Keeping children at home safely: A statutory agency's quest in Western Australia

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen McMahon ◽  
Katherine Fendley
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
At Home

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Western Australian Children’s Physical Activity and Screen Time

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2583
Author(s):  
Andrea Nathan ◽  
Phoebe George ◽  
Michelle Ng ◽  
Elizabeth Wenden ◽  
Pulan Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Outdoor Recreation ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Outdoor Play ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Children’S Physical Activity ◽  
At Home

Physical activity is essential for children’s healthy development, yet COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions such as school closures and staying at home, playground closures, and the cancelling of organised community sport have dramatically altered children’s opportunities to be physically active. This study describes changes in levels of physical activity and screen time from February 2020 (i.e., before COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Western Australia) to May 2020 (i.e., when COVID-19 restrictions were in place). Parents of children aged 5 to 9 years from Western Australia were eligible to participate and recruited through convenience sampling. An online survey instrument that included validated measures of their children’s physical activity (unstructured, organized, home-based, indoor/outdoor active play, dog play/walking), sociodemographic, and other potential confounders was administered to parents. Paired t-tests and mixed ANOVA models assessed changes in physical activity outcomes. The analytic sample comprised parents of 157 children who were 6.9 years of age (SD = 1.7) on average. Overall, weekly minutes of total physical activity (PA) did not change from before to during COVID-19. However, frequency and duration (total and home-based) of unstructured physical activity significantly increased. Outdoor play in the yard or street around the house, outdoor play in the park or playground or outdoor recreation area, and active indoor play at home all significantly increased. Frequency and total duration of organised physical activity significantly declined during COVID-19 distancing. During Western Australian COVID-19 restrictions, there was an increase in young children’s unstructured physical activity and outdoor play and a decrease in organised physical activity. It remains to be seen whether children’s increased physical activity has been sustained with the easing of physical distancing restrictions.

The ‘tipping point’: Exploring the factors associated with entry into residential care for people with dementia in Western Australia

Dementia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 147130122110012
Author(s):  
Thomas McGrath ◽  
Barbara Blundell ◽  
Claire Morrisby
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Tipping Point ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Informal Carer ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
At Home

Background People with dementia usually prefer to live in the community. Research is needed to identify the ‘tipping point’ for residential care entry and to highlight how people with dementia can be supported to remain at home as long as possible. Few previous studies have examined caregivers’ perceptions and explanations for the reasons people with dementia need to enter residential care in Australia. Aim To explore the factors contributing to people with dementia entering residential care in Perth, Western Australia, from the perspectives of informal carers and care staff. Method This phenomenological study used purposive sampling to recruit informal and formal caregivers of people with dementia. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 family carers and 11 home care staff. Data were thematically analysed to identify individual, carer and contextual factors that impact on residential care entry. Findings The majority of participants identified a combination of factors as the ‘tipping point’ to residential care entry; a few also identified the cause as a sudden event or specific issue. Factors identified included deterioration related to worsening cognition, changed behaviours and a decline in the performance of activities of daily living; co-occurring health conditions; safety concerns; carer no longer able to meet care needs; impact of providing support becoming too much for the informal carer; lack of family or social support and needing assistance from services that were unavailable or inaccessible. Factors assisting people with dementia to remain living at home longer were family and social support, formal services and dog ownership. Conclusion This study identified individual, carer and contextual factors that contribute to people with dementia entering residential care in Australia. The ‘tipping point’ was recognised as when the needs of a person with dementia outweigh the capacity of their informal and formal carers, services and supports to care for them.

I.—A Western Australian Geologist

1897 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 385-388
Author(s):  
Harry Page Woodward
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Australian Continent ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Great Region ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
At Home

Everything relating to the progress of geology in our Colonies is, or ought to be, of interest to geologists at home; and those who have helped forward this movement are also deserving of recognition and commendation here. The subject of the present notice has left his hammer-marks on the rocks of Western Australia, and has covered many thousand miles on horseback, on foot, by rail and steamboat, from north to south and from east to west of this great region, containing an estimated area of 976,000 square miles, being about nine times that of the United Kingdom, and covering about one-third of the whole Australian Continent.

scholarly journals Associations between biological and sociodemographic risks for developmental vulnerability in twins at age 5: a population data linkage study in Western Australia

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e038846
Author(s):  
Gursimran Kaur Dhamrait ◽  
Daniel Christensen ◽  
Gavin Pereira ◽  
Catherine Louise Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Linkage Study ◽  
Male Child ◽  
Model Risk ◽  
Reference Category ◽  
Sociodemographic Risk ◽  
At Home

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of, and associations between, prenatal and perinatal risk factors and developmental vulnerability in twins at age 5.DesignRetrospective cohort study using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression.SettingWestern Australia (WA), 2002–2015.Participants828 twin pairs born in WA with an Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) record from 2009, 2012 or 2015.Main outcome measuresThe AEDC is a national measure of child development across five domains. Children with scores <10th percentile were classified as developmentally vulnerable on, one or more domains (DV1), or two or more domains (DV2).ResultsIn this population, 26.0% twins were classified as DV1 and 13.5% as DV2. In the multivariable model, risk factors for DV1 were maternal age <25 years (adjusted OR (aOR): 7.06, 95% CI: 2.29 to 21.76), child speaking a language other than English at home (aOR: 6.45, 95% CI: 2.17 to 19.17), male child (aOR: 5.08, 95% CI: 2.89 to 8.92), age younger than the reference category for the study sample (≥5 years 1 month to <5 years 10 months) at time of AEDC completion (aOR: 3.34, 95% CI: 1.55 to 7.22) and having a proportion of optimal birth weight (POBW) <15th percentile of the study sample (aOR: 2.06, 95% CI 1.07 to 3.98). Risk factors for DV2 were male child (aOR: 7.87, 95% CI: 3.45 to 17.97), maternal age <25 (aOR: 5.60, 95% CI: 1.30 to 24.10), age younger than the reference category (aOR: 5.36, 95% CI: 1.94 to 14.82), child speaking a language other than English at home (aOR: 4.65, 95% CI: 1.14 to 19.03), mother’s marital status as not married at the time of twins’ birth (aOR: 4.59, 95% CI: 1.13 to 18.55), maternal occupation status in the lowest quintile (aOR: 3.30, 95% CI: 1.11 to 9.81) and a POBW <15th percentile (aOR: 3.11, 95% CI: 1.26 to 7.64).ConclusionBoth biological and sociodemographic risk factors are associated with developmental vulnerability in twins at 5 years of age.

Systematic Modification of Parental Input to Train Language Symbols

1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Culatta ◽  
Donna Horn
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Meaningful Use ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Parental Input ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Therapy Sessions ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children ◽  
At Home

This study attempted to maximize environmental language learning for four hearing-impaired children. The children's mothers were systematically trained to present specific language symbols to their children at home. An increase in meaningful use of these words was observed during therapy sessions. In addition, as the mothers began to generalize the language exposure strategies, an increase was observed in the children's use of words not specifically identified by the clinician as targets.

Iterative Development of a Home Review Program to Promote Preschoolers' Vocabulary Skills: Social Validity and Learning Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xigrid Soto ◽  
Yagmur Seven ◽  
Meaghan McKenna ◽  
Keri Madsen ◽  
Lindsey Peters-Sanders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Stress ◽  
Social Validity ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Home Program ◽  
Iterative Development ◽  
Vocabulary Skills ◽  
Validity Measures ◽  
At Home

Purpose This article describes the iterative development of a home review program designed to augment vocabulary instruction for young children (ages 4 and 5 years) occurring at school through the use of a home review component. Method A pilot study followed by two experiments used adapted alternating treatment designs to compare the learning of academic words taught at school to words taught at school and reviewed at home. At school, children in small groups were taught academic words embedded in prerecorded storybooks for 6 weeks. Children were given materials such as stickers with review prompts (e.g., “Tell me what brave means”) to take home for half the words. Across iterations of the home intervention, the home review component was enhanced by promoting parent engagement and buy-in through in-person training, video modeling, and daily text message reminders. Visual analyses of single-subject graphs, multilevel modeling, and social validity measures were used to evaluate the additive effects and feasibility of the home review component. Results Social validity results informed each iteration of the home program. The effects of the home program across sites were mixed, with only one site showing consistently strong effects. Superior learning was evident in the school + home review condition for families that reviewed words frequently at home. Although the home review program was effective in improving the vocabulary skills of many children, some families had considerable difficulty practicing vocabulary words. Conclusion These studies highlight the importance of using social validity measures to inform iterative development of home interventions that promote feasible strategies for enhancing the home language environment. Further research is needed to identify strategies that stimulate facilitators and overcome barriers to implementation, especially in high-stress homes, to enrich the home language environments of more families.

App-titude: Top Apps for Tots

ASHA Leader ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
Heidi Hanks
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Early Language ◽  
At Home

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