Active Involvement Of Parents Research Articles

Prise en charge de la prématurité extrême : vision française de l’expérience suédoise

Extreme prematurity, defined as birth occurring before 27weeks of gestation in Sweden, is managed according to the latest data of the most recent literature, with monitoring of the results through a continuous perinatal registry. National guidelines were issued in 2013. They highlight the importance of infant developmentally supportive and family-centered care focused on the child and the family, nutritional support, pain management, management of ductus arteriosus, and brain damage. However, there remain areas without national consensus including respiratory support management. The French vision of the Swedish approach highlights the proactive attitude of neonatologists, the coherent and narrow collaboration between neonatologists and obstetricians, and the active presence and involvement of parents in the care of their infants.

The PaCT: Parents, Children and Teacher Partnership in Developing ESL Literacy

Malaysia government has called for schools and parents to collaborate in nurturing the culture of reading among children, as there is no formalised programme for a more active involvement of parents in academic matters. Based on the positive results of school-home partnership of past studies, this study proposed a formalised partnership, i.e. the Smart Partnership in Reading in English (SPIRE) project. The six month project aimed to foster a partnership among the teacher, parents and children in an English storybook reading programme. It involved 25 multiracial five year old children, 25 parents and a class teacher. The parents, in partnership, with the teacher scaffold the children’s reading development by reading storybooks to the children at home. Qualitative data gathered via interviews, teacher journals and home visits showed the children largely benefited from the teacher and parents collaboration. The outcome of the study was the formation of two levels of partnerships, firstly, the formation of a teacher-parent partnership, where the teacher scaffolds the parents, who in turn scaffold the children’s development of reading skills at home. Secondly, the family partnership, where all family members, including extended family members were involved in scaffolding the children’s reading development. This partnership also positively influenced the other children and teachers beyond the participating group. Another pertinent outcome was a clear link between the levels of partnership and the children’s reading progress. The closer the parents worked with the teacher, the better was the children’s reading progress. Similar partnership can also leave conventional splits in EFL context in the past and genuine sharing of responsibilities for EFL literacy development in the future.

Impact of Health Educational Programme on Nutritional Status: A School Based Intervention Study among Adolescent Girls in an Urban Slum

BACKGROUND: Personal hygiene and correct dietary habits play a pivotal role in maintaining proper nutrition. Adolescent girls being future mother should be the target of health education programmes. Proper nutrition in this period of active growth will lead to a healthy adult and in turn healthy community. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a heath education programme regarding personal hygiene and dietary habits in improving nutritional status of the adolescent girl students. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two Government Bengali medium secondary schools located in a slum area under Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The study consisted of three steps. First a baseline survey was conducted to assess nutritional status of the students using WHO Z scores. This was followed by an intervention phase of 6 months during which weekly lecture and demonstration classes were taken in the study school. Second step was reassessment of nutritional status at post intervention. Third step was to follow them for another 6 months and reassess nutritional status to establish the effect of intervention. RESULTS: There was statistically significant decrement in proportion of undernourished students in study school from the pretest level to post-test level as compared to the control school and furthermore this improvement in nutrition was carried in follow up period. CONCLUSION: Sustained health education programme regarding correct hygiene and diet, with active involvement of parents and proper implementation of Government strategies can lead to better nutritional status and health of adolescents.

Assessment of Parental Knowledge and Understanding of Eating Disorders.

Recommended treatment of adolescent eating disorders includes active parental involvement. The purpose of this study was to assess baseline parental knowledge and understanding of eating disorders and how it is affected by participation in treatment. A cross-sectional and prospective cohort study comparing the parents of children ages 8 to 18 years seeking initial evaluation for an eating disorder at an adolescent medicine clinic (ED) to those attending appointments at a general pediatrics clinic (GP) was performed utilizing a 20-item questionnaire. There was no difference in mean scores at baseline, however after 2 months, the mean score of the ED group was significantly higher, while that of the GP group was not. The change in mean score from the first to second survey was significantly greater for the ED group than the GP group. Increased knowledge may improve self-efficacy, which plays a critical role in parents' ability to adopt eating disorder treatments.

Lifestyle Interventions in Preschool Children: A Meta-analysis of Effectiveness.

With healthy behaviors becoming established in the preschool years, intervening with preschool children to assist them in establishing a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a long-term healthy weight is critical. To optimize future intervention designs, this meta-analysis aimed to estimate the effects of lifestyle interventions on BMI among preschool children and explore potential intervention moderators. In October 2015, a search of PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Cochrane library databases yielded 52 eligible articles with 42 randomized intervention-control comparisons (31 prevention and 11 treatment). In 2016, weighted standardized mean differences for BMI were calculated using random-effects models to estimate effect sizes. The effect sizes were -0.19 (95% CI=-0.28, -0.09) and -0.28 (95% CI=-0.48, -0.09) kg/m2 for prevention and treatment interventions, with sustained effect sizes of -0.21 (95% CI=-0.35, -0.08) and -0.23 (95% CI=-0.43, -0.04) kg/m2, respectively. Child mean age, percentage Hispanic, and parental intervention sessions were common significant moderators. School-based or prevention interventions with active parental involvement did not yield better outcomes. Interventions targeting parents with parenting skill training and behavioral change strategies, and children with general health and nutrition education, resulted in greater effects. Although publication bias limits the validity of the study findings, the meta-analysis results highlight the promising intervention approaches of parenting skill training and behavioral change strategies to target parents. However, for children, general health and nutrition education should be employed.

Parental Involvement and Perceptions of School Climate in California

Parental involvement plays a significant role in students’ social and academic outcomes. Nevertheless, systemic ways of gathering parental views have not been used or highlighted in the policy arena or the literature. Using data from the first major statewide survey of parents in California, drawn from the California School Parent Survey ( N = 15,829), this study examined parental perceptions of school climate, school problems, and school encouragement of parental involvement. The findings question the roles that schools, and federal, state, and local policymakers play in supporting active school involvement of parents and families from nondominant ethnicities in the community.

SPIRE Project: Parental Involvement in Young Children’s ESL Reading Development

<p>Realising the clear dichotomy between schools and homes, the Malaysia government has now turned its attention to stakeholders and called for an increase involvement of parents, who are critical in transforming the education system.<strong><em> </em></strong>However, a clear line of demarcation continues to exist between the two prime educators of young children. Schools have yet to fully embrace the concept of active parental involvement, particularly in academic matters and have yet to design formalised programmes that provide avenues for active parental involvement. The six month Smart Partnership in Reading in English (SPIRE) formalised programme, which created a platform for non-native parents to play a more active role in developing early literacy skills in young children, particularly, reading skills in English language, was explored as an option. 25 non-native five year old children, 25 parents and the class teacher were involved in the programme. A rich ESL literacy environment was created both at school and homes by making a wide range of English storybooks and multimedia materials available for the children to be taken home. The parent-teacher partnership scaffold the children’s reading development. The teacher reads storybooks in school and the parents at home. Qualitative data gathered via interviews, home visits, meetings and informal conference provided evidence for parents’ positive attitudes towards reading English storybooks and towards being involved in their child’s reading development, a positive link between levels of parental involvement and reading development, and the plausibility of involving non-native parents through a formalised reading programme. The SPIRE programme explored in the Malaysian context can also be adopted in non English speaking countries for similar purposes.</p>

An exploration of perceptions regarding the feasibility of implementation of kangaroo mother care in the maternity ward of Tsumeb district hospital, Namibia

Aim : To explore perceptions regarding the implementation of KMC in the maternity ward of Tsumeb District Hospital. Methods : This was a qualitative exploratory study. The study population are doctors and nurses working in Tsumeb District, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and health programme administrators in the family health division of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS), Oshikoto Region. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Results : KMC is currently not practised at Tsumeb District Hospital despite many infants born with low weight in the district. Perceptions were grouped into three main themes: parent-related, health worker-related and baby-related. Parent-related perceptions include self-trust, increased competency, less frustration, and active involvement of parents in baby care, which are similar to the literature and regarded as benefits of KMC. But some health workers have negative perceptions of KMC. Health worker-related perceptions included both reduced workload and an increased workload. Baby-related perceptions are reduced morbidity, increased bonding, and improved care. Most of the health workers’ perceptions are similar to the benefits of KMC found in the literature. Conclusions : The results show that there are many barriers to KMC implementation. The main ones are lack of guidelines on care of the low birth weight infants and KMC policy guidelines.

Parent Involvement in Meaningful Post-School Experiences for Young Adults With IDD and Pervasive Support Needs.

Despite initiatives supporting young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to engage in post-secondary education and integrated employment, those with more intensive support needs are not as easily involved in these post-school experiences. In an effort to learn from positive examples, we examined parent involvement in meaningful post-school experiences by eight young adults with IDD and pervasive support needs. Secondary analysis of data from a prior interview study yielded this smaller sample of eight young adults with meaningful post-school experiences. Their parents were actively involved as fierce advocates and creative problem solvers. The active involvement of parents included: a) attitudinal facilitators, b) advocacy efforts and perceptions, and c) strategic actions. Implications for future research and practice are described.

Parents' perspectives on a collaborative approach to the application of the Handwriting Without Tears(®) programme with children with Down syndrome.

The active involvement of parents and children in goal setting and intervention is integral to contemporary occupational therapy process models. However, parental perspectives on collaborative handwriting intervention are limited. This paper presents parental perspectives on a three-way collaboration involving teachers, parents and an occupational therapist in the application of Handwriting Without Tears(®) (HWT(®) ) with children with Down syndrome. Within a larger mixed methods study, 44 parents completed purpose-designed questionnaires and six parents participated in a focus group, post 8 months of programme implementation. Both methods gathered parent's perspectives on the usefulness and limitations of applying HWT(®) . The focus group explored collaboration in depth. Analysis involved triangulation of data from descriptive analysis of numerical data with content analysis of open-ended questions and focus group data. Enablers of parent-child engagement in HWT(®) were identified as; the parent-child-friendly aspects of HWT(®) , the teacher involvement ensuring continuity which eased demands on parents, the ongoing support/guidance of the occupational therapist and the child's involvement in HWT(®) group intervention. The occupational therapists' involvement was reported as essential to encouraging teacher/parent involvement. Barriers to child-parent engagement included fluctuations in child health, mood, attention span and time limitations including the child's involvement in other therapy programmes. Parents perceived the HWT(®) and the three-way collaborative approach as enabling active parent-child engagement in handwriting intervention. This approach warrants further investigation. Findings have the potential to inform practice guidelines and pre- and post-graduation education related to collaborative handwriting intervention with children with Down syndrome and their families.

Parental Involvement in Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Children with Anxiety Disorders: 3-Year Follow-Up.

Parental factors have been linked to childhood anxiety, hence, parental involvement in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxious children has been examined. However, findings do not consistently show added effects of parent-enhanced CBT, longitudinal investigations are scarce and long-term effects unclear. In the present study, 40 out of 54 families who, 3years previously, completed one of two types of CBT treatment: with limited or active parental involvement, were assessed using semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Diagnostic status at 3-years follow-up was compared between groups. Changes in diagnostic status across assessment points: posttreatment, 6-month and 3-year follow-up were analyzed within groups. Diagnostic change from 6-month to 3-year follow-up was compared between groups. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed no significant difference in diagnostic status between groups at 3-year follow-up. Nonetheless, children whose parents actively participated in treatment showed significantly more remission from 6-month to 3-year follow-up than children with limited parental participation.

Collaboration of the Family and the School in Prevention of Adolescent Delinquent Behaviour

The aim of the research was to identify ways of support provided by the school to the family implementing prevention of adolescent delinquent behaviour. The research was carried out in general education institutions in 2014. The sample of the research included 321 adolescents, 150 parents, 62 teachers and 5 social pedagogues. The obtained empirical research data were processed using statistical, graphical and correlation analysis.
 The research revealed that the most frequent manifestations of adolescent delinquent behaviour are related to run around and use of swear words, absenteeism and refusal to prepare homework. The majority of parents and teachers allocate the most considerable attention to individual collaboration forms, which make better understanding of the family possible. Such forms embrace parents’ meetings, telephone and individual conversations, joint events, trips, seminars and projects. About half of the parents and teachers in the survey pointed out that they communicate via telephone, exchange SMSs and e-mails. Ongoing collaboration occurs on the electronic school gradebook. The acquired data also revealed that attending adolescent’s home and individual conversations are among the most efficient forms for prevention of delinquent behaviour. Assurance of school attendance is considered to be one of the most significant factors. The majority of adolescents are sure that assurance of school learners’ safety at school is of importance. Close collaboration between the family and the school as well as active involvement of parents into adolescents’ life both at home and at school are seen as relevant factors.

A Clinical Report of Functional and Esthetic Oral Rehabilitation in a High-caries-risk Child: One-year follow-up

This case discusses a multi-disciplinary approach to oral functional and esthetic rehabilitation on a high-caries-risk child with prematurely lost primary teeth due to endodontic complications associated with wide-spread dental caries. The patient was diagnosed with an anterior open bite and atypical swallowing. He exhibited anxiety and low self-esteem due to esthetic impairment. A combination of targeted clinical procedures, a focus on oral home care and active parental involvement was integral to the treatment process. The patient was examined monthly by a pediatric dentist regarding dietary habits, fluoride exposure, biofilm presence, caries prevalence, and malocclusion. Improvement was evident in patient’s masticatory function, facial esthetics, and psychological behavior at a 12-month follow-up evaluation.KeywordsDeciduous; Dental Caries; Mouth Rehabilitation; Tooth.

Decreasing Risky Behavior on Social Network Sites: The Impact of Parental Involvement in Secondary Education Interventions.

Teenagers face significant risks when using increasingly popular social network sites. Prevention and intervention efforts to raise awareness about these risks and to change risky behavior (so-called "e-safety" interventions) are essential for the wellbeing of these minors. However, several studies have revealed that while school interventions often affect awareness, they have only a limited impact on pupils' unsafe behavior. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior and theories about parental involvement, we hypothesized that involving parents in an e-safety intervention would positively influence pupils' intentions and behavior. In a quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test measures involving 207 pupils in secondary education, we compared the impact of an intervention without parental involvement with one that included active parental involvement by means of a homework task. We found that whereas parental involvement was not necessary to improve the intervention's impact on risk awareness, it did change intentions to engage in certain unsafe behavior, such as posting personal and sexual information on the profile page of a social network site, and in reducing existing problematic behavior. This beneficial impact was particularly evident for boys. These findings suggest that developing prevention campaigns with active parental involvement is well worth the effort. Researchers and developers should therefore focus on other efficient strategies to involve parents.

Collective Co-Production in Russian Schools

The growing demand for quality education services, as well as financial constraints faced by educational institutions produce the need for active involvement of parents and other representatives of local communities in the educational process so as to provide schools with additional resources. As a form of such involvement, non-profit organizations (NPOs) can be established to support educational institutions. In this paper, we assess the level of collective co-production in Russian school education and look for orrelations between institutional characteristics of schools and their cooperation with NPOs. The data for research was obtained from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (through the SPARK System), websites of municipal departments of education, and publicly available sources of information about activities of NPOs supporting schools. We reveal considerable cross-regional differences in the development of collective co-production in school education. The process is more active in provincial towns than in megalopolises: the proportion of schools supported by specifically founded NPOs is higher in many regional centers than in the capital cities. At the same time, a lot of regions have no such NPOs at all. As it turns out, NPOs are more likely to be created to support schools with a special status (gymnasiums, lyceums and specialized schools), where the parental demand for quality education services is higher. Meanwhile, we found no correlation between autonomous status of educational institutions and their participation in collective co-production. Thus, the increased degree of independence did not induce cooperation with NPOs for the purpose of raising extra-budgetary funds in this case.

Analysing the disability- sexuality controversy

Sexuality is one of the many phenomena which are least openly discussed particularly in the African culture. Sexuality is conceived variously in different cultures and disability is seen as a threat to sexuality in many of the cultures. Meanwhile, sexuality is regarded as a central theme in the development of self-esteem and self-identity since it has been conceived within the bodily perfection and bodily beauty complexes. Thus, the way sexuality is conceived for people with disabilities forms the central thrust of this paper. Views about the sexuality of people with disabilities have manifested in the construction of what we term the disability- sexuality controversy. The paper examines this controversy and explores ways of resolving it in the context of educational programming. The paper concludes that the disability- sexuality controversy is more of a social than a biological construct. This conclusion is premised on the hypothetical view that both disability and sexuality are intimately tied to the concept of self in which case sexuality is constructed within the social realm of the bodily beauty complexes. The way forward is a multi- sectorial approach towards the eradication of disability stereotypes. In addition, the paper recommends active parental involvement in the programming and implementation of sexuality education for their children with disabilities.

A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Family Structure and Health Risk Behaviours Amongst Young People: An African Perspective

Objective: The aim of this study was to review the published literature on the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour amongst youth in African countries. Methods: A systematic review was conducted between 2000 and 2014. Suitable titles were identified from database searches. Thereafter, abstracts were evaluated along specific inclusion criteria. Eleven full text articles were evaluated for methodological quality using a modified critical appraisal tool and six studies were included in the final review that satisfied the threshold criterion of 70%. A narrative synthesis was completed for all included records to provide a textual answer to the research question. Results: Findings indicated that there was a relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour, specifically risky sexual behaviour. The importance of family structure was evident, and the active involvement of parents in the activities of youth is cardinal. The review further underscores that there is lack of methodologically rigorous research that can provide empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour. Discussion: Risky sexual behaviour was the most prevalent outcome assessed across studies. Family structure impacted positively on delaying or reducing engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Diverse family structures were identified and orphans living with caregivers were identified as a particular structure that might be more prevalent in the African context. Parental involvement and investment in adolescent activities were more strongly identified as an important factor. There is a lack of and need for more methodologically rigorous research to gain empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and health risk behaviours.

Support Group for Parents Coping with Children with Type 1 Diabetes / Skupina Za Starše Kot Podpora Družinam Pri Soočanju Z Otrokovo Sladkorno Boleznijo Tipa 1

ObjectivesType 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Active parental involvement, parental support in the diabetes management and family functioning are associated with optimal diabetes management and glycemic control. The purpose of this study was to assess parental satisfaction with participation in the group and their perceptions of the impact of the intervention on living and coping with childrens T1D.MethodsA sample of 34 parents of children with T1D participated in this trend study. The participants’ experience and satisfaction with support group was measured by a self- evaluation questionnaire, designed for the purpose of the present study.ResultsQuantitative data show that parents were overall satisfied with almost all measured items of the evaluation questionnaire (wellbeing in the group, feeling secure, experiencing new things, being able to talk and feeling being heard) during the 4-year period. However, parents from the second and third season, on average, found that the support group has better fulfilled their expectations than the parents from the first season (p = 0,010). The qualitative analysis of the participants’ responses to the open-ended questions was underpinned by four themes: support when confronting the diagnosis, transformation of the family dynamics, me as a parent, exchange of experience and good practice and facing the world outside the family.DiscussionThe presented parent support group showed to be a promising supportive, therapeutic and psychoeducative space where parents could strengthen their role in the upbringing of their child with T1D.

Morbidity patterns and its associated factors among school children of an urban slum in Hyderabad, India

Background: More than a billion children now live in cities and towns. Children of the urban slums are denied essentials such as clean water and health care even though they may live closer to these services. Private schools in urban slums do not have any school health programs. Objective: To study the morbidity patterns among the school children attending private schools in an urban slum; to explore the association of specific morbidities with socioeconomic and demographic factors. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Five private schools in an urban slum were chosen by cluster sampling technique. A cross-sectional survey to assess the morbidity patterns and its associated factors was conducted with 713 school children aged 4–15 years. Result: Overall attendance of the students was 83.5%. Anemia (33.5%), worm infestation (47.4%), dental caries (56.24%), and poor personal hygiene were more prevalent. A significant association was found between socioeconomic and demographic factors such as maternal illiteracy, occupation, hygiene, social class, and so on, and specific morbidities among the study subjects. Conclusion: Children in urban slums attending private schools have a high prevalence of morbidities. Certain socioeconomic and demographic factors are significantly associated with specific morbidities. Sensitization of all stakeholders and initiating comprehensive school health services with active involvement of parents may be the need of the hour.

Effectiveness of supervised oral health maintenance in hearing impaired and mute children- A parallel randomized controlled trial.

Context:Individuals with special needs may have great limitations in oral hygiene performance due to their potential motor, sensory, and intellectual disabilities. Thus, oral health care utilization is low among the disabled people. Hearing disorders affect the general behavior and impair the level of social functioning.Objectives:The present study was conducted to assess the dental health outcomes following supervised tooth brushing among institutionalized hearing impaired and mute children in Jaipur, Rajasthan.Materials and Methods:The study followed a single-blind, parallel, and randomized controlled design. A total of 315 students were divided into three groups of 105 children each. Group A included resident students, who underwent supervised tooth brushing under the supervision of their parents. The non-resident students were further divided into two groups: Group B and Group C. Group B children were under the supervision of a caregiver and Group C children were under the supervision of both investigator and caregiver.Results:There was an average reduction in plaque score during the subsequent second follow-up conducted 3 weeks after the start of the study and in the final follow-up conducted at 6 weeks. There was also a marked reduction in the gingival index scores in all the three groups.Conclusion:The program of teacher and parent supervised toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste can be safely targeted to socially deprived communities and can enable a significant reduction in plaque and gingival scores. Thus, an important principle of oral health education is the active involvement of parents and caregivers.