Effects of Enhanced Foster Care on the Long-term Physical and Mental Health of Foster Care Alumni

IntroductionThe perinatal–postnatal family environment is associated with childhood outcomes including impacts on physical and mental health and educational attainment. Family longitudinal cohort studies collect in-depth data that can capture the influence of an era on family lifestyle, mental health, chronic disease, education and financial stability to enable identification of gaps in society and provide the evidence for changes in government in policy and practice.Methods and analysisThe Queensland Family Cohort (QFC) is a prospective, observational, longitudinal study that will recruit 12 500 pregnant families across the state of Queensland (QLD), Australia and intends to follow-up families and children for three decades. To identify the immediate and future health requirements of the QLD population; pregnant participants and their partners will be enrolled by 24 weeks of gestation and followed up at 24, 28 and 36 weeks of gestation, during delivery, on-ward, 6 weeks postpartum and then every 12 months where questionnaires, biological samples and physical measures will be collected from parents and children. To examine the impact of environmental exposures on families, data related to environmental pollution, household pollution and employment exposures will be linked to pregnancy and health outcomes. Where feasible, data linkage of state and federal government databases will be used to follow the participants long term. Biological samples will be stored long term for future discoveries of biomarkers of health and disease.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained from the Mater Research Ethics (HREC/16/MHS/113). Findings will be reported to (1) QFC participating families; (2) funding bodies, institutes and hospitals supporting the QFC; (3) federal, state and local governments to inform policy; (4) presented at local, national and international conferences and (5) disseminated by peer-review publications.

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Health of mothers of children with a life-limiting condition: a comparative cohort study

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2020-320655 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. archdischild-2020-320655

Author(s):

Lorna K Fraser ◽

Fliss EM Murtagh ◽

Jan Aldridge ◽

Trevor Sheldon ◽

Simon Gilbody ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Secondary Care ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Clinical Practice Research Datalink ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Term Condition ◽

Limiting Condition

ObjectiveThis study aimed to quantify the incidence rates of common mental and physical health conditions in mothers of children with a life-limiting condition.MethodsComparative national longitudinal cohort study using linked primary and secondary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink in England. Maternal–child dyads were identified in these data. Maternal physical and mental health outcomes were identified in the primary and secondary care datasets using previously developed diagnostic coding frameworks. Incidence rates of the outcomes were modelled using Poisson regression, adjusting for deprivation, ethnicity and age and accounting for time at risk.ResultsA total of 35 683 mothers; 8950 had a child with a life-limiting condition, 8868 had a child with a chronic condition and 17 865 had a child with no long-term condition.The adjusted incidence rates of all of the physical and mental health conditions were significantly higher in the mothers of children with a life-limiting condition when compared with those mothers with a child with no long-term condition (eg, depression: incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.21, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.30; cardiovascular disease: IRR 1.73, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.36; death in mothers: IRR 1.59, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.18).ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrates the higher incidence rates of common and serious physical and mental health problems and death in mothers of children with a life-limiting condition. Further research is required to understand how best to support these mothers, but healthcare providers should consider how they can target this population to provide preventative and treatment services.

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Cognitive, physical, and mental health outcomes between long-term cannabis and tobacco users

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.12.009 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 79 ◽

pp. 178-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M.E. Lovell ◽

R. Bruno ◽

J. Johnston ◽

A. Matthews ◽

I. McGregor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Physical And Mental Health

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Assessing the Health Status of Children Entering Foster Care

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.93.4.594 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 93 (4) ◽

pp. 594-601 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Robin Chernoff ◽

Terri Combs-Orme ◽

Christina Risley-Curtiss ◽

Alice Heisler

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Foster Care ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Children In Foster Care ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Complete Health ◽

History Of ◽

Short Time

Objective. Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting in overselection of children who have been in care long-term and underrepresentation of children who are in care for a short time. Methodology. This paper reports on the health of a large cohort of children who had complete health examinations at the time of entry into foster care in a middle-size city during a 2-year period. Results. Results indicate that >90% of the children had an abnormality in atleast one body system, 25% failed the vision screen, and 15% failed the hearing screen. The children were also lighter and shorter than the norm. Mental health screening revealed that 75% had a family history of mental illness or drug or alcohol abuse. Of children older than 3 years of age, 15% admitted to or were suspect for suicidal ideation and 7% for homicidal ideation. Of the children younger than 5 years of age, 23% had abnormal or suspect results on developmental screening examinations. At the time of entry into foster care, 12% of the children required an antibiotic. More than half needed urgent or nonurgent referrals for medical services and, for children >3 years of age, more than half needed urgent or nonurgent referrals for dental and mental health services. Just 12% of the children required only routine follow-up care. Conclusions. The high prevalence and broad range of health needs of children at the time they enter foster care necessitate the design and implementation of better models of health care delivery for children in foster care.

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The beneﬁts of outpatient mental health services for children in long-term foster care

Mental Health Services for Vulnerable Children and Young People ◽

10.4324/9780203095478-9 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 35-50

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Foster Care ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Outpatient Mental Health

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Emotional Responses to Stressors in Everyday Life Predict Long-Term Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms

Annals of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/abm/kaz057 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (6) ◽

pp. 402-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ruixue Zhaoyang ◽

Stacey B Scott ◽

Joshua M Smyth ◽

Jee-Eun Kang ◽

Martin J Sliwinski

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Latent Growth ◽

Assessment Approach ◽

Ecological Momentary

Abstract Background Individuals’ emotional responses to stressors in everyday life are associated with long-term physical and mental health. Among many possible risk factors, the stressor-related emotional responses may play an important role in future development of depressive symptoms. Purpose The current study examined how individuals’ positive and negative emotional responses to everyday stressors predicted their subsequent changes in depressive symptoms over 18 months. Methods Using an ecological momentary assessment approach, participants (n = 176) reported stressor exposure, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) five times a day for 1 week (n = 5,483 observations) and provided longitudinal reports of depressive symptoms over the subsequent 18 months. A multivariate multilevel latent growth curve model was used to directly link the fluctuations in emotions in response to momentary stressors in everyday life with the long-term trajectory of depressive symptoms. Results Adults who demonstrated a greater difference in stressor-related PA (i.e., relatively lower PA on stressor vs. nonstressor moments) reported larger increases in depressive symptoms over 18 months. Those with greater NA responses to everyday stressors (i.e., relatively higher NA on stressor vs. nonstressor moments), however, did not exhibit differential long-term changes in depressive symptoms. Conclusions Adults showed a pattern consistent with both PA and NA responses to stressors in everyday life, but only the stressor-related changes in PA (but not in NA) predicted the growth of depressive symptoms over time. These findings highlight the important—but often overlooked—role of positive emotional responses to everyday stressors in long-term mental health.

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An Assessment of Long-Term Physical and Emotional Quality of Life of Persons Injured on 9/11/2001

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16061054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 1054 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Robert Brackbill ◽

Howard Alper ◽

Patricia Frazier ◽

Lisa Gargano ◽

Melanie Jacobson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mental Health ◽

Health Status ◽

Physical Health ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Mental Health Status ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Component Score

Fifteen years after the disaster, the World Trade Center Health Registry (Registry) conducted The Health and Quality of Life Survey (HQoL) assessing physical and mental health status among those who reported sustaining an injury on 11 September 2001 compared with non-injured persons. Summary scores derived from the Short Form-12 served as study outcomes. United States (US) population estimates on the Physical Component Score (PCS-12) and Mental Component Score (MCS-12) were compared with scores from the HQoL and were stratified by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and injury status. Linear regression models were used to estimate the association between both injury severity and PTSD and PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores. Level of injury severity and PTSD history significantly predicted poorer physical health (mean PCS-12). There was no significant difference between injury severity level and mental health (mean MCS-12). Controlling for other factors, having PTSD symptoms after 9/11 predicted a nearly 10-point difference in mean MCS-12 compared with never having PTSD. Injury severity and PTSD showed additive effects on physical and mental health status. Injury on 9/11 and a PTSD history were each associated with long-term decrements in physical health status. Injury did not predict long-term decrements in one’s mental health status. Although it is unknown whether physical wounds of the injury healed, our results suggest that traumatic injuries appear to have a lasting negative effect on perceived physical functioning.

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COVID-19: it happens to nurses too—a case study

British Journal of Community Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjcn.2020.25.12.594 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (12) ◽

pp. 594-597

Author(s):

Grace McDonald ◽

Louise L Clark

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Post Discharge ◽

Social Approach ◽

Charge Nurse ◽

Icu Discharge ◽

Health Complications

The COVID-19 pandemic will have long-term ramifications for many patients, including those who work in the NHS and have been victims of the disease. This short case study describes the journey of an emergency department (ED) charge nurse who contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalised in the intensive care unit (ICU). Post-discharge, he experienced a multitude of physical and mental health complications, which ultimately impacted on each other. Therefore, a bio-psycho-pharmaco-social approach to care is recommended from admission through ICU, discharge and beyond. From this and other narratives, it appears that COVID-19 patients are not adequately followed up after ICU discharge, something that must be considered going forward.

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