Effectiveness of Home Bowel Preparation for Children Living Long Distances from Endoscopy Centre

Introduction The North of Scotland Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Network (NoSPGHANN) manages children over an area of 53,000 km2. Travel distances to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital (RACH) were previously felt to preclude the adoption of home bowel preparation (HBP) for elective colonoscopies but a trial period of HBP commenced in March 2020. The same drugs (senna and Picolax) were used for inpatient bowel preparation (IPBP) or HBP but the timings were changed for HBP to complete all doses on the day prior to procedure to allow travel to RACH. This audit evaluates the impact of this change of practice. Methods All children undergoing elective colonoscopy at RACH between December 2019 and November 2020 were identified. Electronic were records reviewed to determine IPBP vs HBP, distance to RACH from patient's home, bowel preparation score, morning or afternoon list, requirement for intravenous (IV) fluids during the procedure, day case procedure and length of stay. Bowel preparation score was derived from the Aronchick Scale and converted as follows: 0 (unacceptable), 1 (poor), 2 (fair), 3 (good) and 4 (excellent). Results Summary The high standard of bowel preparation achieved with IPBP was maintained when delivered at home, despite some children travelling >100 miles and having travelling times of >3 hours. Delivering all doses of drugs on the day before procedure did not affect the quality of bowel preparation for afternoon lists. There is a trend to a higher proportion of children with HBP receiving IV fluids during anaesthetic which may suggest that some are dehydrated. The proportion of day case procedures has increased from 0% to 72%, which since March 2020, has saved NHS Grampian 18,000. Conclusion Home bowel preparation delivered on day prior to procedure is well tolerated and as effective as inpatient delivered, even for children with long travelling times to hospital. Covid-19 distancing measures have reduced the number of available inpatient beds so HBP has aided bed management in addition to providing a cost saving. The risk of dehydration may be higher for HBP and guidance will be changed to increase the emphasis on oral fluid intake, including during travelling time, on day of procedure.

TEEN SOCIAL MEDIA USE DURING COVID-19: PARENT PERCEPTIONS AND OVERSIGHT

The paper investigates how parents of American teenagers navigated teen social media use during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid school closures and stay-at-home orders. Through an online survey, parents of teenagers reported on teen engagement, happiness, and social media use along with their own levels and types of oversight related to that social media use. Findings showed that parents perceived their teens to be similarly or less engaged in school and social activities than usual, and generally happy with social media use contributing somewhat to that happiness. Parental monitoring of social media use was the same or lower than during pre-pandemic times overall, with some significant differences related to parent gender, teen age, and teen gender. © 2022 IADIS Press. All rights reserved.

Virtual independence: Teen social media use during the summer of quarantine

During Summer 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic limited people's contact with others outside of their households. Teenagers experienced a great deal of disruption to their lives and found themselves reliant on their phones and social media to occupy their time and maintain peer connections. In this study, we examine the activities of 43 teens in the United States. Teens were interviewed twice and kept week-long video diaries documenting their daily online and offline activities. Findings show that social media activities were critical for maintaining friendships and provided a sense of virtual independence during quarantine. Teens also pursued independent informal learning activities via social media. However, themes of shame also arose, with teens internalizing negative messages from parents and media about social media use. © 14th International Conference on ICT, Society, and Human Beings, ICT 2021, 18th International Conference on Web Based Communities and Social Media, WBC 2021 and 13th International Conference on e-Health, EH 2021 - Held at the 15th Multi-Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, MCCSIS 2021. All rights reserved.