scholarly journals Comparison of school based and supplemental vaccination strategies in the delivery of vaccines to 5-19 year olds in Africa - a systematic review

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eposi C. Haddison ◽  
Leila H. Abdullahi ◽  
Rudzani Muloiwa ◽  
Gregory D. Hussey ◽  
Benjamin M. Kagina

Background: Some vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) still remain a public health burden in many African countries. The occurrence of VPDs in all age groups has led to the realization of the need to extend routine immunisation services to school age children, adolescents and adults. Supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) and school based vaccinations (SBVs) are common strategies used to complement the expanded programme on immunisation (EPI). This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of SIAs compared to SBVs in the administration of vaccines to 5-19 year olds in Africa. Methods: Systematic review methods were used to address our study aim. Several electronic databases were searched up to March 30, 2017 for primary studies investigating the delivery of vaccines via SIAs or SBVs to 5-19 year olds. This search was complemented by browsing reference lists of potential studies obtained from search outputs. Outcomes considered for inclusion were: vaccination coverage, costs of the strategy or its effect on routine immunisation services. Results: Out of the 4938 studies identified, 31 studies met the review inclusion criteria. Both SIAs and SBVs showed high vaccination coverage. However, the SIAs reported higher coverage than SBVs: 91% (95% CI: 84%, 98%) versus 75% (95% CI: 67%, 83%). In most settings, SBVs were reported to be more expensive than SIAs. The SIAs were found to negatively affect routine immunisation services. Conclusions: Both SIAs and SBVs are routinely used to complement the EPI in the delivery of vaccines in Africa. In settings where school enrolment is suboptimal, as is the case in many African countries, our results show SIAs may be more effective in reaching school age children and adolescents than SBVs. Our results re-iterate the importance of evaluating systematic evidence to best inform African authorities on the optimal vaccine delivery strategies targeting school age children and adolescents.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. e946
Author(s):  
Eleni D. Panagouli ◽  
Athanasios Ch. Thirios ◽  
Theodora Psaltopoulou ◽  
Flora Bacopoulou ◽  
Theodore G. Troupis ◽  
...  

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate special features and probable correlations between symptoms, laboratory findings, treatment, and outcomes of COVID-19 in children and adolescents, through a systematic review and pooled analysis. Following database (Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Embase) search, forty articles were considered eligible identifying a total of 2,971 confirmed pediatric COVID-19 patients. Fever was reported in 55.1% of the cases, while 28.4% were asymptomatic.  Radiological signs of pneumonia were observed in more than half of the cases and in 40.7% of asymptomatic patients. Fever showed the highest sensitivity (sensitivity: 60.3%, specificity: 48.8%), followed by cough (sensitivity: 47.4%, specificity: 76.7%), rhinorrhea (sensitivity: 21.1%, specificity: 88.4%) and diarrhea (sensitivity: 10.3%, specificity: 88.4%), in differentiating cases with positive radiological signs for pneumonia. Compared to school age children, preschoolers (adjusted OR=6.01, 95%CI: 1.73-20.91) were more prone to pneumonia findings. Various combinations of treatments were used across studies, without following any strict guidelines. Most children (>90%) had full recovery and rarely presented complications. Fever seems to be the most frequent symptom in pediatric COVID-19, but pediatricians should additionally evaluate cough, rhinorrhea, and diarrhea as indicators of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Asymptomatic cases were common, but not the majority, and a significant percentage had developed radiologic findings of pneumonia. Thorough reassessment of treatment and management guidelines should be helpful.


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A348-A348
Author(s):  
P Matsangas ◽  
S Gratsia ◽  
A Cocos ◽  
H Vastardis ◽  
N L Shattuck

Abstract Introduction School-age children (6-13yrs) and teenagers (14-17yrs) should receive 9-11hrs and 8-10hrs of sleep/day, respectively. Several studies have shown, however, that these age groups are chronically sleep deprived. Our study assessed the sleep patterns of a sample of children and teenagers in Athens, Greece. The study is part of a larger project investigating the association between orthodontic treatment and sleep disturbances. Methods Participants (N=27; 69% females; 21 school-age children 9-13yrs, 6 teenagers 14-17yrs) were under treatment in the Orthodontic Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy/logs for 59±19 days. Results Participants slept on average 7.36±0.42hrs/day. Nighttime sleep was on average 7.23±0.43hrs (percentage sleep: 87.3%±3.38%). Four (14.8%) participants napped at least once/week. Compared to the lowest sleep duration recommended for their age group, participants showed a chronic sleep deficit of 1.42±0.52hrs/day (range: 0.32-2.15hrs). The younger age group had an average sleep deficit of ~1.6hrs compared to ~0.8hrs for the teenagers (p=0.006). During the school year, daily sleep duration increased by ~0.73hrs on weekends (7.78±0.67hrs) compared to school nights (7.05±0.48hrs; p<0.001). On average, school-age participants slept from 23:13 (±31min) until 7:19 (±22min) on school nights and from 23:23 (±2:72hrs) until 8:49 (±39min) on weekends. Teenagers slept from 00:34 (±36min) until 7:40 (±14min) on school nights and from 01:34 (±41min) until 10:34 (±48min) on weekends. Conclusion Our findings verify earlier survey results showing that restricted sleep is a problem for children and adolescents in Greece. To our surprise, both age groups go to bed quite late. The impact of late bedtime on sleep duration, however, is larger in the younger group due to their larger sleep needs. In contrast to earlier research in rural areas, napping was not common in our urban sample, probably due to extracurricular activities and studying at home. Support N/A


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Ji-hye Hwang ◽  
HyunJee Choi ◽  
Hyo Jin Jeong ◽  
Chorong Kim ◽  
YunJung Woo

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e023953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Epstein ◽  
Emmert Roberts ◽  
Rosemary Sedgwick ◽  
Katie Finning ◽  
Tamsin Ford ◽  
...  

IntroductionSchools have an important role in recognising and preventing self-harm and suicidal behaviour in their students, however little is known about which educational factors are associated with heightened risk. We will systematically review the existing evidence on two key educational performance indicators that are routinely collected by school administrative systems: school attendance and exclusion. We will investigate their association with self-harm and suicidal behaviour in school-age children and adolescents. Knowledge of this association could help inform suicide prevention strategies at clinical, school and population levels.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, British Education Index and Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) from 1 January 1990, and conduct a manual search for additional references. We aim to identify studies that explore the association between poor school attendance or exclusion and self-harm or suicidal behaviours in school-age children and adolescents. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts and full-text documents and independently extract relevant data for analysis. Study quality will be assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A descriptive analysis will be performed, and where appropriate, results will be combined in meta-analyses.Ethics and disseminationThis is a systematic review of published literature, and therefore ethical approval will not be sought. We will publish reports in health and education journals, present our work at conferences focused on school mental health and communicate our findings to practitioners and managers in public health, education and child mental health.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018088608.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Levinson ◽  
Kid Kohl ◽  
Valentina Baltag ◽  
David Ross

ABSTRACTSchools are the only institution regularly reaching the majority of school-age children and adolescents across the globe. Although at least 102 countries have school health services, there is no rigorous, evidence-based guidance on which school health services are effective and should be implemented in schools. To investigate the effectiveness of school health services for improving the health of school-age children and adolescents, a systematic review of systematic reviews (overview) was conducted. Five databases were searched through June 2018. Systematic reviews of intervention studies that evaluated school-based or school-linked health services delivered by a health provider were included. Review quality was assessed using a modified Ballard and Montgomery four-item checklist. 1654 references were screened and 20 systematic reviews containing 270 primary studies were assessed narratively. Interventions with evidence for effectiveness addressed autism, depression, anxiety, obesity, dental caries, visual acuity, asthma, and sleep. No review evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-component school health services intervention addressing multiple health areas. Strongest evidence supports implementation of anxiety prevention programs, indicated asthma education, and vision screening with provision of free spectacles. Additional systematic reviews are needed that analyze the effectiveness of comprehensive school health services, and specific services for under-researched health areas relevant for this population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. e247-e247 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Hernández-Cordero ◽  
L Cuevas-Nasu ◽  
M C Morales-Ruán ◽  
I Méndez-Gómez Humarán ◽  
M A Ávila-Arcos ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/Objective: The objective of the study was to provide current estimates of the prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity (OW+OB) in Mexican children and adolescents. Subjects/Methods: Body mass index objectively measured was analyzed for 37 147 children and adolescents aged 0–19 years obtained in 2012 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT-2012), a nationally representative sample of the Mexican population. In addition, data from previous National Nutrition Surveys obtained in 1988, 1999 and 2006 were compared with analyze trends over a 24-year period (1988–2012) for children <5 years of age and adolescents and over a 13-year period (1999–2012) for school-age children. World Health Organization Child Growth Standard was used to define OW+OB. Results: In 2012, 33.5% of children <5 years of age (both sexes) were at risk of overweight or were overweight (OW); 32% and 36.9% of girls and boys 5–11 years of age were OW+OB, respectively, and 35.8% and 34.1% of female and male adolescents were OW+OB, respectively. Statistically significant trends were documented for all age groups during the study period. Overall change in the combined prevalence in preschool children was 6.3±1.0 percentage points (pp; P<0.001; 0.26 pp per year) in the last 24 years, showing the highest increase between 1988 and 1999, whereas for school-age girls (from 1999 to 2012) and adolescent females (from 1988 to 2012), OW+OB increased across all periods at a declining trend, with an overall change of 0.5 and 1.0 pp per year, respectively. Changes in the prevalence of OW+OB were highest among children and adolescents in the lowest quintile of the household living condition index. Conclusions: Prevalence of OW+OB among children and adolescents increased significantly during the last 13–24 years. The rate of increase has declined in the last 6 years in all age groups. Changes in prevalence of OW+OB presented here suggest that, in Mexico, the burden of obesity is shifting toward the groups with lower socioeconomic level.


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