香港的孩子健康嗎？

本文集中討論一個基本問題，就是香港的學前兒童是否健康。筆者澄清了健康的定義及為兒童及其家庭提供全面照顧的概念，並以此為基礎，就這個問題的相關研究作出檢討。有人指出，兒童的疾病及死亡率，不足以全面顯示香港學前兒童的健康狀況。從較宏觀的角度看，當我們判斷學前兒童是否健康時，還應考慮他們的生理、心理和精神狀態以及其家庭環境，包括照顧他們的人所帶給他們的影響。本文強調家庭及社會的"生活素質"，也是令兒童能否在健康環境中成長的一個重要元素。
The paper will address a fundamental question whether Hong Kong pre-school children are healthy or not. Based on the clarification of the meaning of health and the concepts of holistic care and nurturing for children and their families, this paper reviews relevant literature to respond to the above question. It is argued that child mortality and morbidity rates can only partly indicate the health conditions of pre-school children in Hong Kong. For a wider perspective, the physical, psychosocial and mental functioning of the children, their family environments including the significant influence of primary-care givers, should be taken into account while describing the health conditions of the pre-school children. It is stressed that the factor of “life quality” in families and communities is also an important element contributing to a healthy environment for children. Copyright © 2002 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.