Background The World Health Organization's "Coordinated Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus"outlined the need for research that focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and children. More than one year after the first reported case significant knowledge gaps remain, highlighting the need for a coordinated approach. To address this need, the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Working Group (MNCH WG) of the COVID- 19 Clinical Research Coalition conducted an international survey to identify global research priorities for COVID-19 in maternal, reproductive and child health. Method This project was undertaken using a modified Delphi method. An electronic questionnaire was disseminated to clinicians and researchers in three different languages (English, French and Spanish) via MNCH WG affiliated networks. Respondents were asked to select the five most urgent research priorities among a list of 17 identified by the MNCH WG. Analysis of questionnaire data was undertaken to identify key similarities and differences among respondents according to questionnaire language, location and specialty. Following elimination of the seven lowest ranking priorities, the questionnaire was recirculated to the original pool of respondents. Thematic analysis of final questionnaire data was undertaken by the MNCH WG from which four priority research themes emerged. Results Questionnaire 1 was completed by 225 respondents from 29 countries. Questionnaire 2 was returned by 49 respondents. The four priority research themes which emerged from the analysis were 1) access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) the direct and 3) indirect effects of COVID-19 on pregnant and breastfeeding women and children and 4) the transmission of COVID-19 and protection from infection. Conclusion The results of these questionnaires indicated a high level of concordance among continents and specialties regarding priority research themes. This prioritized list of research uncertainties, developed to specifically highlight the most urgent clinical needs as perceived by healthcare professionals and researchers, could help funding organizations and researchers to answer the most pressing questions for clinicians and public health professionals during the pandemic. It is hoped that these identified priority research themes can help focus the discussion regarding the allocation of limited resources to enhance COVID-19 research in MNCH globally. / Revisión por pares

The consequences of childhood bereavement are two-fold, in the pain he/ she suffers at the time of the death, and in future psychiatric disorders which can follow unresolved mourning. The bereaved child needs a familiar and responsible adult outside the family to help him/her cope with his/her grief, because parents are sometimes emotionally absent from him/her due to their own grief or they seek to "protect" the child from the pain of the loss. This study presents a programme given to 164 primary school teachers from nine schools in Cape Town to educate them in how to help the bereaved child in the classroom situation, so that they can fill the role of an outside responsible adult in the life of the bereaved child. 78 bereavements occurred in the nine schools in the year of the study. It was found that the teachers responded positively to the training programme and that they perceived it to be helpful in dealing with a bereaved child.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the current state of literature surrounding childhood and child agency, and how dominant notions of these concepts result in practical implications pertaining to the nature of the participation of former child soldiers in post-conflict reintegration programmes. As the literature and practice surrounding children in post-conflict environments currently stands, there is a recurring preoccupation with traditional notions of childhood which uphold notions of innocence, vulnerability, and dependency, with only minimal attempts to conceptualise child agency as a crucial factor once the guns have been put down. This ultimately results in former child soldiers being dealt with as objects to be secured, as opposed to fully-fledged participants and agents in their own reintegration processes. This research thereby seeks to answer the question: “How would the formulation of a normative framework of child agency alter the orientation of post-conflict reintegration programmes in the future?” The researcher will engage the matter of child agency in post-conflict reintegration through a critical lens, both in terms of the literary and conceptual foundations contributing towards current narratives, as well as the current state of reintegration programmes as they target former child soldiers in northern Uganda. The qualitative approach of a critical literature review, followed by a critical analysis of the case of northern Uganda, will be employed as the key methods of this research. The literature to be used will be purposively sampled secondary sources. This mini-dissertation upholds the position that, in order for post-conflict reintegration programmes to be successful in their endeavour to reintegrate former child soldiers, children should not be rendered as peripheral actors in these processes. Rather, they should be present as key participatory agents in their own right. / Mini Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Political Sciences / MSS / Unrestricted

To examine the relationships among children's temperament, parents' attributions, parenting stress, and children's behavior problems, the current study investigates the responses of parents who are raising children between the ages of 3- and 6-years. Each parent completed the Dimensions of Temperament Scale-Revised for Children (Windle & Learner, 1986), the Parenting Locus of Control Scale-Short Form (Rayfield, Eyberg, Boggs, & Roberts, 1995a), the Parent Attribution Test (Bugental, 1998), the Child Trait Rating Scale (Sacco, Johnson, & Tenzer, 1993), the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (Abidin, 1995), and the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000, 2001). Using correlational and regression analyses, results of this study suggest that difficult child temperament is related positively and significantly to an external locus of parental control, less positive child trait attributions, and higher levels of parenting stress, whereas easier child temperament is related to an internal locus of parental control, more positive child trait attributions, and lower levels of parenting stress. Although different patterns of findings occur for mothers and fathers, regression results indicate generally that parents' attributions mediate the relationship between children's temperament and parenting stress. Such findings suggest that interventions would benefit from targeting parents' attributions of their children as well as the relationships among parents' attributions, parenting stress, other parenting characteristics, and children's behavior problems.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of a home-based motor activity program on children with Down syndrome 6 to 10 years of age. Twenty-six children with Down syndrome and their respective families participated in this twelve-week study. The Circles Of Learning instructional program was created, and fieldtested. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) provided base-line data for measures of progress in fundamental motor skills. Parents were instructed in how to teach locomotor skills and object control skills as measured by the TGMD. The methods required seven distinct activities: the creation of an instructional manual; recruitment and instruction of project assistants; identification and recruitment of the subjects and their families; pretest and posttest assessment of subjects; instructional training of parents; and the twelve week intervention. The comparison (C) group received the Handwriting Without Tears program during the 12 week intervention period. When compared with the (C) group, all subjects in the experimental (E) group showed statistically significant improvement in the acquisition of fundamental motor skills as measured by the TGMD. Four (E) group subjects improved to the "average" range for typically developing children. Ten of the 11 (E) group subjects continued to improved their demonstrated fundamental motor skill performance two weeks after the intervention, while one subject maintained his gains. Weekly parent comments during the intervention gave testimony to the effectiveness of the intervention supporting primary and secondary gains for the subjects. Parents reported that interactions between family members and the subjects increased and fundamental motor skills improved during spontaneous unstructured play and during organized activities at home and at school. This study challenges the previous research suggesting children with Down syndrome need specialized motor development programs. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the acquisition of fundamental motor skills for children with Down syndrome can be accelerated.