scholarly journals Priorities for the child public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic recovery in England

2020 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2020-320214
Author(s):  
Catherine Hefferon ◽  
Catherine Taylor ◽  
Davara Bennett ◽  
Catherine Falconer ◽  
Melisa Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Return To Schooling ◽  
Child Public Health

Child health is at risk from the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 response and will suffer further unless it is given proper consideration. The pandemic can be conceived as a systemic shock to the wider determinants of child health, with impacts on family functioning and income, access to healthcare and education. This article outlines COVID-19 impacts on children in England. Key priorities relate to the diversion of healthcare during lockdown; interruption and return to schooling; increased health risks and long-term impacts on child poverty and social inequalities. We provide an overview of mitigation strategies and policy recommendations aimed to assist both national and local professionals across child health, education, social care and related fields to inform the policy response.

“Essential” services, risk, and child protection in the time of COVID-19: An opportunity to prioritize chronic need

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-223
Author(s):  
Johanna Caldwell ◽  
Ashleigh Delaye ◽  
Tonino Esposito ◽  
Tara Petti ◽  
Tara Black ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Long Term Outcomes ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Vulnerable Families ◽  
Essential Services

In many North American jurisdictions, socioeconomically vulnerable families are more likely to be involved with child protection systems and experience ongoing challenges. The current public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on these families via unemployment, “essential” work, isolation, and closures of childcare and schools, with negative implications for children’s developmental wellbeing. Experts warn that while child protection referrals have gone down, children who are at risk of maltreatment are less exposed to typical reporters (e.g., school professionals). At the same time, physical distancing measures are prompting many human service settings to shift toward virtual intervention with children and families. In this commentary, we suggest that a focus on short-term risk in the response to COVID-19 may obscure support for children’s long-term outcomes. We propose two policy considerations: (1) in the immediate term, that child protection workers be deemed “essential”; and (2) in the longer term, that permanent, universal basic income guarantees be implemented to support a baseline of predictability both in families’ material wellbeing and in fiscal budgets in the case of a future crisis. As we write, it is impossible to predict the longevity of these closures nor the extent of their impact on children and families. However, the present article mirrors commentary following previous crises noting the importance of going beyond immediate health risk mitigation to consider wellbeing with regard to children’s development and families’ socioeconomic needs in the long term.

scholarly journals The public health response to COVID-19: balancing precaution and unintended consequences

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 12-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan David Baral ◽  
Sharmistha Mishra ◽  
Daouda Diouf ◽  
Nittaya Phanuphak ◽  
David Dowdy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response

scholarly journals A Second-Order Disaster? Digital Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094816
Author(s):  
Mirca Madianou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The One

One of the most striking features of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom has been the disproportionate way in which it has affected Black, Asian, ethnic minority, and working class people. In this article, I argue that digital technologies and data practices in the response to COVID-19 amplify social inequalities, which are already accentuated by the pandemic, thus leading to a “second-order disaster”—a human-made disaster which further traps disadvantaged people into precarity. Inequalities are reproduced both in the everyday uses of technology for distance learning and remote work as well as in the public health response. Applications such as contact tracing apps raise concerns about “function creep”—the reuse of data for different purposes than the one for which they were originally collected—while they normalize surveillance which has been traditionally used on marginalized communities. The outsourcing of the digital public health response consolidates the arrival of the privatized digital welfare state, which increases risks of potential discrimination.

scholarly journals Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Specific Memory B cells to Delineate Long-Term COVID-19 Immunity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantin Thieme ◽  
Mohamed Abou-el-Enein ◽  
Enrico Fritsche ◽  
Moritz Anft ◽  
Sarah Skrzypczyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Specific Memory ◽  
Healthy Donors ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Standard Flow Cytometry ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, represents a serious worldwide health concern. A deeper understanding of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 will be required to refine vaccine development and efficacy as well as to evaluate long-term immunity in convalescent patients. With this in mind, we investigated the formation of SARS-CoV-2 specific BMEMORY cells from patient blood samples. Methods: A standard flow cytometry-based protocol for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific B cells was applied using fluorochrome-coupled SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) full-length protein. Cohorts of 26 central European convalescent mild/moderate COVID-19 patients and 14 healthy donors were assessed for the levels of SARS-CoV-2 S- specific BMEMORY cells. Results: Overall B cell composition was not affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection in convalescent patients. Our analysis of SARS-CoV-2 specific BMEMORY cells in samples collected at different time points revealed that S-protein specific B cells remain in peripheral blood at least up to 6 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Conclusions: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific BMEMORY cells may improve our understanding of the long-term adaptive immunity in response to SARS-CoV-2, allowing for an improved public health response and vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further validation of the study in larger and more diverse populations and a more extended observation period will be required.

Canada’s multi-jurisdictional COVID-19 Public Health response – January to May 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-105
Author(s):  
Iwona A. Bielska ◽  
Lauren Jewett ◽  
Mark Embrett ◽  
Richard Buote ◽  
Derek R. Manis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Care Facilities

In late January 2020, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Canada. By March 5, 2020, community spread of the virus was identified and by May 26, 2020, close to 86,000 patients had COVID-19 and 6,566 had died. As COVID-19 cases increased, provincial and territorial governments announced states of public health emergency between March 13 and 20, 2020. This paper examines Canada’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first four months (January to May 2020) by overviewing the actions undertaken by the federal (national) and regional (provincial/territorial) governments. Canada’s jurisdictional public health structures, public health responses, technological and research endeavours, and public opinion on the pandemic measures are described. As the pandemic unravelled, the federal and provincial/territorial governments unrolled a series of stringent public health interventions and restrictions, including physical distancing and gathering size restrictions; closures of borders, schools, and non-essential businesses and services; cancellations of non-essential medical services; and limitations on visitors in hospital and long-term care facilities. In late May 2020, there was a gradual decrease in the daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases seen across most jurisdictions, which has led the provinces and territories to prepare phased re-opening. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada and the substantial amount of formative health and policy-related data being created provide an insight on how to improve responses and better prepare for future health emergencies.

scholarly journals Supporting child development to reduce child health inequalities in Belgium: a realist evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Beauvarlet ◽  
M De Spiegelaere
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Parenting Support ◽  
Vulnerable Families

Abstract Background Reducing social inequalities in child health is a major challenge in Belgium. In Brussels, 40% of children are born in a household below the poverty line. The most efficient way to reduce social inequalities in health is to address them on a structural level, via public policies that improve families’ income. But it is also proven that direct support of child development can reduce the risk of poverty in adulthood. Therefore, this study focuses on fields projects working directly with families living in poverty and aims to understand how, for whom and in which circumstances their actions can have effects on child’s development. Methods We conducted a realist evaluation of 30 field projects funded as part of the fight against child poverty and offering parenting support from prenatal period to the age of 6. Firstly, focus groups with the projects’ workers were conducted to identify the underlying mechanisms in their interventions and the contexts facilitating or hindering these mechanisms to achieve the desired effects. Secondly, these Context-Mechanisms-Outcomes (CMO) configurations are validated with project beneficiaries through semi-directed interviews, using picture telling. Results Despite the diversity of the actions carried out, common and transversal mechanisms are highlighted within 6 different CMOs that allow us to understand how and for whom those 30 projects work. Certain contexts - e.g. the characteristics of families, their feeling of freedom regarding the project, the density of projects network - can activate or hinder the mechanisms. We also note that workers tend to adjust their actions to support very vulnerable families for whom certain common mechanisms aren’t working. Conclusions This study, co-constructed through the collaboration of researchers and actors, could help workers to better understand and improve the mechanisms induced by their interventions, and stakeholders to recognise which projects are best suited to certain contexts. Key messages This realist evaluation enables to understand how for whom and in which circumstances field projects actions can have effects on child’s development and therefore take part in child poverty reduction. The realist approach used in this study, through the parallel evaluation of 30 different field projects, allows to refine hypothesis from one project to another, ensuring transferability of results.

COVID-19 Case Investigations Among Federally Quarantined Evacuees From Wuhan, China, and Exposed Personnel at a US Military Base, United States, February 5-21, 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110634
Author(s):  
Meagan R. Chuey ◽  
Rebekah J. Stewart ◽  
Maroya Walters ◽  
Emily J. Curren ◽  
Susan L. Hills ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Military Base ◽  
Case Identification ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Control Procedures

In February 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 232 evacuees from Wuhan, China, were placed under federal 14-day quarantine upon arrival at a US military base in San Diego, California. We describe the monitoring of evacuees and responders for symptoms of COVID-19, case and contact investigations, infection control procedures, and lessons learned to inform future quarantine protocols for evacuated people from a hot spot resulting from a novel pathogen. Thirteen (5.6%) evacuees had COVID-19–compatible symptoms and 2 (0.9%) had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2. Two case investigations identified 43 contacts; 3 (7.0%) contacts had symptoms but tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Daily symptom and temperature screening of evacuees and enacted infection control procedures resulted in rapid case identification and isolation and no detected secondary transmission among evacuees or responders. Lessons learned highlight the challenges associated with public health response to a novel pathogen and the evolution of mitigation strategies as knowledge of the pathogen evolves.

scholarly journals Distribution of Ixodes scapularis in Northwestern Ontario: Results from Active and Passive Surveillance Activities in the Northwestern Health Unit Catchment Area

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Schillberg ◽  
Dorian Lunny ◽  
L. Lindsay ◽  
Mark Nelder ◽  
Curtis Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Passive Surveillance ◽  
Health Unit ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Northward Expansion ◽  
Effective Public Health

The range of Ixodes scapularis is expanding in Ontario, increasing the risk of Lyme disease. As an effective public health response requires accurate information on disease distribution and areas of risk, this study aims to establish the geographic distribution of I. scapularis and its associated pathogen, B. burgdorferi, in northwestern Ontario. We assessed five years of active and passive tick surveillance data in northwestern Ontario. Between 2013 and 2017, 251 I. scapularis were submitted through passive surveillance. The submission rate increased over time, and the proportion infected with B. burgdorferi was 13.5%. Active tick surveillance from 2014 to 2016 found few I. scapularis specimens. In 2017, 102 I. scapularis were found in 10 locations around the city of Kenora; 60% were infected with B. burgdorferi, eight tested positive for A. phagocytophilum, and one for POWV. I. scapularis ticks were found in 14 locations within the Northwestern Health Unit area, with seven locations containing B. burgdorferi-positive ticks. We found abundant I. scapularis populations in the southern portion of northwestern Ontario and northward expansion is expected. It is recommended that I. scapularis populations continue to be monitored and mitigation strategies should be established for rural northern communities.

scholarly journals Changing patterns of emergency paediatric presentations during the first wave of COVID-19: learning for the second wave from a UK tertiary emergency department

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000967
Author(s):  
Dhurgshaarna Shanmugavadivel ◽  
Jo-Fen Liu ◽  
Colin Gilhooley ◽  
Loai Elsaadany ◽  
Damian Wood
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Abdominal Pain ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Important Change ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Child Public Health ◽  
Second Wave

BackgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and initial public health response led to significant changes in health service delivery, access and utilisation. However, SARS-CoV-2 illness burden in children and young people (CYP) is low. To inform effective child public health interventions, we aimed to compare patterns of paediatric emergency department presentation during the initial pandemic response with a previous non-pandemic period.MethodsRetrospective review of attendances (0–18 years) over the initial pandemic (2 March 2020–3 May 2020) compared with 2019. Outcome measures included number of attendances, referral source, presenting complaint, discharge diagnosis and disposal. Descriptive statistics with subgroup analysis by age/sex/ethnicity and pandemic time periods (pre-lockdown, lockdown weeks 1–3 and lockdown weeks 4–6) was performed.Results4417 attendances (57% illness and 43% injuries) occurred, compared with 8813 (57% illness and 43% injuries), a reduction of 50%, maximal in lockdown week 2 (−73%). Ranking of top three illness presentations changed across the pandemic weeks. Breathing difficulty dropped from first (300, 25%) to second (117, 21%) to third (59, 11%) (p<0.001). Abdominal pain rose from the third pre-lockdown (87, 7%) and lockdown weeks 1–3 (37, 7%) to second in weeks 4–6 (62, 12%; p=0.004). Fever ranked second (235, 19%) in pre-lockdown and first in weeks 1–3 (134, 24%) and weeks 4–6 (94, 18%; p=0.035).ConclusionsDespite a 50% reduction, there was no significant change in acuity of illness. Rank of illness presentations changed, with abdominal pain ranking second and fever first, an important change from previous, which should prompt further research into causes. CYP-specific public health messaging and guidance for primary care are required in this second wave to ensure access to appropriate emergency services.

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