An exploratory study on the role of paternal risk factors in childhood illness: Case study of India
Introduction
Acquisition of childhood illnesses can potentially impact children’s short and long-term functioning, impairing children’s ability to grow, learn and play and eventually to become productive working adults and parents themselves. Illnesses and diseases can force children to stay at home, visit doctors or lie in hospital bed when they should be in schools or at play. As such, the most profound effects of children’s illnesses cannot be described or understood in monetary terms. Hence, being aware of the putative risks factors addresses childhood sickness at three levels as it promotes improvements in the health system, health workers’ skills and family and community practices. This is critical considering that self-management that aims at teaching children and their parents to take greater responsibility for their own health is at the core. Such health initiative is also critical because of the fact that childhood is prime time for unhealthy diets which can provoke diseases and other illnesses in adulthood but have their roots in early formative years.
Nevertheless, several of the etiological factors mostly points to maternal factors and paternal risk factors that could initiate a disease in the child are often not considered. Literatures regarding paternal risk factors are limited although there are studies outside India that prove conclusively that the father is equally a major contributor to the health risk of his child. Carrying out therefore an exploratory survey on the paternal factors responsible for childhood illnesses in India is critical. This study contends that paternal factors like those known to be of maternal origin could have the same effect on the development of illnesses among children. The lack of concern for paternal effects as potential antecedents of childhood illnesses seems puzzling especially because fathers and mothers could have equal influences genetically and environmentally.
Aim objective
The main aim of this study is to bring about an awareness among the medical fraternity and among the general public that fathers are equally responsible (as are mothers), to have healthy children. Such a study would change the outlook toward preventive aspects of childhood illness. It would (hopefully) make the father to be actively involved in changing his life style and unhealthy practices to work to have healthy children. In lieu with this, the study will seek to address the following research objective:
· To determine genetic and environmental paternal risks factors that could lead to childhood illnesses
Methodology
The research will be exploratory because it aims to know more about the phenomenon of childhood illness and parental risks factors. As an exploratory study, it aims to determine the present facts as well as facts that are not yet explored about the phenomenon. The research strategy that will be used for this study is exploratory. This approach is a preferred mean of finding out “what is happening to seek new insights” or “to ask questions or to assess phenomena in a new light” (, 2003; , 2002). This study will use the principal ways of conducting exploratory research, which include literature search; talking to experts about the subject; and conducting focus group interview.
In this study, primary and secondary research will be both incorporated. The reason for this is to be able to provide adequate discussion for the readers that will help them understand more about the issue and the different variables that involve with it. The primary data for the study will be represented by the survey results that will be acquired from the respondents. On the other hand, the literature reviews to be presented in the second chapter of the study will represent the secondary data of the study. The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from medical books and journals and theses and related studies.
Another method that will be employed is the case study. According to (2002), a case study is a “strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence.” This study will be using a case study technique to isolate the occurrence of country of origin concept, particularly in the country of India.
Reference
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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