Issues Concerning the Administration of Medication to Children by Nursery School Staff in Tokyo: Exploring the Possibility of Community Pharmacist Support and Collaboration / 社会薬学

Anxiety and difficulty in administering medication to nursery school children has been reported among nursery school teachers. This study aimed to elucidate these issues and explore the possibility of pharmacist support and collaboration. We conducted a postal survey in September 2019 among nursery schools in Tokyo that are categorized as government-authorized schools, certified childcare centers, and prefectural governor-certified schools. A total of 1,537 schools responded to the self-report questionnaires (response rate: 41.2%), and 1,533 responses were analyzed. Of these, 1,488 schools were asked if they would accept requests to administer medication to their school children, and 60.1% of the nursery schools responded that their staff (including teachers and nurses) found it difficult to administer medication. The issues identified included psychological burdens (such as nervousness and pressure about giving the correct medication), staff shortage, insufficient time with the children, and human factors (such as personal perceptions of medication). Additionally, excessive requests to administer medication, caregiver behavior such as low awareness of children’s health and appropriate medication, and poor medication adherence at home were identified as issues. It was suggested that pharmacists could help alleviate these problems through their daily work at the pharmacy. Approximately 49-62% of schools responded that they would request the collaboration of community pharmacists to conduct training sessions for nursery school staff, provide health support for caregivers, and provide general health and medication consultations. The collaboration between nursery schools and community pharmacists may gain importance in the future.

Análise da ocorrência de parasitos com potencial zoonótico no solo de escolas municipais infantis em dois municípios do Rio Grande do Sul / Analysis of the occurrence of parasites with zoonotic potential in the soil of municipal nursery schools in two municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul state

Introdução: A contaminação de praças ou ambientes de recreação por ovos de geohelmintos constitui um problema de saúde pública. O solo, com relação aos helmintos parasitas se comporta como um hospedeiro intermediário. Recebe fezes ou água contaminada por parasitas em estágios não infectantes, oferecendo-lhes condições para o desenvolvimento e protege os parasitas em estágios infectantes durante certo tempo para, posteriormente, transmiti-lo ao homem. O objetivo é verificar a ocorrência e a contaminação ambiental por parasitas com potencial zoonótico no solo de escolas infantis em dois municípios do Rio Grande do Sul. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo delineamento transversal, observacional e descritivo. A coleta foi através de amostras de areia em dez escolas de dois municípios, as coletas do material foram de cinco pontos diferentes, tanto da profundidade quanto da superfície, totalizando-se 100 amostras analisadas. As amostras de areia foram processadas em laboratório através dos métodos de Rugai e Hoffman, Pons e Janer. Resultados: Análise total (N=100) dos dois municípios, totalizando 50 amostras de cada. A contaminação das areias, por ovos de Ancylostoma spp., foi de 54% (n=27) no município I, sendo encontrados 56% (n=28) na cidade II. Conclusão: A ocorrência de ovos de Ancylostoma spp. no ambiente de recreação enfatiza a importância da adoção de medidas restritivas rígidas que impeçam a entrada de animais, como cães e gatos em locais de lazer. Além desses parasitas serem capazes de comprometer a saúde de humanos e infectar outros animais. (AU)

Introduction: Contamination of squares or recreational environments with geohelminth eggs is a public health problem. The soil serves as an intermediate host to helminths. It receives feces or water contaminated with parasites in non-infective stages, providing them with conditions for development, and protects parasites in infective stages for some time and then transmits them to humans. The aim was to investigate the occurrence of environmental contamination with parasites with zoonotic potential in the soil of nursery schools in two municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul state. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study was conducted. Soil samples were collected at ten schools in two municipalities, from five different school sites in terms of both depth and surface. Soil samples were processed at a laboratory using the methods of Rugai and Hoffman, Pons and Janer. Results: In total, 100 samples from the two municipalities were analyzed, 50 samples each. Soil contamination with Ancylostoma spp. eggs was 54% (n=27) in city I and 56% (n=28) in city II. Conclusions: The occurrence of Ancylostoma spp. eggs in recreational environments shows the importance of adopting strict restrictive measures to prevent animals, such as dogs and cats, from entering leisure areas. Also, these parasites may compromise human health and infect other animals. (AU)

Educação da Criança de Zero a Três Anos e Educação Especial: uma Leitura Crítica dos Documentos que Norteiam a Educação Básica1 / Zero-to-Three-Year-Old Children Education and Special Education: a Critical Analysis of Documents Guiding Preschool Education

RESUMO: a creche que oferece uma educação de qualidade tem importante papel na promoção do desenvolvimento. A creche, enquanto parte da educação básica, deve incorporar a Educação Especial dando oportunidades educacionais às crianças com deficiência, transtornos globais do desenvolvimento e altas habilidades/superdotação. Após leitura crítica dos documentos oficiais que norteiam a educação básica, objetivamos responder às seguintes questões: como a creche é tratada nesses documentos? Eles têm garantido o atendimento a modalidade Educação Especial nessa fase? Que contribuições são ainda necessárias para que a educação na creche atenda de maneira eficiente a todas as crianças? Verificamos a falta de referência à faixa etária de zero a três anos e ao atendimento ao público da Educação Especial. São vários os fatores que interferem para a qualidade da Educação Infantil que contemple a educação para todos, dentre eles conceituais, de recursos físicos, materiais e humanos. Portanto, há necessidade de discutir o papel da creche e da Educação Especial nessa fase, garantindo os pressupostos que visam proporcionar desenvolvimento integral a todas as crianças.

ABSTRACT: Nursery schools that offer quality education have an important role in promoting the development of 0-to-3year-old children. The nursery school, as part of preschool education, must incorporate special education, providing educational opportunities to children with disabilities, global developmental disorders and giftedness. After a critical analysis of official documents that guide preschool education, we aimed to answer to the following questions: how is the nursery school portrayed and treated in these documents? Have they secured special education services at this stage? What kind of contributions are still needed for education in nursery schools to be efficient to all children? We verify the absence of references to the 0-to-3 year-old group and special education service. There are several factors which contribute to the quality of early childhood education that promote education for all, such as conceptual factors, physical, human and material resources. There is a need to discuss the role of nursery schools and special education at this stage, ensuring presumptions aimed to provide integral development for all children.

Estimativa do consumo de energia e de macronutrientes no domicílio e na escola em pré-escolares / Estimation of energy and macronutrient intake at home and in the kindergarten programs in preschool children

Objetivo: Estimar o consumo de energia e de macronutrientes no domicílio e na escola em tempo integral em crianças de 2 a 6 anos e pesquisar diferenças no consumo entre as crianças de escolas públicas e particulares. Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado com 362 pré-escolares em Caxias do Sul (RS). O estado nutricional foi avaliado pela razão peso para estatura. O consumo na escola foi avaliado por meio do método de pesagem direta individual dos alimentos consumidos pelas crianças e, no domicílio, por meio do método de registro alimentar realizado pelos pais ou responsáveis. Para as análises estatísticas utilizou-se o teste U de Mann-Whitney (p < 0,05). Resultados: Observou-se que 28 crianças (7,7 por cento) apresentaram excesso de peso, 92 (25,4 por cento), risco para excesso de peso e sete (1,9 por cento), baixo peso para a estatura. A avaliação da ingestão alimentar em 24 horas mostrou que 51,3 por cento da energia, 60,3 por cento dos lipídios e 51,6 por cento das proteínas foram consumidos nos domicílios, apesar de as crianças permanecerem em período integral nas escolas. Observou-se maior ingestão de energia (p = 0,001), carboidratos (p < 0,001) e lipídios (p = 0,04) nos pré-escolares de escolas particulares em relação aos de escolas públicas, porém o consumo total diário se mostrou similar nas diferentes instituições. Conclusões: Os achados sugerem que as crianças consomem proporcionalmente mais energia, proteínas e lipídios nas refeições complementares dos domicílios em relação às refeições diárias nas escolas infantis. Apesar das diferenças de consumo entre as escolas públicas e particulares, a ingestão diária mostrou-se similar entre as crianças.

Objective: To estimate the energy and macronutrient intake at home and at all-day in the kindergarten programs in children aged 2 to 6 and to investigate differences in consumption and intake between children at public and private kindergartens. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 362 preschool children from Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Nutritional status was assessed in terms of weight to height ratios. Foods consumed in the kindergarten were evaluated by weighing the actual foods eaten by the children and home intakes were calculated from a food diary kept by parents or guardians. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05). Results: It was found that 28 children (7.7 percent) were overweight, 92 (25.4 percent) were at risk of becoming overweight and seven (1.9 percent) were classified as having wasting. Analysis of 24-hour nutritional intake demonstrated that 51.3 percent of the energy, 60.3 percent of the lipids and 51.6 percent of the proteins consumed by children were eaten at home, despite the children spending the whole day in the kindergarten programs. Preschool children at kindergartens ate greater quantities of energy (p = 0.001), carbohydrates (p < 0.001), and lipids (p = 0.04) than did children at public kindergartens, but their total daily intakes were similar, irrespective of which type of kindergarten program children attended. Conclusions: The findings suggest that these children eat proportionally more energy, proteins and lipids in their extra meals at home than they do in their daytime meals in the kindergarten programs. Despite the differences in intake between public and private kindergarten, daily intakes were similar.

A Study on Nursery School Teacher's Knowledge and Education of Nutrition Care in Gwang-Ju / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was done to come up with a solution to effectively increase nutrition knowledge and education among nursery school teachers in the Gwang-ju metropolitan city area. The scores of teacher's nutrition knowledge were around the average of 9.4 points on a 15-point scale, which is about 63.1 points on a 100-point scale. When the types of subjects were compared, we recognized that the nursery school teachers with a college degree or those who have any training/education in nutrition had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge. Also, the nursery schools who have more than 101 children or public nursery schools had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05). We can conclude that the knowledge of nutrition of nursery teachers is very lacking and it is not as high as it should be. In addition, we can also see that the dietary guidance and nutrition education time spent towards the children was very short. The lack of professional knowledge and education seems to be due to shortage of educational materials and because the teachers themselves lack the knowledge to pass on to their predecessors. In fact, even the teachers themselves feel the need to set up more nutrition-related education programs, obtain more guides and materials to teach them, as well as implement more organized and systemized teaching methods.

Microsporum canis Infections in a Group of Nursery School Children / 대한피부과학회지

Tinea capitis is the most common fungal infection in children. Microsporum canis is a zoophilic dermatophyte and it is the most common pathogen of tinea capitis and sometimes it makes a kerion celsi. Microsporum canis infection is commonly acquired from direct contact with animals. We report here on an outbreak of tinea capitis by Microsporum canis in the nursery school.

COMPARISON OF LEVELS OF DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BETWEEN JAPANESE PRESCHOOL CHILDREN ENROLLED IN KINDERGARTENS AND NURSERY SCHOOLS / 体力科学

Most Japanese preschool children attend either kindergartens or nursery schools, each providing a distinct environment for children, and the difference between these may be associated with varying patterns of physical activity (PA). The purpose of the present study is to compare the levels of PA in Japanese preschool children enrolled in kindergartens to those enrolled in nursery schools by using triaxial accelerometry (ActivTracer, GMS). PA was assessed using a triaxial accelerometer and daily steps were captured using a uniaxial accelerometer for 6 consecutive days, including weekdays and weekends. Subjects were 157 four- to six-year-old Japanese children attending kindergartens or nursery schools. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and step counts were 107 (±34) min/day and 13,567 (±2,725) steps/day respectively for kindergartens, and 97 (±30) min/day and 12,526 (±2,884) steps/day respectively for nursery schools. MVPA and step counts were significantly higher for children enrolled in kindergartens than those enrolled in nursery schools. Although PA on weekdays did not differ significantly, physical activity level, MVPA, and step counts on weekends were significantly higher for children enrolled in kindergartens than those enrolled in nursery schools. In addition, we observed large variability in PA among children enrolled in kindergartens, and relatively little variability among children enrolled in nursery schools. The results suggest that children in nursery schools exhibit less engagement in moderate PA than children in kindergartens, and the difference is more pronounced on weekends. Additionally, we found that PA patterns in young children enrolled in kindergartens may vary greatly.

Effectiveness of Repeated Examination to Diagnose Enterobiasis in Nursery School Groups

The aim of this study was to estimate the benefit from repeated examinations in the diagnosis of enterobiasis in nursery school groups, and to test the effectiveness of individual-based risk predictions using different methods. A total of 604 children were examined using double, and 96 using triple, anal swab examinations. The questionnaires for parents, structured observations, and interviews with supervisors were used to identify factors of possible infection risk. In order to model the risk of enterobiasis at individual level, a similarity-based machine learning and prediction software Constud was compared with data mining methods in the Statistica 8 Data Miner software package. Prevalence according to a single examination was 22.5%; the increase as a result of double examinations was 8.2%. Single swabs resulted in an estimated prevalence of 20.1% among children examined 3 times; double swabs increased this by 10.1%, and triple swabs by 7.3%. Random forest classification, boosting classification trees, and Constud correctly predicted about 2/3 of the results of the second examination. Constud estimated a mean prevalence of 31.5% in groups. Constud was able to yield the highest overall fit of individual-based predictions while boosting classification tree and random forest models were more effective in recognizing Enterobius positive persons. As a rule, the actual prevalence of enterobiasis is higher than indicated by a single examination. We suggest using either the values of the mean increase in prevalence after double examinations compared to single examinations or group estimations deduced from individual-level modelled risk predictions.