Abstract
BackgroundThe advent of COVID-19 abruptly thrust the health and safety of children and families into greater risk around the world. As regional and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, communities, families, and children grapple with the immediate public health impact of COVID-19, the rights and well-being of children, especially those who are already marginalized, have been overlooked. Those working with children have likely encountered unprecedented challenges and responded in innovative ways in efforts to address the needs and rights of all children.ObjectiveThis paper presents a protocol for a large-scale, multinational study using a new smartphone app to capture the real-time experiences and perspectives of practitioners and policymakers supporting children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe in relation to a children’s human rights 4P framework of protection, provision, prevention, and participation.MethodsThis protocol describes a mixed methods survey utilizing a custom-built iOS and Android smartphone app called the COVID 4P Log for Children’s Wellbeing, which was developed in close consultation with 17 international key partner organizations. Practitioners and policymakers working with and for children’s well-being across 29 countries and 5 continents were invited to download the app and respond to questions over the course of 8 weeks. The anticipated large amount of qualitative and quantitative response data will be analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and word frequencies.ResultsFormal data collection took place from October 2020 until March 2021. Data analysis was completed in July 2021.ConclusionsThe findings will directly inform the understanding of the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted practitioners’, managers’, and policymakers’ efforts to support children’s well-being in their practices, services, and policies, respectively. Innovative and ambitious in its scope and use of smartphone technology, this project also aims to inform and inspire future multinational research using app-based methodologies—the demand for which is likely to continue to dramatically rise in the COVID-19 era. Mitigating the risks of longitudinal remote data collection will help maximize the acceptability of the app, respondents’ sustained engagement, and data quality.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/31013
Highlights
BackgroundThe advent of COVID-19 abruptly thrust the health and safety of children and families into greater risk around the world [1,2,3], with far-reaching consequences for public health, child protection, peace, and justice, globally
Agencies worldwide have recognized that minimizing the negative impact of the COVID-19 emergency on children—in particular, those related to public health responses—will be critical to protecting children’s well-being
The research team comprises an international expert in children’s rights and well-being, with a wide range of international policy and practice stakeholder collaborations; an expert in human–computer interaction, with experience of user-led app development; a data manager, with experience working with Microsoft Azure databases and app-based research projects; an experienced contracted app developer; a researcher with experience of app-based data collection with hard-to-reach groups; and 2 knowledge exchange administrators and research assistants with communication, visual design, and stakeholder liaison experience
Summary
BackgroundThe advent of COVID-19 abruptly thrust the health and safety of children and families into greater risk around the world [1,2,3], with far-reaching consequences for public health, child protection, peace, and justice, globally. While focusing on mitigating the immediate public health and economic impacts of the pandemic, regional and local governments, communities, and families may risk overlooking its acute and long-lasting effects on the rights and well-being of children, in particular, those who are already marginalized [4]. As regional and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, communities, families, and children grapple with the immediate public health impact of COVID-19, the rights and well-being of children, especially those who are already marginalized, have been overlooked. Those working with children have likely encountered unprecedented challenges and responded in innovative ways in efforts to address the needs and rights of all children.
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