Physical development of infants, children of different socio-health environment in Abidjan

Résumé

The physical development of the infant, the child would depend, among other things, on
life situations that are offered to him. These possibilities of existence could, thus, differ from
one country to another. The effect of those proposed to those living in Côte d'Ivoire on their
physical acquisitions is far from being sufficiently examined. This study compares the physical
development of infants and children from less favorable socio-health settings to that of their
peers with a more equipped health and social environment.
It concerned 191 children aged 6 to 59 months, including 104 from disadvantaged social
and health backgrounds and 87 selected from a relatively privileged socio-health environment.
The physical development level of the two groups of children was examined by considering the
body weight, body size and head circumference presented by the two groups of children. The
values relating to these physical dimensions have been expressed in standard deviation units
with respect to the average reference value of each bodily parameter considered, that is to say
in z-scores. The information obtained from this operation was presented in the form of normal
or abnormal weight frequencies, stature and cephalic perimeter. The electronic scale and the
tape measure were used to measure the evoked body parameters.
The results show, after comparing of body parameters, that infants and children who
live in a poor socio-health environment have a physical development that coincides with that of
their peers from socio-medical backgrounds favored. These results, even if they do not confirm
the hypothesis that the socio-economic structuring of the living environment creates differences
in children's physical development, appear specific to the ethno-geographical area. This
constitutes an element that can singularize the living environment and the physical
development of the child.