza.

The study proves that alpha influenza is present and is still a threat to the wellbeing of children in Australia. From the report, flu hospitalization rate is 145 per 100000 kids below 16 year of age by ABS (2019). This means that many children are out of school, sick and getting hospitalized annually.

In general, the seasonal flu is greatly effective on childrens health in the various ways highlighted as follows. Besides, the flu may cause ear infections, aggravate chronic diseases such as asthma (Paris, J., 2023), and severe complications, namely, pneumonia and bronchiolitis. But there are other costs of influenza to families and the health system: economic and social.

Therefore, it is important to assure children to adopt Preventive measures such as vaccination as well as proper washing of hands in order to minimize their chances of getting influenza. In this manner, we are able to reduce the incidence of or worsening health risks associated with influenza as well as admissions and other ramifications.

Social and Behavioural Determinants

• Social Determinants

Those societal factors are very influential in the risk status of influenza in kids, and the implications are severe and wide-reaching that they are capable of worsening the disease and its effects (Cohen, S., 2021). Low Socioeconomic status puts up several barriers to healthcare such that timely health care, immunization, and treatment are negated. This largely exposes children to more severe harm from the flu hence higher risk of severe illness and complications. These include poor housing conditions s, overcrowding, inadequate ventilation to enhance the flu virus proliferation and obtain increased own complications.

• Behavioural Determinants

There are high risks of the transmission of the flu among children due to behavioural factors most of which are unwilling to take the flu vaccine (Schmid, P., et al., 2017). A lack of knowledge on the safety of vaccines or their lack of efficacy, ignorance, poor understanding or, inability to access vaccination services result in poor immunization. Some of the weaknesses include; unsuitable sanitation particularly hand washing practices that involve either very little washing or washing that is done inappropriately like that practiced in schools and centres for early learning increase flu virus transference, thus promoting the spread of the disease. Also, fail to seek medical check-up when complaining symptoms makes the virus spread within households and communities and increases the likelihood of developing serious health complications. These behavioural risky factors can be eliminated through education, awareness and carrying out of specific measures to reduce risky behaviours that heighten the spread of influenza.

Health Promotion Action based on three Pillars of the Ottawa Charter

This health promotion action fits into Ottawa Charters Health Promotion Wheel in regard to its principles of supportiveness, community participation and education (Saadati, F., & Nadrian, H., 2024). Such a campaign on flu awareness as well as their prevention is a HIV approach staged in childcare facilities. The campaign includes:

Supportive Environments

It is therefore important to establish supportive contexts so as to enhance the health-related status of people. In the case of flu awareness campaign, this involves making sure that the childcare centres have clean water, sanitation and waste disposal. Procedures for how often to clean and or disinfect objects and high contact surfaces should also be put in place. A healthy environment especially the physical environment in a school, through the creation of proper ventilation, will help to reduce the spread of flu.

Community Action

Promoting community participation is essential since it assists the citizens in owning up for their health and nutrition. In the context of the flu awareness campaign, this means working with the parents, staff, the community in the fight against flu and promotion of health. Also, has encouraged the community members to be active in participating in the health enhancement and the fight against flu. For collective effort to be achieved in the campaign, they should be able to develop partnerships with the local organizations and stakeholders.

Health Education

Health education is central to increasing the knowledge and skills of individuals or populations in order to achieve better health for all. In the case of flu awareness campaign, this involves giving lectures and involving the people in talks regarding immunization of flu, washing hands and general hygienic approaches. This further recommends that songs, dances and drama or skits are good teaching aid, which could be used to complement health education. It also worth to point out that breaking the cultural and linguistic barriers is crucial when providing health education to as many people of the community as possible.

The campaign is aimed at Bhutanese immigrant clients; this reduces cultural barriers as well as language barriers. It employs attractive performing arts to incorporate washing of hands fun and corporate thus enhancing public trust in flu vaccines safety and efficacy. Since health promotion includes creation of conditions that help to promote health, creating opportunities to enable people and assembling community, the given scheme corresponds to the ideas of the Ottawa Charter. It will work to decrease the effects of flue particularly to the children and the entire society with intention to promote health and wellness.

Motivational Interviewing Examples

To engage in a discussion about the health promotion opportunity using Motivational Interviewing (MI), I would focus on two key strategies: fighting against common framed fears and anxieties as the exploration of ambivalent-context by the judicious use of positive intentions of getting flu vaccination for children (Cataldi, J. R., et al., 2024).

1. Self-Reflection and Analysis of Ambivalent Thoughts, feelings and Behaviours: Fears and Anxieties

Example Question: Any feelings or apprehensions you may have about taking your child for the flu vaccine are quite understandable since parents have mixed feelings about it and, therefore, sharing your thoughts with us is good because we can work out the feelings together.

Purpose: It allows parents to put their fears of being judged into consideration as they air their concern in one question. Uncertainty is invariably a major source of inaction, not least where the choice concerns a childs welfare. Some parents may have concerns on the dangers of taking the vaccine, its side effects or whether it is even necessary. In this case, by inviting the parent to make these professional concerns known; they will be out in the open and can be handle.

Another advantage of MI is that parents concerns are listened to and such attitudes decrease their susceptibility to being resistant. It means that once the parents have voiced their concern or fear you can share factual information which will guide the parents from a state of the fear to a rational decision making.

2. Strengthen Positive Attitudes to Actions by Emphasising the Positive Outcomes

Example Question: Based on your desire to maintain your childs health, how do you imagine that a flu shot may help your child this season?

Purpose: This question of theirs moves from the concept of fear to the effect of vaccination. MI pays a special attention to the issue of enhancement of motivation and values of the client. By incorporating childs health as part of the conversation, you make it easier for the parent to embrace what you will be soon discussing since it will be in tune with what the parent wants anyway.

This means that by raising the parents awareness of the benefits of vaccination, they empower themselves to consider vaccination as something that is good for them and their children, as well as develop motivational self-efficacy to be protected from unpleasant consequences and to adhere to vaccination recommendations. Benefits that can be discussed can be related to the prevention of school or work absence, risk reduction of severe complications and protection of vulnerable family members.

Conclusion

Therefore, it remains a fact that a seasonal influenza is dangerous for children; it is crucial to understand that all these social factors, including norms, culture, language, and even literacy do contribute to growing threat of the flu and hinder childrens vaccination. Such issues expose gaps in programme health promotion where workforce childcare centres need a well-designed programme especially for the immigrant groups such as the Bhutanese in Brisbane. Such programs can help establish the habit of healthy behaviours on issues such as immunization, hygiene and combating the flu. Also, the healthcare workers also have the critical functions, which is to apply Motivational Interviewing when trying to deal with the vaccine indecision in order to assist parents and, therefore, enhance the populations health.

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