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81
Chronic Invalidity in Children of School Age.
The attendance officers furnish each month a return of the children who have
been absent from school for a period of over three months. A register of all such
children is kept in the public health department, and this affords the most complete
information that we have in regard to the extent and causes of chronic invalidity
in children. Inquiries are instituted to ascertain that the children are receiving
adequate treatment and to see that steps are taken to ensure return to school if
the child be fit or education in a special school if that be deemed advisable.
In November of each year a census is taken of the children then out of school
for over three months. In November, 1926, the number on the list was 2,130 compared
with 2,398, 2,608 and 2,683 in the three previous Novembers. The following
table gives details of the cases for the last four years:—
Complaint.
Rheumatism, heart and chorea
Nervous disorders
Tuberculosis (pulmonary and other)
Anaemia and debility
Ringworm
Skin complaints (other than ringworm
Eye complaints
Infectious diseases
Other diseases
All diseases (total No. of cases)
Total No. of children out of school
Children.
1923. 1924. 1925. 1926.
652 672 614 537
274 288 268 249
462 399 322 268
184 201 196 169
145 85 81 27
66 76 72 62
112 135 103 92
67 *98 *92 *103
764 732 737 732
2,726 2,686 2,485 2,239
2,683 2,608 2,398 2,130
Percentage of total.
1923. 1924. 1925. 1926.
23.92 25.02 24.71 23.98
10.05 10.72 10.78 11.12
16.95 14.86 12.96 11.97
6.75 7.48 7.89 7.55
5.32 3.16 3.26 1.21
2.42 2.83 2.9 2.77
4.11 5.03 4.14 4.11
2.46 3.65 3.7 4.6
28.02 27.25 29.66 32.69
* Including encephalitis lethargica.
Rheumatism, heart disease and chorea are responsible for 537 cases or nearly
24 per cent. of the total, the rheumatic group of cases thus easily topping the list
of causes of chronic invalidity in children, tuberculosis for 268 or 12 per cent., while
anæmia, debility and lung disease (pre-tubercular cases) account for 367 or 16 per cent.
103 or 4.6 per cent. of the cases were absent as a result of infectious disease, including
the sequelae of measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria, and cases of encephalitis
lethargica.
Cases of ringworm are gradually disappearing from these lists owing to the much
larger proportion of cases submitted to X-ray treatment. The figures for the years
1921-1926 were 231, 200, 145, 85, 81, 27. Among older girls the incidence of heart
disease is twice that among the older boys, but taken generally the figures relating
to long absences show that both among boys and girls the younger ages provide
the greater number of cases. There were 570 boys and 611 girls recorded from 5—9
years of age and 401 boys and 548 girls from 10—14. The higher incidence of
infectious disease on the younger children and the fact that children are not admitted
to special schools under the age of 7 to some extent account for the higher proportion
at the earlier ages.
There were 24 children suffering from the effects of encephalitis lethargica.
Medical Treatment.
The growth of the medical treatment scheme from its beginning in 1910 was
reviewed in the annual report for the year 1925. At the end of the year 1926 there
were 12 hospitals and 64 centres, in addition to the dental centre at Bushy Camp
School. The provision made for the several ailments and the numbers treated.
during the year were as follows:—