WEEKLY CALENDAR (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 all in one page with laminating)
Use this calendar to help you determine if you should give a particular service to a child you are seeing. For example, it can help you calculate how old a child is or how many weeks have passed since the child received a DPT vaccination in order to decide what vaccinations you should give the child today.
The application of weekly calendar is done in stages:
- Spread the weekly calendaron your table.
- Ask mother, when her baby was born (or find the birth date in the child’s LISIO).
The mother says, e.g.,“My baby was born on March 18, 2008.”
- Look at the calendar: March 18, 2008 (when the baby was born) is in what week?
March 18, 2008 is 12th week.
- What is today’s date?
For example: Today’s date is May 5, 2008.
- What week is today in?
Look at the calendar. May 5, 2008 is in the 18th week.
- Therefore, the age of the baby now is:
18th – 12th = 6th weeks old
To assess immunizations:For OPV (polio) and DPT (or DPT-HepB) vaccination, the child must be at least 6 weeks old, and at least 4 weeks must have passed since the previous dose of the same vaccine. For measles vaccination, the child must be at least 9 months (40 weeks) old.
- Ask the mother what vaccinations her baby has already receivedand when (confirmed by the LISIO if possible)
For example, a mother saysBCG and OPV on March 23, 2008.
- Look at the calendar: March 23, 2008 is in what week?
March 23, 2008 is in the12th week.
- What to give today (May 5, 2008)?
DPT-HepB1, OPV1
- How long until the next vaccination?
4 weeks, i.e. 18th + 4 = 22ndweek
- When is exactly after 4 weeks time?
22ndweek is June 2, 2008. So, you will ask mother to bring her baby for the next vaccination (DPT-HepB2, OPV2)on June 2, 2008.
NB: all antigens are given to the child according to age in weeks, except measles in months(9 months = 40 weeks)
Spread the calendar out on your table and try to calculate the following examples:
Find out when the baby was born / Look at the calendar to find the week the baby was born / What is today’s date? / What week is today in? / So the age of the baby now is: / Find out the vaccinations already received / Look at the calendar to find in what week the last vaccinations were given / Decide what to give today / How long until the next vaccination? / When is exactly after 4 weeks time?April 28, 2008 / 17th week / May 5, 2008 / 18th week / 18th – 17th = 1st week / None / None / BCG & OPV0 / 5 weeks i.e. 18th + 5 = 23rd week / June 9, 2008
November 20, 2008 / 47th week / December 8, 2008 / 49th week / 49th – 47th = 2nd week / BCG & OPV0 / November 20, 2008 / None / 2 weeks i.e. 49th + 2 = 51st week / December 18, 2008
November 1, 2008 / 44th week / December 8, 2008 / 49th week / 49th – 44th = 5 week / BCG / November 20, 2008 / None / 1 week i.e. 49th + 1 = 50th week / December 11, 2008
To assess vitamin A and de-worming:
- Look at the calendar onvitamin A for children 1 – 4 years old. It will show the vitamin A distribution weeks twice a year; e.g., February (6th,7th,8th,9th week of 2009) and August (32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35thweek of 2009).
- De-worming. This depends on how high the worm prevalence of children 1 – 4 years or primary school children.
2.1.Where the prevalence of worms (by stool examination) is > 50%,Albendazole should be given twice a year to all children in the area, followedby vitamin A. Then, we assess the prevalence after Albendazole mass treatment.If, for example,a prevalence of 27% falls into the category of point 2.2 (below), and so on.
2.2.Where the prevalence of worms is 20 – 50%, Albendazole is given once a year (either February or August) to all children.
2.3.Where the prevalence is < 20%, Albendazole is given only to individual children who have worms.
To assess a child 18 months old who has come to the clinic for vaccination, vitamin A and de-wormingtreatment:
1.Vaccination.
- Ask the mother when her child was born
- She says (for example) January 4, 2008.
- Look at the calendar: 1st week of 2008.
- Whenwas her child immunized and for what?
- December 29, 2007: BCG, DPT-HepB1, OPV1, measles
- Look at the calendar: December 29, 2008 is 52nd week.
- What is today’s date?: August 2, 2009
- Look at the calendar: August 2, 2009 is 31st week of 2009.
- So 31 weeks ago the child received the BCG, DPT-HepB1, OPV1, and measles.
- Then today, you should give DPT-HepB2, OPV2.
- How long until the next vaccination?
- 4 weeks, i.e. 31st + 4 = 35th week
- 35th week means August 30, 2009 for DPT-HepB3, OPV3.
2.Vitamin A and De-worming.
The answer is similar to the above, “to assessvitamin A and de-worming.”