Changing bodies: A scoping review and thematic analysis of family experience during serious childhood illness.

This scoping review has investigated experiences of children and parents encountering in-patient treatment for serious childhood illness, including current or potential use of technology as a support mechanism. The research questions were 1. What do children experience during illness and treatment? 2. What do parents experience when their child is seriously ill in hospital? 3. What tech and non-tech interventions support children's experience of in-patient care? The research team identified n = 22 relevant studies for review through JSTOR, Web of Science, SCOPUS and Science Direct. A thematic analysis of reviewed studies identified three key themes reflecting our research questions: Children in hospital, Parents and their children, and Information and technology. Our findings reflect that information giving, kindness and play are central in hospital experiences. Parent and child needs in hospital are interwoven and under researched. Children reveal themselves as active producers of pseudo-safe spaces who continue to prioritise normal child and adolescent experiences during in-patient care.

Child-centred harm reduction.

Harm reduction has become increasingly influential in drug policy and practice, but has developed primarily around adult drug use. Theoretical, practical, ethical and legal issues pertaining to children and adolescents under the age of majority - both relating to their own use and the effects of drug use among parents or within the family - are less clear. This commentary proposes a sub-field of drug policy at the intersection of harm reduction and childhood which we refer to as 'child-centred harm reduction'. We provide a definition and conceptual model, as well as illustrative questions that emerge through a child-centred harm reduction lens. Many people in different countries are already working on these kinds of issues, whose work needs greater recognition, analysis and support. In beginning to name and define this sub-field we hope to improve this situation, and inspire further international debate, collaboration, and innovation.

Teachers' Perceptions of Supporting Young Carers in Schools: Identifying Support Needs and the Importance of Home-School Relationships.

Recognition and support for young carers has improved steadily in the past two decades; with stronger legislation and more visibility and awareness of the challenges that many of the YC face, especially with respect to their education. Recent UK-based initiatives providing toolkits and guidance for school staff have provided much needed direction for schools, to support the loosely defined statutory requirements. The aim of the current research was to hear from school staff about their experiences in identifying and supporting young carers, to better understand any enablers and barriers. The thematic analysis of the interview data from 18 school staff was organized into two main themes: perceptions regarding the characteristics of young carers; and perceptions regarding the importance of home-school communication. Each superordinate theme contained several sub-themes. Overall, the teachers perceived many difficulties identifying young carers who did not volunteer this information and felt that the main enabler of identification was the trust relationships between the school and the pupil and parents. Once identified, the schools perceived the main areas of need that they could provide support for were the emotional wellbeing of the pupils and additional academic opportunities. They spoke too of the difficulties balancing the provision of this extra support within the constraints of the school context, both in terms of the school day, and the competing priorities relating to academic and social-emotional needs. School staff recognized that extra time outside of school was difficult for young carers to attend. Other subthemes are discussed with consideration to enablers and barriers. The implications for the dissemination of good practice, and addressing policy are considered.