Read the report from the yearly school health checkup yourself, and take any abnormal item to a hospital the same year
- High value
- Evidence B
- Buys life
- For: Child aged 3–18
- Free
- Takes minutes
- No willpower
In plain words
Primary and secondary schools organize a health checkup for students once a year. The key items on the report are overweight, obesity, undernutrition, abnormal spinal curvature, poor eyesight and tooth decay, which are the easiest to let slide. Don't glance at height and weight and put the report away. If any of these items is abnormal, take the child to a specialist to get it sorted out that same year.
- Cost
-
Free. In compulsory education the checkup fee comes out of the school's operating funds (公用经费), so parents don't pay separately.
- What you get
-
The Administrative Measures for Student Health Checkups in Primary and Secondary Schools (2021 edition) (《中小学生健康体检管理办法（2021 年版）》) require schools to organize 1 health checkup a year for students enrolled. The surgical exam covers the head, neck, chest, spine, limbs, skin and lymph nodes. The eye exam covers the appearance of the eyes, distance vision and refraction (the strength of nearsightedness or farsightedness). The report given to each person should include the findings, an overall assessment and health guidance. Overweight, obesity, undernutrition, abnormal spinal curvature, poor eyesight and tooth decay (cavities) must be treated as the focus of guidance. Education authorities should set up records for students who turn up health problems and follow up with them (write them down and follow up afterward). The checkup fee for students in compulsory education is paid from the school's operating funds, and parents do not pay separately (nationwide, issued September 2021).
- Notes
-
Graded B because this is a document that sets out what schools must do, not a study of effects. What it guarantees is “checks every year, on these items, and follow-up when something abnormal is found”; it does not guarantee that anyone will take charge once a problem is found. A checkup is only a first screening, not a diagnosis. For poor eyesight, go to an eye department for a dilated eye exam (§30.12). For abnormal spinal curvature, see orthopedics or spine surgery (§30.2, don't delay treatment to wait until exams are over). Parents have to take the child to both of these themselves.
- Evidence grade
- B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
- Sources
-
- 国家卫生健康委、教育部 (2021). 中小学生健康体检管理办法（2021 年版）（国卫医发〔2021〕29 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-10/21/content_5644100.htm
Mentioned in
- Don't put off treatment that is due just to “wait until exams are over”; some windows follow bone age, not the exam calendar
- If poor eyesight is found, get a dilated eye exam at a hospital, then go back for follow-up at the intervals the doctor gives
- Get pit-and-fissure sealants once the permanent molars come in
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 30, tip 7. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer