Today, speech and language therapists working with the pre-school population routinely involve parents in their childrens treatment programmes. Also, there is increasing recognition of the ...importance of considering client and carer views in evaluating services. Thus, in both clinical and research terms, the ro 6;le of parents is key. This paper reports an aspect of a study that investigated parents views and perceptions of their pre-school childrens speech and language difficulties and the speech and language therapy (SLT) they received. The methodology of the study was qualitative and data were collected from the parents of 16 pre-school children, using in-depth interviews. The parents perceptions could be characterized as a process with three phases. On the whole, parents viewed their involvement in SLT positively but crucially, the interviews highlighted discrepancies between therapists and parents perceptions of the therapy process. The study demonstrates that when parents views are considered, a fuller understanding of the effectiveness and acceptability of treatment can emerge.
Impact of challenging behaviours in young children in school and families can lead to more serious challenges in adolescence and adulthood. The study aimed at ameliorating the effect of challenging ...behaviours on children and families using the early impact (EI) programme: an intervention frame work that can be utilized by early childhood professionals, 40 pre-school children age 4-6 years were drawn from 5 pre-schools in Ado town in Nigerian. Parental consent to participate in the programme was sought. Children considered to be at great risk for the development of behaviours difficulties were identified. The school component of the EI programme consist of a classroom curriculum which was administered by teacher aid .The EI curriculum consists of 10 sessions of 15 -30minutes duration .Teachers involved in the evaluation completed the teachers' version of the strength and the difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) at baseline post intervention and at 6 months follow up. At post intervention, the finding drawn from the teacher response derived from the (SDQ) Questionnaire revealed a significant reduction in challenging behaviours in children in the experimental group in comparison to children assigned to control conditions. The school component of the early impact highlight how intervention could assist children who are more susceptible to the development of challenging behaviour. Future research in the design and implementation of early intervention and prevention were recommended as a means of future practices in the science of prevention of serious challenging behaviours among children.
Zinc Status of Iranian Preschool Children Safavi, Sayyed Morteza; Sheikholeslam, Robabeh; Naghavi, Mohsen ...
Food and nutrition bulletin,
06/2007, Letnik:
28, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Background
Zinc deficiency is one of the most preva- lent micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries, including Iran. The main direct causes of zinc deficiency are insufficient zinc intake, ...absorption or metabolic disorder, and increase in need during acute growth periods.
Objective
To determine the prevalence of zinc defi- ciency in preschool boys and girls in urban and rural populations in order to assist policy makers. Children of preschool age (i. e., 6 years old in Iran) were studied because interventions in this age group are believed to result in greater improvement in learning skills once these children enter school.
Methods
A national cross-sectional study was carried out on 4,374 randomly selected healthy preschool children from Iranian families in 2001. Serum zinc concentration was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. The cutoff point for zinc deficiency was set at a serum level of 10 μmol/L (65 μg/dL).
Results
The prevalence of zinc deficiency was esti- mated at approximately 19.3%. The highest preva- lence was seen in the region that includes Sistan and Baluchistan, South Khorasan, and the southeast area of Kerman and the lowest in the region of Boushehr, Hor- mozgan, and South Khoozestan. The prevalence of zinc deficiency was significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas. No significant difference in prevalence was seen between boys and girls.
Conclusions
In the long run, nutritional security and increased access to and intake of foods with high levels of zinc are the most sustainable strategies to overcome zinc deficiency. Fortification of staple foods, improved qual- ity of traditional bread, and supplementation for at-risk population groups are considered short- and mid-term nterventions. Nutrition education and behavioral change may be long-term strategies.
Young children embark on a transitional nutritional journey, progressing from total reliance on caregivers to independence, autonomy and self‐determination. Appropriate nutritional intake in young ...children is a diverse concept, incorporating suitable nutritional choices and feeding behaviours. Lessons learnt in childhood will have long‐term effects on the individual and society overall. Since South African children are raised in a country where under‐ and over‐nutrition exist simultaneously, a careful balance should be achieved in any national public health message. The South African paediatric food‐based dietary guidelines for children younger than 7 years strive to facilitate the education of carers of young children in the adoption of healthy eating practices. The guidelines address issues regarding variety in the diet that has been shown to improve both micro‐ and macronutrient intakes. Specific reference is made to starchy foods, vegetables, fruit and water along with protein sources, which should be consumed regularly. Milk, has been emphasised in these guidelines because of the poor calcium intake in South African children. The only guideline that limits intake is the sweet treats or drinks message, because of public health concerns such as obesity and dental caries. Other messages pertaining to eating habits take cognisance of the child's physiological limitations in gastric capacity and suggest small regular meals. Clean, safe drinking water is the beverage of choice. Non‐food‐based guidelines are also included, which recognize the importance of active play, for developmental and health purposes, as well as regular clinic attendance.
This study analyses the impact of weekly iron supplementation with ferrous sulphate heptahydrate (FeSO4) in 5-year-olds compared with placebo, on hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht) values and ...anemia.
The study concerns a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Intervention participants received 50 mg elemental iron for 14 weeks.
The study population comprised pre-school children (n = 135) from one randomly chosen public school in the northeast of Brazil.
Participants were 5-year-old students from a public school.
Mean Hb and Ht values increased after iron supplementation, with p < 0.0001. There was no statistically significant increase in the placebo group. After intervention, anemia prevalence reduced only in the intervention group, from 48.0% to 26.0%.
Weekly iron supplementation was effective in reducing anemia in 5-year-olds.
Background: The Thriposha programme in Sri Lanka provides a combination of energy, protein and micronutrients as a ready-to-eat cereal-based food. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of calcium ...and vitamin D3 in the Thriposha on bone mineralization among preschool children aged 3-5 years. Design: Subjects (n30) were fed with conventional Thriposha while the control group (n30) children were fed without mineral and vitamin premix (Corn-Soya-Blend - CSB) for a period of nine months. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of total spine was measured at the baseline and after the intervention. Results: The mean baseline total spine BMD was 0.464(0.050) g/cm2 in the interventional group and 0.453(0.035) g/cm2 in the control group (p0.09). At the end of the study, the BMD levels were 0.487(0.047) and 0.454(0.031) g/cm2 (p<0.001) respectively. Conclusion: Daily supplementation of cereal based food supplement over a period of nine months improved the total spine BMD.
Introduction: Malocclusion is caused by genetic, environmental, and acquired factors. Respiratory disorders and decrease of air flow in nasopharynx are known as etiologies for malocclusion. The aim ...of this study was to examine occlusion characteristics of preschool children in Tabriz who suffer mouth breathing.Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional, descriptive and analytic study. Sixty four preschool children from five districts in the city of Tabriz were put into the case and the control groups. Impression from the samples were prepared and the casts were studied for arch symmetry, arch form, inter molar and inter canine width, overjet, overbite, molar relationship, posterior cross bite and crowding. Finally the data were analyzed and compared through SPSS .(α=0.05) Results: Although there were signs of malocclusion in the case group, occlusion indicators did not show any statistically significant differences between the case and the control group. Conclusion: The results of the current study show that mouth breathing does not have remarkable effects on occlusion characteristic during childhood. However, the intensity of nasal obstruction may have an influence on malocclusion.Key words: Mouth breathing, Occlusion, Malocclusion, Pre-school children.Full Text: XML PDF
Summary
Objectives To ascertain whether malaria parasitaemia in children is associated with HIV status. To examine the effect of vitamin A supplementation on malaria parasitaemia in children.
...Methods We studied the cross‐sectional associations between HIV status and malaria parasitaemia among 546 children 6–60 months of age who participated in a double‐blind, randomized clinical trial of vitamin A supplementation. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for the presence of malaria parasites at baseline by HIV status in uni‐ and multivariate models that adjusted for sociodemographic and environmental variables. Among children with malaria, correlates of high parasite loads were identified. Next, we examined the effect of vitamin A supplementation on the risk of malaria parasitaemia and high parasite density at 4–8 months of the first dose in a subset of children.
Results The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia was 11.4% among HIV‐infected children, compared with 27.6% among uninfected. After adjusting for season, anaemia, use of bednets, maternal education and indicators of socioeconomic status, we found some evidence for lower prevalence of parasitaemia among HIV positive compared with HIV‐negative children (prevalence ratio = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.29, 1.09; P = 0.09). Other important correlates of malaria parasitaemia at baseline included low level of maternal education, poor quality of water supply, and the presence of animals at home. Vitamin A supplementation did not have a significant effect on malaria parasitaemia at 4–8 months of follow‐up, overall or within levels of potential effect modifiers.
Conclusion HIV infection appears to be negatively correlated with malaria parasitaemia in this group of children. Investing in women's education is likely to decrease the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in children. Vitamin A supplementation does not seem to have an effect on malaria parasitaemia in this population; possible benefits against clinical episodes and severe malaria deserve further examination.
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