Child health promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic: A health and welfare sector collaboration

Background: Fragmented service provision and a lack of efficient cooperation between health and welfare sectors serving children and families remain ongoing challenges in South Africa. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic escalated this fragmentation. A community of practice (CoP) was established by the Centre for Social Development in Africa to promote collaboration between the sectors and to assist communities in their environments. Aim: To explore and describe collaboration on child health promotion between professional nurses and social workers, who formed part of the CoP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting: The study was conducted in five public schools from four of the seven district regions of the City of Johannesburg, Gauteng province. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was employed to conduct psychosocial and health screenings of children and their families. Focus group interviews were conducted, and field notes were used to collect and confirm data from the team. Results: Four themes emerged. Participants shared their positive and negative experiences faced during the fieldwork, their realisation of the value of collaboration between various sectors and their desire and capacity to do more. Conclusion: Participants indicated that collaboration between the health and welfare sectors is vital to support and promote the health of children and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for collaboration between these sectors in the children and their families' ongoing struggles. Contribution: The importance of these sectors being engaged as a team highlighted the multisectoral influence shaping child development outcomes, supporting children's human rights and advancing social and economic justice.

Introducing Solid Foods

There are recommendations to guide parents to help their infants make the transition from milk to weaning foods; but they differ in their focus in developed or developing countries and on the physiological and behavioural reasons that underlie the introduction of weaning foods. According to recommendations; ideally; term infants should begin weaning at six months; while breastfeeding should continue for two years. The recommendations on nutrients in complementary foods are based on the nutrient gap between the composition and volume of breast milk after approximately six months of exclusive breastfeeding and the physiology of infant nutritional requirements

Infant Sleeping Environment in South-Eastern Nigeria (Sleeping Place and Sleeping Position): A Preliminary Survey

Objective. To determine infant sleeping position/place and the factors associated with them in South-eastern Nigeria. Methods. this is a cross-sectional study on infant sleeping environment. Subjects were the mother/ infant pairs that attended the well baby clinics at the Institute of Child Health of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital; Enugu (ICH-UNTH); Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital (MCSH); Enugu and the Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital (EBSUTH); Abakaliki. Results. Lying on the side was the most common (51.1) and the least stable sleeping position. Only 36.6of infants who slept in that position were likely to be found in the same position the following morning; lying supine was the most stable (74.1). The difference in stability of sleeping positions was statistically significant (P.01). Twenty six point seven percent of the mothers routinely lay their infants in prone position. On logistic regression; maternal parity was the only factor that was predictive of nonprone sleeping position (P); was more among the experienced (P=.03) and less educated mothers (P.01). Conclusion. There is a high level of prone sleeping position and bed sharing among infants in this study site. The potential consequences of these are unclear. There is therefore a need to conduct local studies to clarify its implication

Effectiveness of Community Health Workers (CHWS) in the Provision of Basic Preventive and Curative Maternal; Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Interventions: A Systematic Review

Due to a shortage of health workers; many low income countries rely on community health workers (CHWs) for the provision of a wide range of primary health care services; both curative and preventive; including maternal newborn and child health (MNCH) interventions. Several systematic reviews have analysed the contribution of CHWs although none has specifically focused on their role in relation to MNCH. This review was designed to find evidence of the effectiveness of CHWs in providing basic preventive and curative MNCH interventions; and to identify the factors that are crucial to their performance. It was restricted to articles published from 1998-2008 in the eng language. It included studies with qualitative and quantitative designs. Six electronic databases were searched and data was extracted using a pretested data extraction form designed basing on the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) guidelines (2008). A narrative synthesis approach was used. The quality of included studies was assessed using pretested validity assessment tools and the applicability of interventions was evaluated using the RE-AIM framework. After the filtering; 14 studies were critically appraised; and the majority (12/14) demonstrated that CHWs were effective at reducing neonatal/child mortality rates; promoting breastfeeding practices; increasing sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) coverage for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp); they provided depot medroxy-progesterone acetate (DMPA) injections as safely as qualified staff; and treated malaria in children effectively; thereby reducing workload of health professionals at peripheral health facilities. Crucial factors to their performance included training; remuneration; inadequate medical supplies; and lack of career development structure. The review shows that CHWs can be effective at providing basic curative and preventive MNCH interventions. Developing country health systems can make use of this available resource to increase access of MNCH interventions

Contraceptive Prevalence amongst Women Attending Infant Welfare Clinic at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Background: Low contraceptive prevalence in Sub-Sahara Africa has increased the burden of unwanted pregnancies and continued population explosion thus hampering the economic development of the sub-region. This should not happen considering availability of modern family planning methods. Objectives: To determine the contraceptive prevalence; types of contraceptive used and factors affecting the latter amongst women attending infant welfare clinic at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire survey of contraceptive prevalence amongst women attending the infant welfare clinic at UPTH. A systematic random sampling method was employed. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version-11 and Microsoft Excel. Results: A total of 250 questionnaires were administered and 240 retrieved .The most commonly used contraceptive was the condom (28.4). Majority (55.4) of the respondents were aware of the oral contraceptive pill. About 41of the respondents were informed of contraception via the health centres while the commonest reason for non -use was the fear of complications. Conclusion: The contraceptive prevalence rate amongst women attending the infant welfare clinic in the UPTH is low though higher than the national figure. Prompt education of eligible women and men on the use effectiveness of the most commonly used contraceptive should be encouraged

La sante de la femme enceinte et ses repercussions bucco-dentaires chez l'enfant

Les maladies de la mere et/ou leurs traitements pendant la grossesse peuvent avoir des repercussions sur la sante bucco-dentaire de l'enfant