This article describes the development of the Parents Plus Early Years Programme
(PPEY): a video-based early intervention for parents of pre-school children with
behavioural and developmental ...difficulties. PPEY combines individual
parent-child sessions using video feedback with parenting group sessions using
video-based teaching over a 12-week period. As well as detailing the research
basis, theory and practice of the PPEY, the article describes the results of an
initial study of 30 children, with a range of conduct, attention and
developmental problems whose parents completed the programme. Results showed a
significant drop in conduct problems and hyperactivity as measured by the
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, decreased parental stress as measured
by Parent Stress Scale, and significant gains towards parent-defined goals. In
addition, before and after video observation of parent-child interaction showed
an increase in positive parent-child attention and a decrease in parent-child
instructions, as measured by independent observers. Gains were maintained at
5-month follow-up. The article also includes some initial results of a follow-up
qualitative evaluation of parents’ experience after attending the programme.
The aim of this study was to assess child care providers' level of knowledge of first aid management and attitudes towards dental injuries among preschool-age children within Fairfield County, ...Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts.
This descriptive cross-sectional study used a web-based, validated questionnaire adapted from several studies with permission from authors. A panel of 5 dental experts determined the relevance of the questions and overall content (I-CVI range 0.8-1; S-CVI = 0.95). The 28 question survey included demographics, level of knowledge, attitudes about traumatic dental injuries, emergency management, and 2 case study questions on management of luxation and tooth fracture. Survey data was coded and analyzed for associations and trends using STATA® statistics/data analysis software v. 11.2.
A total of 100 child care providers completed the online questionnaire. Eighty-four percent self-reported little to no knowledge about dental injury management. Sixty percent of child care providers agreed that they are responsible for managing dental injuries. Approximately two-thirds of child care providers reported not feeling adequately informed about dental injuries, with 77% expressing interest in receiving more information.
The majority of child care providers' do not have the knowledge to perform adequate first aid following a dental injury. Professional development on first aid for dental injuries is recommended among this workforce population.
To examine the as yet unknown relationship between dental caries and the child's psychomotor development.
A cross-sectional study was designed by screening the kindergartens from urban areas of two ...cities in southern Taiwan. Besides the personal, demographic and dietary information, the common measures for caries (dmft) and the amended comprehensive scales (CCDI) for psychomotor development were used to assess their relationship(s). A power analysis showed that 334 subjects would be required. One-way ANOVA vs multiple linear regression analysis were used to compare the differences of variables between gender, age and dmft scales, vs the relationship among all variables tested, respectively.
A total of 433 children completed the study. The results demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between higher (i.e. dmft≥4 and 5) but not lower or extremely high caries experience and aspects of psychomotor development (i.e. personal-social and expressive language) in children aged 4 to 6 years.
The present results are important for paediatric dentists, as they suggest a positive correlation between caries experience (dmft 3 to 6) and psychomotor development in pre-school children and that such a correlation may occur more significantly as an attribute of the most affected teeth (incisors and molars) during the critical stage of personal-social and expressive language development (speech-communication).
Unsafe storage of poisons in homes with toddlers Beirens, Tinneke M.J.; van Beeck, Eduard F.; Dekker, Rieneke ...
Accident analysis and prevention,
07/2006, Volume:
38, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The objective of this project was to assess the current nature and level of preventive actions that parents take to avoid unintentional poisoning among toddlers (11–18 months old).
In 2004, we ...conducted a cross-sectional observational survey with self-administered questionnaires among parents with toddlers (
n
=
1722). Data were obtained on storage locations of medicines and cleaning products and supervision of children.
Overall, 50.1% of the toddlers were exposed to unsafe storage of possible poisonous products in the home. Parents were more likely to store medicines safely than cleaning products, and products were most often stored unsafely in the kitchen, where children were left unattended most often (69%). Households with one child were associated with unsafe storage of both medicines and cleaning products. Lower educational level of the mother and unemployment of the mother were both associated with safe storage of medicines. Mother's ethnicity, the child's ability to walk, and the education level of the father were associated with storage of cleaning products.
The results of this study are an important first step for the development of effective interventions to reduce unintentional poisoning in toddlers’ homes.
Abstract
Background: The National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 (ENSANUT in Spanish) reported high rates of under-nutrition in children of Yucatan. Is food intake the main cause of under-nutrition ...in children of the state of Yucatan, Mexico?
Aim: Identify the primary causes of under-nutrition in pre-school children in Yucatan.
Subjects: A sample of 111 children (59 girls and 52 boys) aged 1-4 years representing Yucatan was taken from a database of ENSANUT 2006 and another national survey, a federal poverty mitigation programme for the state of Yucatan, Mexico entitled "Oportunidades".
Methods: A human ecology approach together with life history theory was used to analyse anthropometric indices and food intake data from the ENSANUT 2006 and "Oportunidades".
Results: Height and weight were significantly correlated to age and total food intake. No correlations were found between age and anthropometric indices or food intake rates. The children in the sample had adequate protein intake but deficient energy intake. No correlation was identified between nutritional status and food intake rates. Pre-schoolers with higher weight-for-height values achieved greater height-for-age. These relationships can be explained by life history theory in that energy intake was used either for maintenance (combating and recovering from infections) or growth.
Conclusion: The poor relationship between food intake rates and nutritional status is probably explained by the interaction between high disease incidence and insufficient energy intake. These conditions are endemic in Yucatan due to widespread poor housing, water and sanitation conditions.
This article focuses upon the role of the peripatetic pre‐school teacher for children who have special educational needs. It explores the key issues involved in home‐based teaching; the importance of ...developing meaningful partnerships with parents; early intervention; and the significance of play in promoting learning for young children. The research that informs this article is concerned with the possibility of teaching science to pre‐school children with special educational needs. The author, Andrea Bennington, was herself an early years special educational needs inclusion teacher when she undertook the work described here. She is now an advisory teacher for children with physical disabilities. In this example of practitioner research, key scientific concepts are discussed in the context of intervention through play carried out in the home setting. The work focuses on the responses of six children to a sequence of six ‘experiments’ carried out through a period of teaching. Andrea Bennington asks whether science activities can be used to promote the learning experiences of pre‐school children who have special educational needs and, therefore, their inclusion in teaching and learning situations.
The unmet dental needs of pre-school children indicate there are barriers in 'accessing' appropriate oral health care and this warrants consideration of care providers' beliefs.
To explore the ...beliefs and attitudes of dentists in Hong Kong towards providing oral health care to pre-school children; and to determine difference in attitudes between general dental practitioners (GDPs) and paediatric dentists (PDs).
A random sample of 476 GDPs (-25% of all registered dentists) and all registered PDs (28) were invited to participate in the study. Both groups were asked to complete the Barriers to Childhood Caries Treatment (BaCCT) questionnaire: a 29-item measure considering child, parent, dentist and health care system factors. Differences in attitudes of GDPs and PDs were examined in bivariate and regression analyses.
The overall response rate of the study was 61.5% (310/504). There were significant differences in overall BaCCT scores and across all domains between GDPs and PDs (p < 0.05). Furthermore, variations across many aspects (as described at an item level) were apparent. Regression analyses confirmed differences in BaCCT between GDPs and PDs, controlling for practice and other factors.
Differences exist between GDPs' and PDs' perceptions of barriers to care for early childhood caries. This has implications for how to address 'access' issues with likely implications on how to overcome barriers to care for pre-school children.
Abstract Background Several studies have demonstrated that medication is commonly used off-label in children with allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to characterise off-label use of ...prescriptions for allergic diseases in pre-school children from an allergology outpatient unit. Methods The clinical files of children aged ≤6 years seen in a reference allergology consultation with asthma, allergic rhinitis, and/or atopic eczema were reviewed. A total of 500 patients were consecutively observed from January to June 2012. The data collected included gender, age, diagnosis, and prescriptions with the respective daily dosage. Results A total of 1224 prescriptions were registered. The most prescribed medications were oral antihistamines (34.6%), antileukotrienes (22.6%), topical nasal corticosteroids (20.3%), and inhaled corticosteroids (17.7%). From all prescriptions, 422 (34.5%) were considered off-label for age (62.6%), dosage (31.7%), or clinical indication (5.7%). Off-label use was more frequent in children aged <2 years, with 73.5% prescribed for children of this age. Conclusions Off-label use of drugs for the treatment of paediatric allergic diseases is high. However, these prescriptions are not necessarily wrong, and are recommended in many guidelines. Randomised controlled studies are limited by methodological difficulties creating the need for more observational studies in order to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of drugs used in children.
The mode of delivery may significantly influence the diversity and composition of the oral microflora and facilitate early acquisition of mutans streptococci. The aim was to compare caries prevalence ...and experience in 3-year-old children delivered vaginally and by caesarean section (C-section).
The study had an observational cohort protocol based on extracted information from governmental databases and nationwide registers concerning birth, social and educational levels and dental status. Children born at the Copenhagen University Hospital in 2005 were eligible and the final study group with complete information consisted of 594 children, 443 delivered vaginally and 151 by C-section.
The total caries prevalence was 8% and no significant difference was displayed between the groups. When only the children with caries (dmfs > 0) were compared, those delivered by C-section had a higher mean value in comparison with those delivered vaginally (dmfs 6.8 vs 3.2), but the difference was not statistically significant. There was a significant relationship between caries prevalence and low family income in the total study group (OR = 5.8, p < 0.05).
Within the limitations of this observational cohort study, caries prevalence in 3-year-old children was not related to the mode of delivery. However, the tendency of more severe caries in the C-section group justifies further studies, preferably with a prospective design.
In recent years, early childhood education and care have gained increasing public attention. This has led to an expansion of education and care programmes. Yet, little is known about how parents use ...different options of education and care. Take, for example, kin care, paid caregivers and out-of-kindergarten activities. Drawing on social reproduction theory, we argue that parents organise their children's lives depending on their social class. In addition, we hypothesise that immigrant status plays a role in how parents set up their children's education and care. We use logit regression models to analyse the education and care arrangements of n = 2400 parents with 3-5 year-olds in Germany. The findings show that parents from the middle and upper classes make more use of 'enrichment activities' than lower and working class parents. When it comes to the influence of immigrant status and to informal care arrangements, the findings add to a more complex picture. (Orig.).
PDF
