Integrated Management of

Childhood Illnesses
IMCI
Rationale

 Pneumonia, diarrhea, DHF, measles , malaria

& malnutrition cause more than 70% of the
deaths in children under 5 yrs old
 WHO and UNICEF has described a set of
integrated guidelines on the management of
these illnesses instead of separate guidelines
for each illness
Rationale

 DOH has developed a training package to

teach the integrated case management
process to health workers who see sick
children
IMCI

 Strategy for reducing the mortality and

morbidity associated with major causes of
childhood illnesses
 Objectives
3) Reduce significantly global mortality &
morbidity associated with the major causes
of diseases in children under 5 years old
4) To contribute to the healthy growth and
development of children
Why an integrated approach?

 There are important relationships between

the illnesses
 Effective case management needs to
consider all of the child’s symptoms so that
any problem of the child will not be
overlooked
Case Management Process

 IMCI guidelines rely on detection of cases

based on simple clinical signs without
laboratory tests and offer empirical treatment
 Action oriented classification rather than
exact diagnosis are used
 Case management process is presented in a
series of charts which show the sequence of
steps and provide information in performing
them
Case Management Process

 The charts describe the following steps:

2. Assess the child or young infant
3. Classify the illness
4. Identify treatment
5. Treat the child
6. Counsel the mother
7. Give follow-up care
Case Management Process

 Case management charts are divided into

two parts:
2. Age 1 week up to 2 months
3. Age 2 months up to 5 yrs