Integrated management of childhood illness with the focus on caregivers: an integrative literature review.

The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy addresses the diseases most prevalent in infancy, the reception of the child and family, and the comprehension the problem and effective procedures. The aim was to identify, between 1998 and 2008, publications relating to the IMCI strategy focusing on the caregiver. This study is an Integrative literature review in the Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo databases. The caregivers knew one or more warning signs for acute respiratory infection, but not for diarrhea. Pneumonia was perceived as a serious childhood disease. Communication skills among health professionals trained in the IMCI strategy were different to those in untrained professionals. The follow-up of the health of the child is higher according to the education level of the caregiver, and according to the medications supplied in the consultation and in the follow-up. Regarding the health of the child it is relevant to focus on the IMCI strategy, favoring experiences that include the family in the care.