scholarly journals Fifteen-minute consultation: Guide to communicating with children and young people

Author(s):  
Gail Davison ◽  
Richard Conn ◽  
Martina Ann Kelly ◽  
Andrew Thompson ◽  
Tim Dornan

This article suggests communicative steps and strategies to help healthcare professionals achieve the ideals of child-centred care, which place children and young people at the centre of policy and practice. For those with 15 s, not 15 min, our suggestions can be summarised like this: help children be active agents in their own care by asking, listening well, being curious and explaining things clearly in an accessible but not condescending way.

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-350
Author(s):  
Pat Cox ◽  
Jane March McDonald

Adopting a children’s rights perspective, a critique and analysis underpinned by documentary research methodology was undertaken in order to assess the extent to which the government’s Green Paper (Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Education, 2017. Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper (accessed 7 December 2017)) addresses the mental health and well-being needs of refugee children and young people in England and Wales, identifying strengths, limitations and challenges for future policy and practice. Findings suggest that there is much of potential benefit to refugee children and young people’s future mental health and well-being. However, a paradigm shift, explicit in implications, scale and time frame, will be required, if the Green Paper is to achieve those changes in attitudes, practice and service delivery which it anticipates. We argue that this Green Paper’s overarching challenge is that it is premised on Western-centric models in its understanding of the experiences of refugee children and young people, and management of trauma and mental health. It fails to recognize the meanings and significance of culture, and of diversity and difference, and the need to invest in all communities in facilitating engagement and support for children and young people’s mental health issues.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvira Perez Vallejos ◽  
Liz Dowthwaite ◽  
Helen Creswich ◽  
Virginia Portillo ◽  
Ansgar Koene ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Algorithms rule the online environments and are essential for performing data processing, filtering, personalisation and other tasks. Research has shown that children and young people make up a significant proportion of Internet users, however little attention has been given to their experiences of algorithmically-mediated online platforms, or the impact of them on their mental health and well-being. The algorithms that govern online platforms are often obfuscated by a lack of transparency in their online Terms and Conditions and user agreements. This lack of transparency speaks to the need for protecting the most vulnerable users from potential online harms. OBJECTIVE To capture young people's experiences when being online and perceived impact on their well-being. METHODS In this paper, we draw on qualitative and quantitative data from a total of 260 children and young people who took part in a ‘Youth Jury’ to bring their opinions to the forefront, elicit discussion of their experiences of using online platforms, and perceived psychosocial impact on users. RESULTS The results of the study revealed the young people’s positive as well as negative experiences of using online platforms. Benefits such as being convenient and providing entertainment and personalised search results were identified. However, the data also reveals participants’ concerns for their privacy, safety and trust when online, which can have a significant impact on their well-being. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by making recommendations that online platforms acknowledge and enact on their responsibility to protect the privacy of their young users, recognising the significant developmental milestones that this group experience during these early years, and the impact that technology may have on them. We argue that governments need to incorporate policies that require technologists and others to embed the safeguarding of users’ well-being within the core of the design of Internet products and services to improve the user experiences and psychological well-being of all, but especially those of children and young people. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2021 ◽  
pp. 136749352110144
Author(s):  
Lea Raquel Ribeiro Coimbra ◽  
Amy Noakes

Self-harming behaviours in children and young people are an alarming reality, with provision of effective treatment historically compromised. The present systematic literature review highlights attitudes displayed by healthcare professionals towards this health problem, providing valuable insight by analysing how these attitudes can impact patient care. Ten studies were included, allowing creation of a narrative synthesis of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods evidence. Six themes emerged: negativity, positivity, worry or fear, the emotional impact of working with these patients, professional roles and ward-dependent concerns. Overall, professional negativity towards this patient group, in the form of apprehensiveness, was accentuated by fear of worsening their symptoms. The attitude aforementioned impacts on treatment by hindering creation of meaningful therapeutic relationships. Educational opportunities that increase healthcare professionals’ knowledge of self-harm have the potential to provide invaluable power by promoting positive attitudes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Sharpe ◽  
Mohsen Rajabi ◽  
Clement Chileshe ◽  
Sitali Mayamba Joseph ◽  
Ibrahim Sesay ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantining on children and young people (CYP) living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has yet to be fully comprehended. CYP in LMICs are at utmost risk, given the COVID-19-related restrictions and social distancing measures, resulting in reduced access to school-based services for nutritional and mental health needs. This study examined mental health of CYP during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Zambia and Sierra Leone. Method A total of 468 disabled and disadvantaged CYP aged 12 to 25 completed a planning tool that comprised the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS), as well as open-ended questions covering social connectedness, physical distancing and educational challenges during the lockdown. The community coaches screened individuals and families who could be eligible to receive emergency aid, and based on a convenience sample following distribution of aid, recipients were invited to complete the planning tool. Results The data showed that participants in the global south have increasing anxieties and fears centred on accessing offline educational resources and income loss in the family effecting food security and their ability to return to education. Mean (SD) SWEMWBS scores for all participants in Zambia and Sierra Leone, were 19.61 (3.45) and 21.65 (2.84), respectively. Mental well-being scores were lower in females, children aged 12–14 and participants with two or more disabilities. Factors significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing in the sample were: type of disability, nationality, peer relationships, connection to others during the pandemic, knowledge about COVID-19, worry about the long-term impact of COVID-19, and the types of self-isolating. Conclusion The study shows that participants who self-reported low levels of COVID-19 health literacy also scored low on the mental wellbeing self-assessment. Yet, despite undoubted limited resources, these CYP are doing well in identifying their needs and maintaining hope in the face of the problems associated with COVID-19 in countries where stigma persists around mental ill-health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (20) ◽  
pp. 1164-1166
Author(s):  
Peter Dryden ◽  
Sarah Greenshields

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000981
Author(s):  
Tapomay Banerjee ◽  
Amjad Khan ◽  
Piriyanga Kesavan

Special schools play a significant role in the daily lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We explored the impact of the COVID-19-related first lockdown and resulting school closure by surveying parents whose children attended three special schools in Bedford, UK. We asked about anxiety and impact on emotional well-being and education. We received 53 responses from parents: 31 felt their child was more anxious during the lockdown period/school closure compared with beforehand and 42 felt their child’s emotional well-being had been affected. Children and young people attending special schools may have struggled both academically and emotionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.


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