Parent Perception of School Meals in the San Joaquin Valley during COVID-19: A Photovoice Project.

School-based nutrition programs are crucial to reducing food insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted students' school meal participation. This study seeks to understand parent views of school meals during COVID-19 to inform efforts to improve participation in school meal programs. Photovoice methodology was used to explore parental perception of school meals in San Joaquin Valley, California, a region of predominately Latino farmworker communities. Parents in seven school districts photographed school meals for a one-week period during the pandemic and then participated in focus group discussions and small group interviews. Focus group discussions and small group interviews were transcribed, and data were analyzed using a team-based, theme-analysis approach. Three primary domains emerged: benefits of school meal distribution, meal quality and appeal, and perceived healthfulness. Parents perceived school meals as beneficial to addressing food insecurity. However, they noted that meals were unappealing, high in added sugar, and unhealthy, which led to discarded meals and decreased participation in the school meal program. The transition to grab-and-go style meals was an effective strategy for providing food to families during pandemic school closures, and school meals remain an important resource for families experiencing food insecurity. However, negative parental perceptions of the appeal and nutritional content of school meals may have decreased school meal participation and increased food waste that could persist beyond the pandemic.

Assessing the Safety of a Novel Neonatal Anesthesia Protocol: A Review of 101 Patients With Early Cleft Lip Repair.

PURPOSE: Our study introduces a novel anesthetic protocol for neonates without using volatile agents with the goal to minimize potentially neurotoxic and pro-apoptotic agents. The authors evaluated the short-term safety and efficacy of our anesthetic protocol in patients undergoing early cleft lip repair (ECLR). METHODS: A retrospective review of ECLR patients who underwent repair before 2.5 months of age within the last 4.3 years was performed. This sample was comprised of 2 groups, those who received either a standard volatile gas-based regimen or a dexmedetomidine-based neonatal anesthetic protocol (DBNAP). Patient demographics, medication dosing, anesthetic time (induction to extubation), major and minor complications, and medication side effects were compared between the 2 cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 101 patients underwent ECLR. All patients were American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1 or 2. Mean age at surgery was 31 ±â€Š13 days and mean anesthetic time was 179 ±â€Š36 minutes. DBNAP was used in 65 patients while the standard anesthetic protocol was used in 36 patients. Patient weight was significantly lower in the DBNAP group (4.01 ±â€Š0.61 versus 4.38 ±â€Š0.72 kg, P  = 0.007). There were no significant differences between the 2 cohorts when comparing anesthetic time, emergence time, complication rate, or medication side effects. CONCLUSION: For patients undergoing ECLR, DBNAP is perioperatively equivalent to the anesthetic standard of care, demonstrating no major complications and acceptable rates of minor complications and medication side effects.