The issue is important for children’s and public health.
Children can recognize if the person in front of them is sick, a scientific study found, reported “Medical Express”.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infections are the leading cause of death in children. Children are also more vulnerable to infection.
Understanding children’s ability to recognize when the person in front of them is sick and to avoid them is important for child and public health. According to earlier studies, adults can recognize the signs of illness in the person opposite them and avoid contact with them accordingly.
Scientists from the universities of Miami, Hong Kong, Duke University and James Madison University have prepared a collection of photos of people sick with viral diseases such as COVID-19, as well as completely healthy or already cured patients. The results of the scientific study, published in the magazine “Child Development”, show that adults and children who have reached the age of 8-9 are able to recognize the “sick face”. The study is among the first to use photographs of the same people in different phases – sick, cured, completely healthy.
There were 160 participants in the study – children aged 4-5 years, children aged 8-9 years and adults. Participants answered the questions online.
The children were shown two pictures of the same person, a sick one and a healthy one, and were asked the question “Which of the twins would you like to sit next to at dinner?”
The second part of the study included a question about which of the pictures the person did not feel good about.
According to the results, children aged 8-9 are able to recognize and avoid sick people. Adults are even more observant, and children in the 4-5 year group are the least observant. This shows that observation develops over the years.
Illustrative Photo by Naomi Shi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-toddler-eating-on-white-table-1001914/
