Caribbean Children Research Articles

Tinea capitis in Europe: new perspective on an old problem.

A survey of tinea capitis conducted under the auspices of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology showed that laboratories contributing to a voluntary scheme for reporting have recently been seeing a different pattern of scalp ringworm. The survey was conducted among 92 medical mycology laboratories across 19 European countries by postal questionnaire comparing the years 1987 with 1997. The survey shows an overall increase in the numbers of cases caused by anthropophilic infections, which, in 1997, were the dominant causes of scalp infection; the greatest increase was seen in laboratories covering urban populations and in African Caribbean children living in Europe. While the commonest infection remains Microsporum canis, the largest overall increase has been in Trichophyton tonsurans, which in 1997 was the second commonest cause of infection overall and the commonest in urban populations. The pattern of change is not uniform in Europe and while some cities have reported large increases in T. tonsurans others, e.g. in France, have seen more cases of infection due to T. soudanense and M. audouinii. While these figures do not necessarily reflect changes in the underlying prevalence of infection, the trends are important to recognize as the control measures for anthropophilic tinea capitis differ from those used in zoophilic infections. In particular there is a need for an increased level of surveillance and more advice on control given to primary care physicians, dermatologists and school health authorities.

Behaviour, race and inclusion

This article argues that because of the practice in the 1960s of placing black children in so-called ‘educational subnormal’ units there is now a reluctance to look at the speci?c needs of African Caribbean children. The post-Warnock politics of integration/inclusion following this period point to the ‘institutional racism’ of schools and white teachers to explain poor exam results. This article argues that in the current political climate which prioritizes ‘inclusion’ we should not patronize the black child. There is a need to position the factors of oppression equally with other factors of underachievement; to re-employ psychological, behavioural and educational tools as well as to deconstruct school processes and teacher attitudes; and to consider psychosocial factors related to underachievement without forgetting the reality of institutional racism. The article illustrates a research project that looks at the pastoral needs of African Caribbean children. It points to these needs as the key variable in unlocking their underachievement at school.

Learning Behaviours, Attention and Anxiety in Caribbean Children

Research suggests learning-related behaviours, anxiety and attention may influence academic performance. This research, however, has been limited to children from industrialized countries. Studies of children in developing countries have usually concentrated on children's cognitive abilities and home background. Contributions of learning behaviours, anxiety, attention problems, cognitive ability and home background to the academic performance of village children (N = 61; ages 6-12) on St Vincent, the West Indies, were investigated. Teachers provided academic scores and rated children using the Learning Behaviours Scale and using a modified version of the Revised Behaviour Problem Checklist. Children's cognitive ability was assessed using the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices and their academic skills were assessed using a locally standardized achievement test. Stimulating home experiences, caregiver involvement, affluence and caregiver education were assessed using the MC-HOME Inventory and by interviews. Hierarchical regression indicated that anxiety, attention and learning-related behaviours explain 32-35 percent of the variance in academic scores. In contrast, home background and cognitive ability

‘Sit down, you haven't reached that stage yet’: African Caribbean children in Leicester schools 1960‐74

(1997). ‘Sit down, you haven't reached that stage yet’: African Caribbean children in Leicester schools 1960‐74. History of Education: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 409-429.

“Who is building the House?” Myth, Nation and Culture in African and Caribbean Children’s Literatures

Who Is Building the House? : Myth, Nation, and Culture in African and Caribbean Children's Literatures

A bio-ecological case study: A Caribbean child.

The present article presents how the bio-ecological assessment system is applied in assessing a child's cognitive intelligence beyond a psychometric intelligence test. The recognition that there are many types of intelligence, such as musical and bodily kinesthetic, is exemplified. The case presented is that of a child with deficient cognitive functioning on the psychometric tests, but advanced functioning on the "Other Intelligence Assessment Measure." Diagnostic impressions are given and implications for report writing and interventions are suggested.

London-born black caribbean children are at increased risk of atopic dermatitis

Background: Previous reports suggest that atopic dermatitis is more common in black Caribbean children born in the United Kingdom than in white children. It is unclear whether these differences are caused by selection bias or variations in the use of the word “eczema” in the groups studied. Objective: Our objective was to explore ethnic group differences in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in London schoolchildren. Methods: A cross-sectional prevalence survey of 693 junior school children in three schools was performed. Atopic dermatitis was defined in three ways: (1) by a dermatologist, (2) by visible flexural dermatitis as recorded by an independent observer, and (3) by a history of flexural dermatitis according to the child's parents. Results: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis according to examination by a dermatologist was 16.3% in black Caribbean children and 8.7% in white children. This increased risk was present for different methods of defining of atopic dermatitis and persisted after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusion: London-born black Caribbean children appear to be at an increased risk of having atopic dermatitis.

Reinfection with Ascaris lumbricoides after chemotherapy: a comparative study in three villages with varying sanitation

This study examined the effect of the 2 major means of control of Ascaris lumbricoides—chemotherapy and sanitation. About 200 pre-school Caribbean children living in 3 villages with varying sanitation were studied by quantitative stool examination for the presence of the eggs of helminths. Children with Ascaris eggs were treated with piperazine. Over a 2-year period this procedure was repeated after every 6 months of natural re-infection. Results showed that (i) the rate of reinfection was on average 20% higher than the rate of new infection; (ii) there was a highly significant correlation between the result of children's initial stool examination and that 6 months later; (iii) children with high Ascaris egg counts also frequently had high Trichuris egg counts; (iv) during the 6-month intervals, 36% of the infected children were not reinfected after treatment; the difference in reinfection rates between villages with and without sanitation was 48%. Regression analysis indicated that, after several socio-economic variables were controlled, only sanitation and crowding remained significantly associated with reinfection. The implications of these findings in formulating control strategies are discussed.

Caribbean Children, Thriving and Failing, In and Out of Hospital

Sixty-eight infants and toddlers who were moderately or severely underweight on admission to St. Lucia's main hospital were followed for twelve months. Five died, three from causes associated with malnutrition, but nearly all the survivors showed some “catch-up” growth. They had been randomly assigned either to receive one of two kinds of nutritional rehabilitation in hospital or to be discharged within days of admission (without food supplements). Neither the duration of any prescribed high-energy feeding, nor the weight gained in hospital, predicted the weight of a child six or twelve months later. We conclude that attempts at direct metabolic rehabilitation are usually irrelevant here; follow-up that includes homevisiting may be more valuable.