Aiming for medical and health care that views and supports children biopsychosocially

Abstract

Although our country’s neonatal and infant mortality rates are the lowest in the world, the psychological health of children is rated by UNICEF as poor among OECD countries. Health is defined as a state of physical, psychological and social well-being. The number of children and adolescents with chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or mental health problems and in need of some form of medical care or support is increasing; the number of children in medical care is increasing; and the number of children with low birth weight and proportion of low birth weight children is increasing. The number of medical check-ups is low among developed countries, and school health check-ups do not evaluate and support children psychologically and socially. It is necessary to establish a system to examine and support children physically, psychologically and socially. We hope that the Basic Act on Child Development, the Basic Act on Children and Families and the Children and Families Agency will help to solve the problems of pediatric medicine and health in Japan.