THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON HOME BIRTH

Over the last decade the trend of home-birth rates in the United Kingdom (UK) has remained consistent, with 2.4% of women giving birth at home in 2020.1 Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, maternity services have seen significant changes to visiting policies, delivery of services and the suspension of home-birth services across the UK.2 This paper will explore the evidence regarding the experiences of those women and birthing people who choose home birth, with the aim to identify women's reasons for choosing a home birth during the pandemic. Some dedicated home-birth teams reported increased referral rates for a home birth and an increase in the amount of home births throughout the initial wave. It is unclear why home-birth rates appeared to have increased in the UK during the pandemic, especially since women's access to home birth may have been limited.

In need of what? Section 17 Provision under the Children Act 1989

This article considers Section 17 'child in need' provision under the Children Act 1989, the main legislation governing Children's Services in England. Arguably, Section 17 has never been given the same priority as other statutory requirements under the Act. The intention was to create a broad umbrella provision for children living with their families, but children assessed as 'in need' are not entitled to receive such services unless they are disabled. This exploration is timely given the current Independent Review of Children's Social Care in England, ongoing austerity measures, high rates of child poverty and COVID‐19. Consideration is given to the development of Section 17 and what the future may hold.

Child safety, welfare and well-being: Issues and challenges., 2nd ed

This book provides a focused and comprehensive overview of the status of children across society, with special reference to emerging features and measures of child safety, welfare, and overall well-being. The book is arranged into four parts covering various dimensions of child welfare and well-being. In this second edition, highly experienced academics, researchers, child rights activities, and policymakers from both developed and developing countries have contributed chapters on topics such as status of children living under institutional care, sexual abuse of male children and tribal girl children, issues and challenges faced by children living in conflict zones, children living on the streets, COVID-19 and its impact on the education of children. The status of marginalized children gets special importance in the second edition. The new chapters include field-based experiences of researchers in protecting child rights and preventing child abuse. It also considers the promising strategies and promising future directions in enhancing effective prevention, intervention and responses to child abuse and neglect. This volume is essential for a wide range of professionals and researchers from the social sciences, law, medicine, and behavioral sciences. It is also beneficial for policymakers and law enforcement agencies working with children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Parental Decisions on Return to Youth Sport During a Global Pandemic: Examining Parental Decisions by Race, Gender, and Socio-Economic Status

The onset of COVID-19 altered the way parents make decisions on safe activities for their children. Given the impact of this global pandemic, it is important to consider what decisions parents make when faced with the obstacle of keeping a child safe while letting them pursue extracurricular activities, such as sports. To this end, we examine decision-making of parents regarding whether or not they are comfortable allowing their children to participate in sport activities. For this purpose, we conducted two waves of surveys with youth sport parents in spring 2020 and fall 2020. The findings suggest that Black parents and female parents were more comfortable allowing their children to participate and that, in general, parents became more comfortable with local youth sport participation as the pandemic continued.

Twenty key issues on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 vaccination in children.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2)infection is still worldwide.As a vulnerable group, severe and dead pediatric cases are also reported.Under this severe epidemic situation, children should be well protected.With the widespread vaccination of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in adults, the infection rate have decreased.Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 vaccine inoculation for children groups step by step is of great significance to the protection of children and the prevention and control of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19) as a whole.But the safety of children vaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is a main concern of parents.Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of vaccination and the implementation of vaccination work, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Center for Children's Health and the Society of Pediatrics, Chinese Medical Association organized experts to interpret the main issue of parents about SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children, in order to answer the doubts of parents.Copyright © 2021 by the Chinese Medical Association.

UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021: COVID-19 Special Evidence Brief. Evidence and Gap Map Research Brief. Innocenti Research Brief 2022-09

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with this brief mapping the COVID-19-relevant studies. This brief provides an overview of the available evidence that may inform responses to the COVID-19 pandemic or that furthers the understanding of its impact on child well-being outcomes. This evidence may be directly related to policies to reduce COVID-19 transmission, such as closure of schools and colleges, personal protective equipment, movement restriction between borders and social distancing, or studies of interventions responding to the immediate socio-economic impacts, such as social protection measures, educational programmes and tele-health. The purpose of the research brief is to: (1) Make potential users aware of the map and its contents, (2) Identify areas in which there is ample evidence to guide policy and practice, and so encourage policymakers and practitioners to use the map as a way to access rigorous studies of effectiveness, and (3) Identify gaps in the evidence base, and so encourage research commissioners to commission studies to fill these evidence gaps. [This brief is an update of the 2020 version. It was written with assistance from Yashika Kanojia.]

UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Goal Area 4: Every Child Lives in a Safe and Clean Environment. Evidence and Gap Map Research Brief. Innocenti Research Brief 2022-07

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's Strategic Plan 2018-2021, although it is anticipated that they will also be useful for others working in the child well-being space. The sixth brief maps the COVID-19-relevant studies. This brief provides an overview of the available evidence related to interventions to ensure that every child lives in a safe and clean environment. The purpose of the research brief is to: (1) Make potential users aware of the map and its contents, (2) Identify areas in which there is ample evidence to guide policy and practice, and so encourage policymakers and practitioners to use the map as a way to access rigorous studies of effectiveness, and (3) Identify gaps in the evidence base, and so encourage research commissioners to commission studies to fill these evidence gaps. [This brief is an update of the 2020 version. It was written with assistance from Yashika Kanojia.]

UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Goal Area 3: Every Child Is Protected from Violence and Exploitation. Evidence and Gap Map Research Brief. Innocenti Research Brief 2022-06

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's Strategic Plan 2018-2021, although it is anticipated that they will also be useful for others working in the child well-being space. The sixth brief maps the COVID-19-relevant studies. This brief provides an overview of the available evidence related to ensuring that every child is protected from violence and exploitation. The purpose of the research brief is to: (1) Make potential users aware of the map and its contents, (2) Identify areas in which there is ample evidence to guide policy and practice, and so encourage policymakers and practitioners to use the map as a way to access rigorous studies of effectiveness, and (3) Identify gaps in the evidence base, and so encourage research commissioners to commission studies to fill these evidence gaps. [This brief is an update of the 2020 version. It was written with assistance from Yashika Kanojia.]

Child safety, welfare and well-being: Issues and challenges., 2nd ed

This book provides a focused and comprehensive overview of the status of children across society, with special reference to emerging features and measures of child safety, welfare, and overall well-being. The book is arranged into four parts covering various dimensions of child welfare and well-being. In this second edition, highly experienced academics, researchers, child rights activities, and policymakers from both developed and developing countries have contributed chapters on topics such as status of children living under institutional care, sexual abuse of male children and tribal girl children, issues and challenges faced by children living in conflict zones, children living on the streets, COVID-19 and its impact on the education of children. The status of marginalized children gets special importance in the second edition. The new chapters include field-based experiences of researchers in protecting child rights and preventing child abuse. It also considers the promising strategies and promising future directions in enhancing effective prevention, intervention and responses to child abuse and neglect. This volume is essential for a wide range of professionals and researchers from the social sciences, law, medicine, and behavioral sciences. It is also beneficial for policymakers and law enforcement agencies working with children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Contemporary Issues in Child Protection: Police Use of Artificial Intelligence for Online Child Protection in the UK

This chapter investigates Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired approaches used by the police in protecting children online. The reviewed approaches are successful in most of the situations but have their own weaknesses. As such consideration is required for all stakeholders within the child protection arena. The utmost duty to protect children lies with all, irrespective of whether the abuse occurred on or offline. The reporting and intervention on child abuse cases were based on the community, as this was mostly offline perpetrated by parents or caregivers. However, with the advent of technology and the increasing use of the internet by children for several reasons, it has shifted most abuses from offline to online. The law enforcement authorities such as police plays a vital role in protecting children online and can apply different approaches compared to other agencies such as Social Services, Health, and Education. However, Government recommendations for a joint working response mean that all child-protected agencies need to work together in the process of protecting children (HM Government in Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, Department for Children, Schools, and Families, London, 2010). However, with the emergence of COVID-19 and the high reliance on the internet by children, it meant that the police must adapt to the changes and rely on advanced technologies such as AI. The UK Police force is stretched due to a lack of financial and human resources, which means that alternative intervention methods are applied in monitoring and attacking online child abuse. This chapter challenges the use of AI unilaterally in predicting and identifying online abuse as opposed to face-to-face investigation and intervention. Though AI can be helpful, it has limitations that can impact on protecting children online as discussed in this chapter. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Recommendations of the Polish pediatric society and the national consultant in the field of pediatrics regarding outpatient care for children during the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus

The guidelines describe the basic principles of outpatient care for children during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The presented recommendation developed based on the literature reviews, websites of scientific societies and international proposals. The guidelines concern outpatient care for sick children, children with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection COVID-19 confirmed in the mothers, vaccinations, preventive visits for healthy children, as well as monitoring of the child's safety and mental health. Copyright © 2020, Wydawnictwo Czelej Sp. z o.o.. All rights reserved.

'Almost everything else goes to the wayside': Experiences of caseworkers, middle managers and leaders responding to child fatality and near fatality cases

While child welfare scholars and caseworkers have acquired a better understanding of risk factors associated with occurrences of child fatalities due to maltreatment over the past 20 years, little is known about the organisational and system‐level characteristics that impact efforts to prevent or intervene in these cases. As part of a collaborative agreement between a university‐affiliated centre and a state child welfare agency, we conducted interviews by phone with 19 case managers, middle managers and regional leaders who were assigned to manage or oversee a near fatality or fatality case. They illuminated five major themes: 1) their perceived stressors and sources of support;2) client and perpetrator risk factors;3) system‐level risk and protective factors;4) case descriptions;and 5) lessons learned. Relying upon their lived experiences, we offer practice and policy recommendations to Child Abuse Review to support their efforts to prevent and respond to child fatality cases. Efforts should be devoted to evaluating strategies to reduce risk for all families before the child welfare system is involved, supporting workers when they are assigned to fatality cases by reducing caseloads and preparing them for the fatality review process, and embracing a culture of collaboration across and within child‐serving systems. Key Practitioner Messages: To respond effectively to child fatality and near fatality cases, child welfare caseworkers and leaders should be assigned fewer cases in the interim, and receive guidance, consultation, and time to prepare for the fatality review process.Embracing a culture of collaboration across and within child‐serving systems may also prevent fatalities and facilitate an efficient investigative process if/when they do occur.

A Family-based Child Health Education Curriculum for Refugee Families

Background: Refugees are at risk for low health literacy and high rates of illness and hospitalization. A partnership between medical professionals at Yale and two New-Haven, CT-based refugee resettlement organizations aimed to create and implement a family-based, interactive pediatric healthcare curriculum with a goal of increasing childhood health knowledge among refugee families. Methods: Seven 1-hour, in-person classes and 1 virtual class were taught by pediatric residents with real-time translation in Pashto, Dari, Arabic, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda on the topics of child nutrition, safety, parenting, and oral health. Each class incorporated play-based activities for toddlers-a My Healthy Plate puzzle, street-crossing simulation, teeth-brushing demonstration, and block play-which were integrated into parental discussion with visual aids. Knowledge acquisition and satisfaction was assessed using pre- and posttests. Results: 67 adult participants had an 85% response rate. Average knowledge test scores increased in 5 of 7 classes, reaching significance in a class on parenting (mean 52% vs 90%, paired t-test p = 0.03) and child safety (mean 80% vs 97%, p = 0.04). 100% of respondents (67% response rate) reported increased understanding of the topic and would recommend the class to a friend. There were 5 participants for the virtual class. Conclusion: Child health education classes conducted for refugee families can improve knowledge of pediatric healthcare topics and provide positive experiences. A close relationship between healthcare providers and community refugee organizations has the potential to improve health education in refugee families. Future studies will assess efficacy and satisfaction of virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heroes, Victims, Sacrifices, and Survivors: A Qualitative Analysis of Early Childhood Teachers’ Social Media Posts During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten children and early childhood programs and has disrupted students’ and families’ lives globally. Early childhood educators around the world are adapting teaching methods and classroom environments to ensure students’ safety. As a result of these changes, decades of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), classroom design, and standards for interactions hang in the balance. To shed light on the impact of COVID-19 protocols on developmentally appropriate practice, this chapter conducts a review of current school reopening plans and classroom-level adaptations for early childhood. It begins by discussing the benefits of developmentally appropriate practices for building child resilience, academic skills, and agency, and outlining how crises impact the young child’s development. The second section collates school reopening guidelines from major health organizations, presenting a checklist for the safe reopening of schools. Next, the chapter analyzes photographic and textual data of early childhood classrooms and childcare centers from a global sample of social media posts. It then identifies four salient themes (Heroes, Victims, Sacrifices, and Survivors), discusses their threats to developmentally appropriate practices, presents a novel way of collecting and analyzing research data, and offers a framework of supports to developmentally appropriate practice in a crisis. The chapter concludes with guidance concerning ways to maintain appropriate pedagogy during the current crisis and beyond. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Children's Rights in the Perspective of Primary School Teachers in the Period COVID-19 Epidemic

With the announcement of an epidemic by the World Health Organization in 2020, countries have been restricted in many areas such as economy, health, education, and social life. With this restriction process, it is possible to say that children experience difficulties accessing many salient services, especially education, health, and care services. Therefore, during the COVID-19 epidemic, children can be told that they are deprived of rights based on their protection and development. In this process, the research aims to examine the opinions of primary school teachers, individuals with whom students spend the most time through distance education after their families, on children's rights. Participants of this research, adopting one of the qualitative research methods i.e., phenomenology, consist of 19 primary school teachers working in Yozgat, Turkey, determined by purposeful sampling methods. In the research, data were collected through a semi-structured interview form. The data obtained were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the research, teachers expressed the most opinions about children's right to life, nutrition, and a quality life standard as well as development right to access information. In addition, the most views were on the right of children to participate, on the right to express their opinions freely and on the right to protection from all kinds of maltreatment, neglect, abuse and exploitation. Therefore, teachers' views on children's rights to life, development, participation, and protection were evaluated as negative.