Association Between Family Composition and the Well-Being of Vulnerable Children in Nairobi, Kenya

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1232-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Radcliff ◽  
Elizabeth F. Racine ◽  
Larissa R. Brunner Huber ◽  
Beth Elise Whitaker
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Family Composition ◽  
Vulnerable Children

Are you listening? Echoing the voices of looked after children about their transition to secondary school

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Yvonne J Francis ◽  
Laura Rowland ◽  
Sarah Humrich ◽  
Sally Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Looked After Children ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Childhood Event

Transition to secondary school is a significant childhood event, especially for the most vulnerable children. Many looked after children experience multiple episodes of instability, loss and change which can affect this move. Research shows that school belonging promotes acceptance, inclusion and respect, and impacts positively on school transfer and participation. Asking children for their views on matters that affect them can ease the process and increase their belonging and well-being. This article seeks to echo the voices of 36 children aged 10 to 12 who participated in a therapeutic primary to secondary transition initiative for looked after children. Informed by a participatory action research approach, its focus was to facilitate the child’s voice. Child-friendly, multi-method techniques and activities were used to elicit their views about the transition. Social connections, relationships, feeling safe and belonging within the school environment emerged as key themes. Children specifically highlighted the importance of friendships as a mechanism for supporting their belonging during this time. They also voiced the need for their social connections and belonging to be promoted. This unique intervention provides a framework for facilitating the voices of looked after children and underlines the need for practitioners to listen and understand moves from primary to secondary schools from the child’s perspective.

scholarly journals Why did some parents not send their children back to school following school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e001014
Author(s):  
Lisa Woodland ◽  
Louise E Smith ◽  
Rebecca K Webster ◽  
Richard Amlôt ◽  
Antonia Rubin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Educational Potential ◽  
Voluntary Basis

BackgroundOn 23 March 2020, schools closed to most children in England in response to COVID-19 until September 2020. Schools were kept open to children of key workers and vulnerable children on a voluntary basis. Starting 1 June 2020, children in reception (4–5 years old), year 1 (5–6 years old) and year 6 (10–11 years old) also became eligible to attend school.Methods1373 parents or guardians of children eligible to attend school completed a cross-sectional survey between 8 and 11 June 2020. We investigated factors associated with whether children attended school or not.Results46% (n=370/803) of children in year groups eligible to attend school and 13% (n=72/570) of children of key workers had attended school in the past 7 days. The most common reasons for sending children to school were that the child’s education would benefit, the child wanted to go to school and the parent needed to work. A child was significantly more likely to attend if the parent believed the child had already had COVID-19, they had special educational needs or a person in the household had COVID-19 symptoms.ConclusionsFollowing any future school closure, helping parents to feel comfortable returning their child to school will require policy makers and school leaders to communicate about the adequacy of their policies to: (A) ensure that the risk to children in school is minimised; (B) ensure that the educational potential within schools is maximised; and (C) ensure that the benefits of school for the psychological well-being of children are prioritised.

scholarly journals Measuring Symptoms of Psychopathology in Zambian Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Scale Validation and Psychometric Evaluation

Assessment ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1335-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah McIvor Murray ◽  
Paul Bolton ◽  
Jeremy C. Kane ◽  
Daniel P. Lakin ◽  
Stephanie Skavenski Van Wyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

There is a paucity of validated mental health measures for assessing psychological well-being among HIV-affected youth. We sought to explore the psychometric properties and validity of the Achenbach Youth Self-Report and Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living in Lusaka, Zambia. These scales were administered to 210 OVC aged 13 to 17 years via audio computer-assisted self-interview. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess scale structure, Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency, and correlations between scales related to mental or psychosocial health for construct validity. A known-groups validation was conducted using local identifications of youth with and without significant psychosocial problems, and test–retest reliability was assessed. Scales exhibited good internal reliability (α > .80), adequate criterion validity (area under the curve > .70), and moderate test–retest reliability (.62-.68). Findings support the utility of these symptom scales for identifying OVC experiencing significant psychosocial problems in Zambia.

scholarly journals Family Instability in the Lives of American Children

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 493-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon E. Cavanagh ◽  
Paula Fomby
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Family Composition ◽  
Family Instability ◽  
National Data ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Family Organization ◽  
Union Status ◽  
New Directions ◽  
American Children

Scholars have long looked to family composition to understand child well-being. The study of family instability, or the experience of repeated changes in parents’ union status during childhood, represents a recent advance in this field that takes into account the dynamic nature of contemporary family organization and considers its implications for children's adjustment and development. We review some of the structural and cultural factors that have contributed to rising levels of family instability and highlight the emergence of national data to measure it. We then review the perspective that guides much of the scholarship on family instability and critically assess the contributions of this work to the understanding of child well-being. We close by suggesting new directions for research, with a call for work that broadens the conceptualization and measurement of contemporary children's family systems and home environments as well as the mechanisms that explain why—or whether—instability matters.

scholarly journals Peanut butter–based formulations of amoxicillin for pediatric applications

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
Helen Tran ◽  
Danny Lee ◽  
Sarah E Petnic ◽  
Julianne A Bozzini ◽  
Sangwei Lu
Keyword(s):  
Child Mortality ◽  
Peanut Butter ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Dry Milk ◽  
Pediatric Formulation ◽  
Lactam Antibiotic ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Storage Temperatures ◽  
Global Health Challenge

Abstract Background Child mortality is a major global health challenge, especially in regions of limited resources. Accessibility to lifesaving medicine and adequate nutrition is essential to reduce child mortality and improve the health and well-being of the world’s most vulnerable children. Methods We have developed NutMox, a novel pediatric formulation of the β-lactam antibiotic amoxicillin in a matrix of peanut-based ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) consisting of peanut butter, sugar, vegetable oil, dry milk and vitamins. NutMox is ready to use and thermostable, requires no chewing or pill swallowing and provides both an antibiotic and nutrition. Results Amoxicillin in NutMox formulations was stable for at least 12 months at storage temperatures of 4°C, 25°C and 37°C. Amoxicillin formulated in NutMox displayed similar pharmacokinetics in mice to that in suspension. Conclusions Our results demonstrated the feasibility of a peanut butter–based matrix for pediatric formulations of amoxicillin, suggesting that such a matrix can serve as a base for delivering medications in addition to its current use as an RUTF.

Personalised Budgets: What Is the Future for Child Protection?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Plath ◽  
Ann Dadich ◽  
Susan Evans ◽  
Kenny D Lawson ◽  
Brian Stout
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Potential Benefits

Abstract As the Australian state of New South Wales considers the adoption of a policy of personalised budgets in child protection, questions arise regarding how such a policy could take shape and how it would impact service delivery to promote safety and well-being amongst vulnerable children. This article presents findings from a mixed-method, realist evaluation of a pilot programme that adopted some of the features of personalised budgets, namely, personalisation, brokerage and keyworkers. Drawing on literature on personalised budgets in disability and aged care, the article highlights the features, potential benefits and challenges of personalised budgets in child protection. It concludes by arguing for a better understanding of how personalised budgets could benefit vulnerable children. This might involve: defining the roles of brokers and keyworkers, developing ways to increase service user engagement, clarifying implications for the wider service sector and planning for the provision of required supports and services for children and families.

scholarly journals Enrollment of Rural Farmers’ Children into Schools in Ibadan Oyo State Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
O. O. Oke ◽  
A. S. Adeoye
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Rural Farmers ◽  
The Government ◽  
High Level

Education is germane to liberating many people from high level of illiteracy and abject poverty. But lack of school enrollment among vulnerable children of such people living in the rural areas will further limit development, progress and the well-being they deserve. This study however was meant to assess the enrollment of rural farmers’ children into schools in Ido and Oluyole Local Government Areas, Ibadan, Oyo state. Purposive sampling technique was used for selection of the study area in the areas of Ibadan while random sampling was used to select 150 respondents from 10 communities in the 2 LGAs. Data collected were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed that majority of the respondents (94.2%) were married, 63.3% were above 60 years, 50.8% of the respondents were Christian while 49.2% were Muslims. The result also revealed that the majority of the respondents had primary (45%) and no formal education (45%). The result also showed the enrolment levels of farmers’ children in schools that 49.2% of the respondents’ male children between the ranges of 2-4 are enrolled in schools with the highest percentage of enrolment about 59.2% of the respondents female children are enrolled in schools. More so, 43.3% of the total respondents’ children are enrolled in schools, implying low enrollment in schools due to their low standard of living and unemployment in the country as indicated by 61.7% of the respondents to be a challenge to school enrolment for their children. In conclusion, the government should come up with strategies of establishing program such as free education where rural farmers’ children can benefit from and also ensure access to loans to improve farm business of rural farmers, supplying them with input and improved varieties that will increase their yield with commensurate income to support the enrolment of their children in schools. This will encourage and support enrolment of their children in school and eventually improve their living standard in the society.

scholarly journals Psychosocial support for children

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Clarke ◽  
Sherry Hutchinson ◽  
Ellen Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Operations Research ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
The Face

Masiye Camp in Matopos National Park, and Kids’ Clubs in downtown Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, are examples of a growing number of programs in Africa and elsewhere that focus on the psychological and social needs of AIDS-affected children. Given the traumatic effects of grief, loss, and other hardships faced by these children, there is increasing recognition of the importance of programs to help them strengthen their social and emotional support systems. This Horizons Report describes findings from operations research in Zimbabwe and Rwanda that examines the psychosocial well-being of orphans and vulnerable children and ways to increase their ability to adapt and cope in the face of adversity. In these studies, a person’s psychosocial well-being refers to his/her emotional and mental state and his/her network of human relationships and connections. A total of 1,258 youth were interviewed. All were deemed vulnerable by their communities because they had been affected by HIV/AIDS and/or other factors such as severe poverty.

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