scholarly journals Protection of Immigrant Children and Youth at Risk: Experiences and Strategies of Social Integration in Portugal

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Inês Casquilho-Martins ◽  
Thais Matela

Over the years, social projects and programmes in Portugal have resulted in actions and outcomes to improve the integration and social inclusion of immigrant children and young people in socially vulnerable territories. This article aims to analyse the intervention experiences of teams with immigrant children and young people at risk. The developed study focused on a qualitative approach through the systematisation of measures to protect the rights of immigrant children and young people in Portugal. Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with professionals working in multidisciplinary teams intervening with immigrant children and young people. The results allow the identification of strategies and intervention methods with a positive impact on social integration supported by collaborative and participatory methodologies, but also highlight limitations such as cultural and linguistic barriers, and lack of children’s participation. Thus, it becomes fundamental to value the central role of children and young people in promoting and guaranteeing their rights.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Navratilova ◽  
P. Navratil ◽  
M. Punova

Objective:The aim of this article is to understand how social services contribute to the well-being of children and young people who use them. Method:The research study, based on Capability Approach, was done using amixed-research strategy. Participants:The collection of data took place through 44 in- depth semi-structured interviews with children, young people and their parents/foster parents who use social services in one of the regional capitals of the Czech Republic. Results:Parents at risk underrate their role in loving and caring for their children. Parents at risk are more likely than children to undervalue education. Social services do not develop young- sters’ capability to live ameaningful life. Conclusion: The research has shown that although social serv- ices have significant potential to ensure well-being for children and youth, they work primarily in away that provides clients with basic social functioning in the present, without influencing their future positively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8851
Author(s):  
Jorge Díaz-Esterri ◽  
Ángel De-Juanas ◽  
Rosa Goig-Martínez ◽  
Francisco Javier García-Castilla

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in leisure activities involving human contact. Social isolation has increased, particularly amongst vulnerable individuals with a fragile support network, as is the case with young people who have left care. The aim of the present research was to identify socio-educational proposals and interventions implemented during the pandemic pertaining to leisure as a form of promoting social inclusion of these young people. To this end, a qualitative study was carried out in which twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people who had left care system, in addition to fifteen interviews with professionals working with this group when delivering socio-educational interventions. Discourse analysis revealed that isolation due to the health crisis had greater repercussions in normalised settings in which leisure activity was reduced with this increasing risk of social inclusion amongst these young people. Proposals and experiences emerging from this setting provide evidence that socio-educational interventions targeting leisure facilitate social inclusion. In this sense, future lines of research are suggested to optimise the outcomes of socio-educational interventions within this group.


2019 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2019-317306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Tyldesley-Marshall ◽  
Sheila Greenfield ◽  
Susan Neilson ◽  
Martin English ◽  
Jenny Adamski ◽  
...  

BackgroundMRI is essential to the clinical management of children and young people with brain tumours. Advances in technology have made images more complicated to interpret, yet more easily available digitally. It is common practice to show these to patients and families, but how they emotionally respond to, understand and value, seeing brain tumour MRIs has not been formally studied.MethodsQualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 14 families (8 patients, 15 parents) purposively sampled from paediatric patients (0 to 18 years) attending a large UK children’s hospital for treatment or monitoring of a brain tumour. Transcripts were analysed thematically using the Framework Method.ResultsFour themes were identified: Receiving results (waiting for results, getting results back, preferences to see images), Emotional responses to MRIs, Understanding of images (what they can show, what they cannot show, confusion) and Value of MRIs (aesthetics, aiding understanding, contextualised knowledge/emotional benefits, enhanced control, enhanced working relationships, no value). All families found value in seeing MRIs, including reassurance, hope, improved understanding and enhanced feeling of control over the condition. However emotional responses varied enormously.ConclusionsClinical teams should always explain MRIs after ‘framing’ the information. This should minimise participant confusion around meaning, periodically evident even after many years. Patient and parent preferences for being shown MRIs varied, and often changed over time, therefore clinicians should identify, record and update these preferences. Time between scanning and receiving the result was stressful causing ‘scanxiety’, but most prioritised accuracy over speed of receiving results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 204-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Gaynor Mowat

The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. There is growing recognition that it cannot either be understood or addressed without taking cognisance of children’s mental health and wellbeing. The focus of this conceptual article is to examine the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children and young people in Scotland through the lens of resilience. While not a ‘state of the art’ literature review, a systematic approach was adopted in the selection of the literature and in the identification of themes to emerge from it. A range of risk and protective factors at the individual, social, societal and political levels emerged as impacting on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children living in poverty, and three important mediating variables are the negative impact of social stratification and adverse childhood experiences and the positive impact of a supportive adult. Schools alone cannot solve the problem. The findings revealed that there is a need to build a strong infrastructure around families and schools and to examine how economic, social, health and educational policy interact with each other as a starting point in addressing the problem, supported by inter-disciplinary research.


Childhood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Louise Skyrme ◽  
Simon Woods

Issues relating to qualitative research with disabled children and young people will be discussed. Semi-structured interviews with boys who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy were conducted to explore their thoughts on how they might make a decision to take part in medical research. Assumptions about disabled children’s vulnerability can impact how researchers conduct qualitative research, and how they are involved in significant decision-making. Working reflexively and in partnership with children illustrates their competence, supporting reconsideration of their vulnerability.


2007 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. S163-S202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Vinnerljung ◽  
Anders Hjern ◽  
Gunilla Ringbäck Weitoft ◽  
Eva Franzén ◽  
Felipe Estrada

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-162
Author(s):  
Patrícia Olmos Rueda

RESUMEN: El presente artículo es una reflexión teórica, que invita a la discusión, de un modelo de integración educativo-laboral surgido a partir de la reflexión en la praxis y entendido desde la perspectiva de la teoría histórico-cultural, un modelo que integra todos los elementos básicos de esta perspectiva y cuyo objetivo es la formación para la transformación social, a la par que educativa y laboral, de un colectivo de jóvenes en situación de vulnerabilidad con la mediación de agentes sociales, educativos y laborales de referencia. Se evidencia que las dificultades de acceso al mercado de trabajo y el fracaso escolar son factores interrelacionados de riesgo de exclusión de los colectivos que los asumen. Este trabajo centra su atención en el colectivo de jóvenes entre 16 y 21 años, con una historia de fracaso escolar, una baja cualificación y un escaso dominio de competencias, que impide su participación activa en contextos sociales, labores y educativos. Son jóvenes que no son capaces de operar y transformar su medio, de dar respuesta a las demandas del contexto, incurriendo en una situación de riesgo de exclusión sólo entendida en relación con los demás y en un contexto históricocultural de referencia. No obstante, estos jóvenes han decidido minimizar su condición de vulnerabilidad y mejorar sus oportunidades de reintegración en los contextos educativos y laborales accediendo a programas de formación para el trabajo cuyo objetivo es el de proveer, a estos jóvenes, de las competencias básicas requeridas por los contextos educativo-laborales. Los contextos formativos y/o educativos son los que permiten la transformación social de este colectivo y de aquí que surja la necesidad de pensar un modelo de formación para la integración o reintegración educativo-laboral de los colectivos en situación de vulnerabilidad y, concretamente, de aquellos jóvenes en riesgo de exclusión. ABSTRACT: This article is a theoretical reflection that invites discussion about an educational and labour integration model emerged from praxis reflection and understood within a cultural-historic perspective. This model includes all key elements of this perspective and its aim is to train young people in vulnerable situation to their social, educational and labour transformation with mediation of social, educational and labour agents of reference. Difficulties to gain access to the labour market and academic failure are interrelated factors of risk of exclusion of collective that assume these. This paper focuses on young people aged 16-21 years that drop out, which have low qualification and low domain of competences. This situation prevents them to participate in social, educational and labour contexts actively. These youth are not capable to operate on the context, to transform the context, to answer demands of the context. They are at risk of exclusion and this situation is only understood in relation with others and in connection with a cultural-historical context of reference. However, this young people decide to minimize their vulnerable condition and to improve their opportunities of educational and labour reintegration. They access to employment training programmes that provide them key competences that educational and labour contexts demand. Training and/or educational contexts arethose that make possible the social transformation of this collective so it is necessary to think a training model for educational and labour integration or reintegration of collective in vulnerable situation and, concretely, of those youth at risk of exclusion.http://dx.doi.org/10.14572/nuances.v24i1.2162


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Victoria Eikey

BACKGROUND Diet and fitness apps are intended to improve people's health. However, they can have adverse effects on some populations, such as young people. Young people, particularly college women are heavy users of mobile health applications (apps) for diet, physical activity, and weight loss (also known as diet and fitness apps). These apps are often promoted in university and college settings and touted as a means to improve health with little attention given to their actual impact and potential unanticipated negative effects, especially among those at risk for or with eating disorders. OBJECTIVE Few researchers have studied how diet and fitness apps affect college women with eating disorder behaviors. Thus, this research investigates the unintended negative consequences of engaging with these tools to inform how these types of apps may trigger and exacerbate unhealthy app engagement as well as eating disorder-related behaviors. METHODS This study used a qualitative approach to better understand the consequences of using diet and fitness apps among college women. This approach allowed for emergent themes unlikely to be discovered using quantitative approaches. Data collection sessions consisted of three components conducted with 24 college women with eating disorder-related behaviors who have experience with diet and fitness apps: survey (demographic and eating disorder symptoms), think-aloud exercises, and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS Findings reveal that diet and fitness apps trigger and exacerbate symptoms through focusing heavily on quantification, promoting over-use, and providing certain types of feedback. A taxonomy of eight negative consequences was developed based on these findings. The types of unintended consequences include: 1) fixation on numbers, 2) rigid diet, 3) obsession, 4) app dependency, 5) high sense of achievement, 6) extreme negative emotions, 7) motivation from negative messages, and 8)excess competition. Although these themes were very common when users' focus was to lose weight or eat less, these adverse effects were also prevalent when users wanted to gain weight, eat more, or focus explicitly on eating disorder recovery. CONCLUSIONS Unintended negative consequences are linked to the quantified self movement, conception of appropriate usage, and visual cues and feedback. Thus, this paper critically examines the design of diet and fitness apps and offers suggestions for improvement and then discusses implications for educators and clinicians. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the need for a fundamental shift in how diet and fitness apps promote health. This work also showcases how focusing on specific subpopulations can shed light on problematic aspects of design that if addressed may have a positive impact on the broader user base. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Cross ◽  
Tim Clarke

Purpose In response to elevated local self-harm and suicide rates, and the lack of a dedicated pathway for children and young people (CYP) who self-harm, a rapid response pathway united to reduce self-harm (RUSH) was developed and implemented within Norwich (Norfolk, England). This public health case study aims to describe the pathway model and share its outcomes, learnings, and reflections over the pilot year. Design/methodology/approach RUSH was a community-based pilot pathway aiming to support CYP, 11–18 years old, engaging in or at risk of engaging in repeated self-harm and subsequently at risk of repeated attendance at local emergency departments. From May 2020 to April 2021, RUSH supported 61 CYP using funding from NHS England and Improvement. Findings This case study shares the pathway’s outcomes, through a mixed-method evaluation. Results indicate statistically significant reductions in self-harm frequency (p = 0.01) and anxiety and depression symptomatology (p < 0.001); a statistically significant increase in progress towards goals (p < 0.001); and a general downward trend in re-attendance at local emergency departments following RUSH. Findings also illustrate high service user satisfaction. Framework analysis of focus group data highlights positive experiences with hope for recommissioning from a staff perspective. Originality/value This study will be valuable for services looking to develop and implement a similar service provision, in response to the need to tackle self-harm rates as a broader approach to suicide prevention. In light of the NHS long-term plan (2019), it also serves as an example of how to develop and use a strategic co-production group, and work collaboratively with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors.


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