Resumo

VERISSIMO, Maria De La Ó R.. Occurrence of respiratory illnesses in municipal and university day-care centers in the city of São Paulo. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2005, vol.15, n.2, pp. 01-12. ISSN 0104-1282.

Many studies have confirmed that children cared for in day-care centers have a higher risk of infections, especially those of the respiratory tract. This investigation had the purpose of characterizing the occurrence of respiratory illnesses in day-care centers and to explore possible associations with the offered care. The inquiry was carried out in two municipal and two university day-care centers, situated in the same region of the city of São Paulo. The data relating to the children under six years old that attended the day-care centers in 2003 were collected in personal records and other documents available at these places, and compared across the different day-care centers. In the two kinds of day-care centers there was great variation of illness episodes, confirming what has been found in other studies. The rate of respiratory illnesses episodes, respectively upper and lower airways infections, was 2.79 and 0.42 per child/year in the municipal day-care centers, and 1.69 and 0.91 per child/year in the university day-care centers. Pneumonia occurrence was higher for children of all ages that started to attend the day-care center in 2003. In conclusion, respiratory diseases continue to be an important cause of sickness in day-care centers. Since these institutions do not have activities focusing on the prevention and control of such illnesses, it is important to conduct more studies that analyze how the offered care can influence children's health in these places.

Palavras-chave : Day-care; Childcare; Respiratory tract infections; Child health.

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