scholarly journals Collateral impact of COVID-19: why should children continue to suffer?

Author(s):  
Prasad Nagakumar ◽  
Ceri-Louise Chadwick ◽  
Andrew Bush ◽  
Atul Gupta

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-COV-2 virus fortunately resulted in few children suffering from severe disease. However, the collateral effects on the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have had significant detrimental effects on children affected and young people. There are also some positive impacts in the form of reduced prevalence of viral bronchiolitis. The new strain of SARS-COV-2 identified recently in the UK appears to have increased transmissibility to children. However, there are no large vaccine trials set up in children to evaluate safety and efficacy. In this short communication, we review the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people. We highlight the need for urgent strategies to mitigate the risks to children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is Known:• Children and young people account for <2% of all COVID-19 hospital admissions• The collateral impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people is devastating• Significant reduction in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the southern hemisphere What is New:• The public health measures to reduce COVID-19 infection may have also resulted in near elimination of influenza and RSV infections across the globe• A COVID-19 vaccine has been licensed for adults. However, large scale vaccine studies are yet to be initiated although there is emerging evidence of the new SARS-COV-2 strain spreading more rapidly though young people.• Children and young people continue to bear the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic

Author(s):  
Gabrielle Ivinson ◽  
Ian Thompson

This chapter reports on and draws lessons from the BERA Commission on Poverty and Policy Advocacy which set up five seminars and a community Forum across regions in each of the four jurisdictions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The seminars highlighted differences between the differing political contexts of the four UK jurisdictions in terms of their conceptualisations and policy enactment around child poverty and the implications for teachers in each context. The BERA Commission found that the devolved contexts of the UK open up some limited but important spaces for difference and contestation. The chapter explores how attuning to the places where children and young people grow up provides an important lens on vulnerability, wellbeing and educational achievement.


2006 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. GODDARD ◽  
M. C. COOKE ◽  
R. K. GUPTA ◽  
J. S. NGUYEN-VAN-TAM

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection produces more severe disease and increased hospitalization rates in high-risk babies. The monoclonal antibody palivizumab offers protection against complications, and the first of five monthly doses should be administered before the onset of community RSV activity. However, the required real-time prediction of this onset is problematic. We attempted to identify seasonal RSV patterns by retrospectively examining 10 years of laboratory reports for RSV and clinical episode reports for certain respiratory presentations in both primary and secondary care. Analysis of hospital laboratory reports, incidence of acute bronchitis in primary care, and hospital admissions for acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis in young children revealed a consistent increase in RSV activity during week 43 each year. Promptly commencing prophylaxis during the second week of each October (week 42) would precede the onset of the RSV season in the United Kingdom, and provide coverage until its decline in mid-March.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ward ◽  
Rachel Harwood ◽  
Clare Smith ◽  
Simon E Kenny ◽  
Matthew Clark ◽  
...  

Identifying which children and young people (CYP) are vulnerable to severe disease following SARS-CoV-2 is important to guide shielding and vaccination policy. Methods We used data for all inpatient hospital admissions in England in CYP aged 0-17 between March 1st 2015 to Feb 28th 2021, linked to paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission, and SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing, and deaths. We calculated odds ratios and predicted probability of PICU admission using generalized estimation equations, and compared these between COVID-19, PIMS-TS, other admissions in 2020/21, all admissions in 2019/20, and admissions due to influenza in 20219/20. Findings There were 6,338 COVID-19 hospitalisations, 259 PICU admissions and 8 deaths as well as 712 PIMS-TS hospitalisations, 312 PICU admissions and <5 deaths. Odds of PICU admission were increased amongst neonates and decreased amongst 15-17 compared with 1-4 year olds with COVID-19, increased in older CYP and females with PIMS-TS, and increased for Black compared with White ethnicity for both conditions. Odds of PICU admission with COVID-19 were increased for CYP with any comorbidity and were highest for CYP with multiple medical problems. Comorbidities associated with PICU admission among COVID-19 patients were similar to overall PICU admissions in 2019/20 and to influenza PICU admissions in 2019/20, but with higher odds. Interpreting associations with comorbidities within PIMS-TS was complex due to the multisystem nature of the disease. Interpretation CYP were at very low risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19 or PIMS-TS. Patterns of vulnerability for severe COVID-19 appear to magnify background risk factors for serious illness in CYP.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie J W Shoop-Worrall ◽  
Suzanne M M Verstappen ◽  
Wendy Costello ◽  
Saskya P Angevare ◽  
Yosef Uziel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/Aims  Younger and older people with rheumatic diseases may experience increased anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the uncertainty regarding their likelihood of contracting the virus, its complications alongside their existing condition and whether their immunosuppressive treatments pose additional risks. This study explored trajectories of anxiety in parents of children and young people (CYP) with rheumatic diseases and adults with rheumatic diseases in the six months following March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods  CYP and adults recruited to the international COVID-19 European Patient Registry, a parent-led, online, self-referred prospective cohort recruiting participants globally, were selected if enrolled within 20th March to 17th April 2020. Anxiety scores (0-10, 10=Highest anxiety) were collected weekly for up to 28 weeks and denoted parent anxiety in the CYP cohort and self-reported anxiety in the adult cohort. Group-based trajectory models explored anxiety clusters using censored-normal models in the CYP and adult populations, separately. Linear, quadratic and cubic polynomials were tested within 1 to 10 clusters and optimal models selected based on a combination of model fit (BIC), parsimony and clinical plausibility. Demographic (country, age, gender) and clinical (diagnosis, disease control, respiratory comorbidity, immunosuppressive therapy) information and COVID-19 mitigation behaviours (isolation, distancing, none) were collected at initial enrolment and compared between clusters using Chi-squared, Fisher’s exact and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results  Among 498 CYP and 2640 adults, most were female (65%, 89%) and from the UK (50%, 84%), respectively. The most common diagnoses were polyarticular JIA (37%) and oligoarticular JIA (29%) among CYP and RA among the adults (63%). Respiratory comorbidities were uncommon in the CYP (10%) and adult (17%) cohorts, and most were taking any immunosuppressive therapies (85%, 87%), respectively. As of March 2020, 88% and 79% were self-isolating, respectively. In both the parents of CYP and adult cohorts, four trajectory clusters were identified with similar patterns: Persistent extremely high anxiety (32%, 17%), persistent high anxiety (43%, 41%), high anxiety that marginally improved (25%, 32%) and moderate anxiety that improved (11%, 10%). Among CYP, few characteristics distinguished the clusters. However, in the adult cohort, clusters with greater and more persistent anxiety were associated with higher levels of respiratory comorbidities, higher use of immunosuppressive therapies, higher initial levels of self-isolation and slightly older age than those with lower or improving anxiety over time. Conclusion  This study reports four trajectories of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic that are consistent across parents of CYP with rheumatic diseases and among adults with these conditions. Despite relatively lower risks for CYP, parental anxiety regarding COVID-19 was high and not associated with characteristics of their child or of their child's disease. Among adults with rheumatic diseases, greater anxiety was associated with risk factors potentially associated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Disclosure  S.J.W. Shoop-Worrall: None. S.M.M. Verstappen: None. W. Costello: None. S.P. Angevare: None. Y. Uziel: None. C. Wouters: None. N. Wulffraat: Honoraria; Sobi. Grants/research support; Abbvie. R. Beesley: None.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stallard ◽  
Michelle Maguire ◽  
Justin Daddow ◽  
Rosie Shepperd ◽  
Mike Foster ◽  
...  

Aims and methodTo review the deaths of children and young people who took their own life. We conducted a retrospective analysis of serious incident reports from a National Health Service trust and reviews by the child death overview panels of the local safeguarding children boards.ResultsWe identified 23 deaths, with annual rates varying considerably between local authorities and over time. Over half of the children (n = 13, 56%) were not known to specialist child and adolescent mental health services, with 11 having no contact with any agency at the time of their death. Hanging was the most common method (n = 20, 87%) and of these, half (n =11, 55%) were low-level hangings.Clinical implicationsTraining is required to improve awareness, recognition and the assessment of children at risk of taking their own life. Specialist child mental health services should directly assess plans or attempts at hanging and offer advice about the seriousness of attempting this. National data (by age) on children and young people who take their own life should be routinely published to inform clinical and preventive services.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nastasja M de Graaf ◽  
Ilham I Manjra ◽  
Anna Hames ◽  
Claudia Zitz

Background: Little is known about how social and cultural variants interact with gender identity development. This article aims to identify the ethnicities of children and young people referred to the United Kingdom’s national Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), and compare the ethnicity data with the UK child population and referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Methods: GIDS referrals made between April 2012 and April 2015 for children and young people were retrieved. Ethnicity data were obtained by the ‘16 + 1’ ethnicity list. Chi-square and t-tests were performed on the demographics. Results: Less than 10% of the 995 referrals at GIDS were from Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups – an underrepresentation as compared with both the national population and CAMHS figures. No significant differences in ethnic representation were found between the demographic birth-assigned sexes, across age groups, or year of referral. Conclusions: Hypotheses proposed for this underrepresentation take into account both the potential barriers to accessing services and the possibility of cross-cultural variations in the conceptualisations of gender, gender roles and gender diversity. Ethnicity, culture and religion, and their overlapping relationship with gender need further exploration.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN FAUTLEY ◽  
REGINA MURPHY

Back in 2013, in the BJME editorial for issue 30(2), we considered the place of knowledge in the curriculum (Fautley & Murphy, 2013). Things have not stood still since that date, certainly in England, and other parts of the world too. What we have now is a situation where the idea of knowledge as assuming supremacy over skills is on the increase. For those of us concerned with music education, many aspects of this increasingly fractious debate are to be viewed with concern. Allied to this, we have neoliberal-leaning governments in many parts of the world, Britain included, who seem to find it difficult to understand the important role that music education has – or should have – in the education of our children and young people. Indeed, in the UK, the education secretary is on record as making this observation: Education secretary Nicky Morgan has warned young people that choosing to study arts subjects at school could ‘hold them back for the rest of their lives’ (The Stage, 2014) This attitude, and Britain is certainly not alone in this, is clearly going to be problematic for those of us involved in music and the arts.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001551
Author(s):  
Patricia Falconer Hall ◽  
J Blackadder-Coward ◽  
H Pynn

IntroductionHeat illness among the UK Armed Forces is usually exertional, and therefore preventable, yet the incidence has not reduced since 2011. JSP 539 explicitly states that wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) should be measured ‘at the location of greatest heat risk’, not ‘that of most convenience’. A handheld WBGT tracker used at point-of-exertion could reduce this incidence if proven to be as accurate as the current in-service device.MethodsLongitudinal observational comparison and equipment feasibility study of the Kestrel 5400 and QUESTemp 34 (QT-34) in worldwide firm base and deployed UK Armed Forces locations. The locations chosen were Kenya, South Sudan, Belize, Tidworth, Aldershot and Brecon. Paired data points of WBGT readings were collected from November 2017 to August 2018 in all weather conditions.ResultsWBGT readings were comparable between the QT-34 and Kestrel 5400 across the UK and overseas. In addition, there was no change in accuracy between readings taken from the Kestrel 5400 when tripod-mounted and handheld. The Kestrel was easy to set up and far less susceptible to resupply or power supply limitations, as it requires no user input for wet bulb temperature, and runs on AA batteries.ConclusionThis equipment feasibility study has shown that the Kestrel 5400 gives an acceptable accuracy and is easier to use than the QT-34. The authors recommend that the Kestrel 5400 is introduced as an adjunct to the QT-34, and its use within the military setting monitored through ongoing comparative data collection in a large-scale proof-of-concept study.


Author(s):  
Elaine Chase ◽  
Jennifer Allsopp

This introductory chapter provides an overview of youth migration. Youth migration needs to be understood in relation to its negative drivers of persecution, violence, and unsustainable lives in countries of origin, factors that motivated the flights of many young people. But at the same time, there is a need to recognize that such adversity also fuels individual and collective dreams and aspirations for better lives. Without acknowledging this, politicians will struggle to formulate meaningful and workable asylum and immigration policies. The chapter then briefly outlines the differing journeys that young people took in order to arrive in Europe. The chapter explains that the book focuses on how asylum, immigration, and social care procedures are operationalized once unaccompanied children and young people arrive in the UK and Italy, and the impact that these bureaucratic processes have on them over time.


Author(s):  
Ian Thompson ◽  
Gabrielle Ivinson

Poverty blights the lives of children and young people. Research has consistently shown that the most economically disadvantaged pupils across the United Kingdom (UK) have the poorest educational outcomes and that poverty has a pernicious effect on children’s well-being. However, far less is known about the ways that poverty is differentially experienced for children and young people in schools within the four jurisdictions of the UK. Are there historical, social and cultural factors that make poverty a postcode lottery in terms of quality of schooling in the different parts of the UK? Are successful local interventions context specific as the research evidence seems to suggest or can we learn from particular regions or cities? This introduction points out that anxieties about growing educational inequality in the UK have to be contextualised historically, geographically and in terms of the distinct political and socio-economic landscapes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


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