Primary Health Care

This APP is for use by doctors, nurses and other health workers who are responsible for the care of children and adolescents at the primary health care level. It provides guidance on how to manage – and when to refer – children and adolescents presenting with common complaints and conditions. It includes information to enable primary health care providers to coordinate the continued care of children and adolescents with long-term conditions and diseases managed by specialists. Preventive and promotive measures from the newborn period to adolescence include advice on the timing and content of well-child visits, the promotion of early childhood development and health messages for adolescents.

The APP aims to improve the diagnosis and management of common conditions in children and adolescents that can be managed at the outpatient level. It helps to improve the use of laboratory and other diagnostic measures and the rational use of essential drugs and equipment.

The recommendations apply across the WHO European Region and may be adapted by countries to suit their specific circumstances. The APP is based on information from existing WHO and other evidence-based guidelines. Details of the evidence on which it is based can be found on the WHO/EURO website. It will be updated regularly as new evidence emerges.

The APP includes practical tools such as a drug calculator to support with and minimize errors in the calculation of correct dosages according to weight, automated growth-plotting on growth curves, tools for classification of severity of pneumonia, dehydration, croup and asthma exacerbation, as well as a tool for indications for antibiotics for children with acute otitis media.

To support the health care provider to provide counselling, the APP also includes counselling boxes directed at parents and caregivers with information on how to care for the child at home.

The APP also allows users to save information under Favorites & notes.

This APP enables health care providers to deliver on the promise of quality primary health care. Its focus on evidence-based practices and prevention ensures that children and adolescents receive the care they need and avoids unnecessary treatment and hospitalization.