Doctors need to do more than write prescriptions to make a sick child healthy……………that’s the basis of social pediatrics, a community-minded approach to health care that takes into account the socio-economic environment in which a child is being raised.
The so-called father of the approach, Dr. Gilles Julien tells us well-off families can provide support services for their child, but that’s not an option for everyone. So, he says, you need to ensure there’s equity for those vulnerable children who need support because while equity is the base of a normal society, we’re not yet at that point.
Dr. Julien delivering the keynote address for the 10th annual Dr. Robert Tingley Memorial Lecture Series at the Regional Hospital. The series is held in honour of Dr. Tingley, a Pediatrician and Infectious Disease physican who passed away in 2004 at the age of 33 from brain cancer.
