Child Care Health and Development最新文献

Background

Diarrhoeal disease remains a major public health concern for children under 2 years of age, particularly in rural and remote areas of Bangladesh. This study aimed to determine the incidence of diarrhoea and identify associated risk and protective factors among children under 2 years old in Hanarchar Union, Chandpur District.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2021 to May 2022. Using systematic random sampling, 400 families with children under 2 years were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, sanitation practices, feeding habits and diarrhoeal episodes were collected and analysed.

Results

Over 30% of the respondents were illiterate, while 86.8% used sanitary latrines. All respondents reported practicing handwashing after disposing of child stool, before meals and after defecation. The monthly incidence of watery diarrhoea among children was 54.1%, with 98.2% of the affected families using oral rehydration solution (ORS) for treatment. Diarrhoeal incidence was 37.5% among children whose feeding bottles were cleaned with boiled water and soap, and 32.1% among those whose mothers used soap and water for handwashing after stool disposal and defecation. Higher maternal education was linked to improved stool disposal practices. Although all respondents used sanitary latrines, most lacked awareness of their health benefits. All children were exclusively breastfed and began bottle-feeding after 5 months of age.

Conclusion

Proper hygiene practices, including handwashing with soap and cleaning feeding bottles with boiled water, are associated with reduced diarrhoeal incidence. Maternal education and awareness on sanitation also play a crucial role in disease prevention. Community-based health education programmes could enhance understanding and further reduce diarrhoeal burden in remote areas.

Background

Understanding children's perceptions of motor skill importance is essential for designing motivating and participatory interventions. However, little is known about which motor activities children with and without motor coordination difficulties value, particularly in culturally diverse, low-resource settings. This study explored how children perceive the importance of motor activities and how these views are shaped by cultural context, sex and motor skill level.

Methods

A culturally adapted version of the motor coordination questionnaire (MoCQ) was administered to 1438 children aged 6–13 years in South Africa and Ghana. The MoCQ includes sections on perceived competence (MoCQ-C) and perceived importance (MoCQ-I). Motor skill level was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition in South Africa and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire in Ghana. Children were classified into two motor coordination groups: as typically developing (TD) or having probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). Importance ratings from the MoCQ-I were compared across countries, sex and motor coordination groups.

Results

Total MoCQ-I scores differed significantly between countries (p < 0.001, d = 0.235), sex (p = 0.031, d = 0.134) and motor coordination groups (p < 0.001, d = 0.335). Children in both countries rated self-care, handwriting and household chores as highly important. Ghanaian children rated kicking, throwing, running, hopping and indigenous games more often as important. South African children gave a higher importance rating to handwriting. Males rated kicking, team sports and biking as more important, whereas females rated dancing higher. Differences between TD and pDCD groups at the item level were more pronounced in Ghana compared to South Africa.

Conclusion

Children's perceptions of motor activity importance are shaped by cultural context, sex and motor proficiency. These findings highlight the need for culturally responsive, child-centred interventions. While the MoCQ-I effectively captures key activities, further expansion is recommended to enhance cultural inclusivity and relevance.

Background

Poor mental health affects caregivers' parenting practices and threatens the early development of children under 2 years old. This study examined the correlations between caregivers' mental health and parenting practices among 5- to 24-month-old children in rural China.

Methods

Data were collected in two cohorts (October 2022 and March 2023) from 948 households randomly sampled from 120 villages. Dependent variable: parenting practices measured by the Family Care Indicators (FCI). Independent variables: caregiver mental health (DASS-21), perceived social support (MSPSS) and socioeconomic status (SES; household asset index, caregiver education). Models adjusted for child age, child sex, caregiver age and household size, with standard errors clustered at the village level.

Results

Although caregivers provided more play materials for their children compared to previous research, the variety of play materials did not improve. Depressive symptoms among caregivers were associated with inadequate parenting practices, particularly with providing a lower variety of play materials. Both lower SES and more severe caregiver depressive symptoms were linked to less stimulating parenting, whereas higher perceived social support was associated with more stimulating practices and partially attenuated these SES- and mental health–related disparities.

Conclusion

Although rural Chinese caregivers now supply more play materials, limited diversity and widespread caregiver mental health risks persist. Strengthening caregiver mental health and social support could enrich home stimulation and improve early childhood development.

Introduction

Support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is in a state of flux. To investigate from the professional side, we compared experiences around identification of SEND and related provision for professionals working with young people and families in England.

Methods

This was an online self-reported cross-sectional survey with education, health, social care, third-sector and local authority professionals. The survey was co-produced with service-users and professionals essential to the design and implementation of SEND services. Here we report on professionals' opinions about the state of services offered and the reasons behind this.

Results

Professionals reported polarised views surrounding interagency communication and quality, with many doubting the ability of services to adequately provide support for SEND. Professionals reported high confidence in their own abilities to identify SEND (86% agreed), design and provide services (58% agreed), communicate with parents, signpost to services and receive adequate training, but were less confident about others' abilities (62%) to communicate effectively. Professionals report insufficient time (74%) and poor resourcing to enable good design of plans and service quality (80%).

Conclusion

Rising national and international demand for SEND services, alongside rising costs, has caused service delay and disrepair as key aspects of the educational ecosystem, e.g., communication and service development, have been whittled away. Systemic change is needed to reflect growing SEN school numbers, requiring fully integrated care for children and families.

Background

With the global rise in technology use, concerns have grown regarding the relationship between screen exposure and early childhood development. However, the specific patterns of these associations, especially how different types of screen exposure relate to factors such as sleep and parent–child interaction, remain underexplored in non-Western and developing contexts.

Methods

This study draws on data from the Wuhan Birth Cohort Studies (WBCS) collected between 2021 and 2022 in China. We examine the associations between video exposure (including duration, mode and content) and cognitive and social–emotional development in children under 3 years of age.

Results

Screen exposure of 60 min or more per day was significantly associated with lower cognitive and social–emotional development. Any duration of exposure to mobile devices negatively correlated with social–emotional development. In contrast, less than 30 min of daily exposure to educational video content showed a positive association with cognitive development, while prolonged exposure to entertainment content had adverse effects on both developmental domains. These associations were largely mediated by disruptions in children's sleep patterns and reduced maternal interaction time.

Conclusion

Our findings underscore the nuanced effects of screen exposure in early childhood and the mechanisms through which they operate. Policymakers should consider establishing guidelines for age-appropriate digital media use and emphasize the critical role of parental engagement and supervision in screen-related activities for infants and toddlers.

Background

Early intervention (EI) provides critical support to young children with developmental delays, aiming to optimize their development and learning readiness. However, studies have shown that 74% of eligible children never receive a referral for EI services. This pilot study explored the impact of the Occupational Therapy Embedded in Early Childhood (OTEEC) Partnership Model, where providers support all children enrolled at a childcare centre, on young children's access to developmental support in the context of early childhood education.

Methods

We used a case study approach to explore parent, teacher and administrator perspectives on a 10-week pilot trial of embedded occupational therapy within an early childhood education centre. We collected data through pre-implementation surveys and post-implementation focus groups with centre administration, teachers and parents. We compared children served through traditional EI pre-implementation with children supported during the embedded occupational therapy trial through record review.

Results

Survey and focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reflected the three primary stakeholder groups and their related subthemes: children (you catch things early, the problem was getting solved, it makes more sense), parents (when should I be worried?, What is normal?, I feel more confident) and teachers (we had more of a relationship, it changed my perspective, my stress levels went down). Of the 80 enrolled children, four were receiving EI before the embedded occupational therapy trial. During implementation, we identified 26 who needed developmental support.

Conclusion

Embedded occupational therapy had a significant impact on the early childhood centre's ability to support young children's development and participation in learning. This study highlights the need to intervene at the systems level to create inclusive early childhood classrooms by focusing on helping teachers respond to early developmental concerns and empowering parents through access to developmental specialists.

Background

Parental soothing resources can increase parents' confidence in practicing safe soothing techniques. However, there is a dearth of resources that help immigrant parents gain confidence. Understanding the soothing experiences of immigrant mothers can provide important insight into how to develop culturally sensitive soothing resources for them. In this study, we addressed the question, ‘What are immigrant mothers' experiences with child soothing in Vancouver, Canada?’

Methods

We used tenets of post-structural feminist theory and feminist methodologies to inform our approach and conducted three focus groups with 23 mothers who had at least one child aged 0–5 years.

Results

Two discourses were identified through a critical discourse analysis: (a) feminising care: gendered mothering ideals can isolate immigrant mothers and (b) cultural silencing: dominant cultural ideals for soothing can subjugate non-conformative practices.

Conclusions

Societal pressures on women to soothe children can elicit feelings of isolation, sadness and concern for immigrant mothers, who can lack social supports and may not feel capable of subscribing to culturally idealised practices. Findings can be used to inform the cultural competency of injury prevention resource development to address unique cultural and gender-sensitive needs of immigrant mothers.

Background

Early childhood is a critical period in which the development of social, emotional and cognitive skills occurs. Mindful–movement interventions, which combine physical activity and mindfulness practices, have promising benefits in adults; however, their effects in children are not well understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the impact of mindful–movement interventions on the social, emotional and cognitive development of children aged 0–10 years.

Methods

A comprehensive search was conducted across five databases; papers were screened using both machine learning–assisted and manual processes for eligibility. A total of 16 studies met inclusion criteria, with both randomised and nonrandomised controlled trials included in the review and meta-analysis. Extracted data included intervention characteristics and outcomes. A meta-analysis was conducted using robust variance estimation.

Results

The pooled effect of mindful–movement interventions on social–emotional outcomes, encompassing 32 effect sizes from 12 studies, was marginally nonsignificant at 0.252 (95% CI = −0.026, 0.529, p = 0.072) and with considerable heterogeneity (I² of 79%), this suggested sizeable variability across studies in the level of social–emotional impacts. Cognitive outcomes across eight studies yielded a nonsignificant effect size, 0.330 (95% CI = −0.256, 0.970). For all outcomes, there were insufficient data for subgroup meta-analyses.

Conclusion

Mindful–movement interventions have demonstrated a suggestive positive effect on social–emotional outcomes in children; however, evidence for cognitive outcomes is less conclusive. High heterogeneity across the studies included in this review suggest a need for more rigorous research. The findings therefore tentatively support the use of mindful–movement practices in early childhood development.

Background

Families with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often encounter significant challenges, manifesting in elevated stress levels and compromised physical and mental well-being.

Methods

This study employed Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to comprehensively examine family resilience attributes among 328 Chinese parents of children with ASD. Drawing on Walsh's family resilience framework and the Double ABCX stress-adaptation model, the research examined how protective factors (social support, posttraumatic growth) and risk factors (family stressors) distinctively characterize resilience profiles and predict profile membership, alongside sociodemographic correlates.

Results

Through rigorous statistical analysis, the following three distinct family resilience profiles emerged: adversity (32.31%; characterized by low resilience), ordinary (46.65%; demonstrating moderate resilience) and growth (21.03%; exhibiting high resilience).

Critically, the findings revealed that higher family income, perceived social support and posttraumatic growth were associated with higher family resilience, while family stressors were associated with lower family resilience.

Conclusions

These insights underscore the importance of developing targeted, personalized intervention strategies that can effectively enhance familial coping mechanisms and psychological adaptation for families navigating the complex challenges of ASD.

Background

The quality of the affective bond between teachers and their students is recognised as a key determinant of children's socio-emotional adjustment, classroom climate and academic engagement. Spain, however, lacks student-reported measures grounded in attachment theory. This study therefore adapted and validated the Student Perception of Affective Relationship with Teacher Scale (SPARTS) for Spanish primary education and examined its associations with classroom climate and teacher perceptions.

Methods

A forward–back translation and pilot testing produced a 25-item Spanish version (SPARTS-E). Participants were 1073 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils and 58 teachers from three regions. The sample was randomly split for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. We also assessed the correspondence between student- and teacher-rated relationship quality and tested whether student-perceived relationship quality predicted pupils' perceptions of classroom climate.

Results

Exploratory and confirmatory analyses supported a three-factor structure—Closeness, Conflict and Negative Expectations—replicating the original model. Closeness and Conflict showed satisfactory reliability (α > 0.80), whereas Negative Expectations was low (α = 0.45). Closeness correlated positively with favourable classroom-climate dimensions and negatively with Conflict and Negative Expectations. Student–teacher agreement was modest, emerging mainly for Conflict. Regression analyses indicated that student-perceived Closeness was the strongest predictor of classroom climate.

Conclusion

The SPARTS-E is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing student-reported Closeness and Conflict in Spanish primary schools; refinement of the Negative Expectations subscale is warranted. The scale supports cross-cultural research and underscores the pivotal role of teacher–student relationships in fostering positive classroom environments.