Children In Northeast Research Articles

Prevalence and determinants of suspected developmental delays among 12-month-old children in northeast of Iran: a large-scale population-based study

BackgroundEarly identification of suspected developmental delays (SDDs) is crucial for planning early interventions. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of SDDs and the associated determinants in children aged 12...

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Internally Displaced Persons in North-East, Nigeria

Corporate Social Responsibility and its proper implementation entail that organizations are not just driven by the quest for economic gain or a good reputation, but that they are deliberate with positively affecting the lives of the members of their host communities. The study investigated the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Internally Displaced Persons in North-East, Nigeria. Also other objectives includes to examine the impact of social responsibility on Internally Displaced Children in North East, Nigeria, and to evaluate the impact of economic responsibility on internally displaced elderly persons in North East. The researcher adopted the cross sectional research design and structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The simple random sampling technique was adopted in the study. Data analysis was committed to descriptive statistics of mean and percentages as well as correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that Social responsibility does have positive impact on Internally Displaced Children in North East, Nigeria; Economic responsibility does have positive impact on internally displaced elderly persons in North East, Nigeria. The study concludes corporate social responsibility has emerged as a form of sustainability governance with advantages to the economic, environment and social progress of the Internally Displaced Person’s at 5% level of significance. It was recommended that corporate social responsibility of the companies should be more environmentally demanded rather than Marjory from angle of ethical consideration and philanthropic obligations.

Efficacy of Praziquantel Treatment and Schistosoma Mansoni Infection among Primary School Children in Kemisse Town, Northeast Ethiopia.

Schistosoma mansoni infection is endemic in Ethiopia. The epidemiology of S. mansoni and the efficacy of praziquantel among schoolchildren have not been well documented in different parts of the country including our study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the status of S. mansoni infection and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of praziquantel among school children in northeast Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 499 children of two preschool children. Stool specimens were collected and microscopically examined using Kato-Katz (41.7 gram) methods. Positive children were treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel at 40 mg/kg body weight. Egg reduction and cure rates were assessed 4 weeks post-treatment to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of praziquantel against S. mansoni infection. The overall prevalence of S. mansoni infection among the schoolchildren was 52.1% with a mean intensity of 546 eggs per gram of stool. Majorities of the S. mansoni infections were moderate to heavy intensity, with only 5.0% light infections. Praziquantel administered at a single oral dose of 40 mg/kg achieved a cure rate of 91.7% and reduced the egg rate by 86.8%. Twenty-one schoolchildren remained infected at 4 weeks post-treatment, among which 6 and 15 children had moderate and light infections, respectively. S. mansoni prevalence among primary school children in Northeast Ethiopia was high, highlighting the need to implement school-based chemotherapy with annual frequency. The efficacy of praziquantel at 40 mg/kg is sufficient to permit continued use in treating S. mansoni-infected schoolchildren.

Determinants of community acquired pneumonia among 2 to 59 months of age children in Northeast Ethiopia: a case-control study

BackgroundPneumonia is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in under-five children. Regardless of this fact, efforts to identify determinants of pneumonia have been limited in the study area. The aim of this study was to identify determinants of community-acquired pneumonia among 2–59 months of age children in Northeast Ethiopia.MethodsFacility-based unmatched case-control study was conducted from February to April, 2019 among 444 (148 cases and 296 controls) 2–59 months of age children in Northeast Ethiopia. Cases were children with pneumonia, while controls were non-pneumonia children. Data were collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire by integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness trained nurses. The data were entered into Epi Data and then transferred to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to test associations between the independent and the dependent variables. Variables with P-value ≤ 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model were declared as significant variables.ResultsChildren having older age mother (AOR = 0.03, 95% CI; 0.01,0.14), having mothers who are housewife (AOR = 0.19, 95% CI; 0.07,0.54), not having separate kitchen (AOR = 5.37; 95% CI: 1.65,17.43), having a history of diarrhea in the last 2 weeks (AOR = 10.2; 95% CI: 5.13, 20.18), having a history of acute lower respiratory infection in the last 2 weeks (AOR = 8.3, 95% CI: 3.32, 20.55) and having a history of parental asthma in the family (AOR = 4.9, 95% CI: 2.42, 10.18) were found to be determinants of community-acquired pneumonia.ConclusionsChildren having older age mother, having mothers who are housewife, not having separate kitchen, having a history of diarrhea in the last 2 weeks, having a history of acute lower respiratory infection in the last 2 weeks and having a history of parental asthma in the family were found to be determinants of community-acquired pneumonia. Therefore, all health institutions should promote early treatments and prevention of diarrhea and acute lower respiratory infections of under-five children at the health facility and household level.

Understanding & ameliorating enteropathy and malnutrition in impoverished areas.

Understanding & ameliorating enteropathy and malnutrition in impoverished areas.

'You've come to children that are in care and given us the opportunity to get our voices heard': The journey of looked after children and researchers in developing a Patient and Public Involvement group.

BackgroundLooked after children and care leavers (denoted as LAC) are often described as a ‘hard to reach' group of young people, and their voices are rarely sought to inform academic research.MethodsThis paper reports on experiences and reflections of a group of children and young people and academic researchers who developed a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group that was set up in the context of an ongoing health service intervention trial with LAC.Setting and participantsEighteen qualitative semi‐structured interviews were conducted with seven LAC, the participation officer within a North East Children in Care Council and the four researchers involved in developing and facilitating the PPI group. PPI sessions (n = 9) each approximately 1 hour in length were conducted over an 18‐month period.AnalysisThe qualitative interviews were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, and direct quotes are used within the paper.Main outcomesThe LAC used the PPI group to produce a 5‐minute video to highlight why they think young people should be involved in research. Overall findings suggested that it was feasible to develop a research‐related PPI group with LAC. Findings from the research were used to co‐develop ‘top tips' of working with vulnerable young people such as looked after children.ConclusionThis paper has shown that PPI with LAC can be done if a co‐production approach to research is taken. It also suggests that assumptions regarding the capabilities of young people as researchers need to be re‐evaluated.

Validation of MRD Quantification By Flow Cytometry for Pediatric BCP ALL Relapsed Patients Treated on the Intreall Protocol

At acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) relapse, about 40% of children can be salvaged with intensified multi-agent, high dose chemotherapy and in very high risk patients, with additional stem cell transplantation (SCT). To improve on this, the International BFM Study Group has led a consortium of 19 countries to develop the world's largest trial for relapsed ALL (IntReALL). Standard risk patients will be randomized to receive the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 or UK ALL R3 therapy and post induction will be randomised to receive the additional targeted anti-CD22 drug, Epratuzumab, during consolidation, to clear residual disease. Children with end of re-induction MRD positive bone marrow will undergo SCT following consolidation. Both ALL-REZ BFM 2002 and UK ALL R3 used MRD PCR-based quantification of clonal Ig/TCR rearrangements, with different cut offs (10-3 for ALL-REZ BFM 2002 and 10-4 for UK ALL R3) and this is the reference assay for IntReALL. However, flow MRD may also play a role for patients without PCR targets. Flow MRD relies on the discrimination of leukaemic blasts from hematogones and this can be hampered depending on the degree of haematopoietic regeneration which varies depending on the treatment protocol and is especially important after intensive induction treatment in relapsed protocols.Thus, prospective MRD quantification of patients entered onto the UKALLR3 and ALL-REZ BFM 2002 clinical trials was performed by a standardised, quality assured, 4-8colour Flow MRD assay in end of re-induction bone marrow aspirates, by laboratories in the IBFM FLOW consortium (n=221). Flow MRD in both treatment protocols was classed as a prospective biological add on study and not used for clinical decision making. Median MRD levels were 0.026 +/-9.9% SD for BFM versus 0.027+/-18% SD for UK protocols, with comparative MRD positivity rates of 45% versus 54%, respectively. Comparison with MRD levels as assessed by molecular analysis of antigen receptor gene rearrangements was performed in 170 samples (BFM,128; UK R3, 42). The Spearman rank correlation of all samples was 0.90 (p<0.0001) for patients treated on the BFM protocol, compared to 0.82 (p<0.0001) for those on UK ALL R3. Risk category concordance was 88% (ALL-REZ BFM) and 88% (UKALLR3). For the 21 discordant samples, 5 were MRD positive by flow but negative by PCR and 17 were negative by flow and positive by PCR. When analysing the accuracy, with which flow MRD classified specimens identically as PCR, the sensitivity of flow MRD in the ALL-REZ BFM protocol was 81% (cut off 0.1%) and in UK ALL R3 was 79% (cut off 0.01%). Specificity values were 93% versus 100%, respectively.Although sample processing and quantification of MRD differ between PCR and FC MRD, in both re-induction protocols, there was good correlation of MRD levels assessed by flow cytometry and PCR, validating the use of Flow MRD as a method of choice in patients without PCR targets in the IntReALL trial. Flow MRD also has the advantage of enabling levels of CD22 to be assayed on MRD cells, prior to treatment with Epratuzumab.This research has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 278514 - IntReALL", Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung for its funding support of the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 clinical trial and the minimal residual disease studies by PCR and the Deutsche Jose Carreras Leukämiestiftung for support of the international principal investigator, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and North East Children's Cancer Research Fund, NT 13462-4, NV15-28525A, NV15-26588A, UNCE 204012. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Prevalence of Malnutrition among Preschool Children in Northeast of Iran, A Result of a Population Based Study

Introduction:Malnutrition in preschool children is a significant problem and has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most lethal form of malnutrition, indirectly or directly causes an annual death of at least 5 million children worldwide. The object of this study was to estimated the rate of underweight, stunting and wasting among preschool children in northeast of Iran.Methods:A cross sectional population based study was conducted and 70339 children; 35792 males and 34547 females were recruited. The primary outcome variables were; weight, height, age and gender of the children. The sex and age specific rate and overall rate of underweight, stunting, and wasting were calculated.Results:The rate of underweight, stunting, and wasting were 7.5%, 12.5% and 4.4% respectively. There were significant differences in stunting and wasting rate between boys and girls. The overall rate of stunting was significantly higher than the overall rates of underweight and wasting. The rate of malnutrition increased with child's age.Conclusion:In compare to WHO criteria, the rate of malnutrition among this study population was low. According to the higher rate of stunting, the main goal of future research and interventions must be finding the causes of deficiency in height growth and improving it.

Determinants of childhood obesity in representative sample of children in north East of iran.

Childhood obesity has become, a global public health problem, and epidemiological studies are important to identify its determinants in different populations. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with obesity in a representative sample of children in Neishabour, Iran. This study was conducted among 1500 randomly selected 6–12-year-old students from urban areas of Neishabour, northeast of Iran. Then, through a case-control study, 114 obese (BMI ≥ 95th percentile of Iranian reference) children were selected as the case group and were compared with 102 controls (15th ≤ BMI < 85th percentile). Factors suggested to be associated with weight status were investigated, for example, parental obesity, child physical activity levels, socio-economic status (SES), and so forth. The analysis was conducted using univariate and multivariate logistic regression (MLR) in SPSS version 16. In univariate logistic regression model, birth weight, birth order, family extension, TV watching, sleep duration, physical activity, parents' job, parents' education, parental obesity history, and SES were significantly associated with children's obesity. After MLR analysis, physical activity and parental obesity history remained statistically significant in the model. Our findings showed that physical activity and parental obesity history are the most important determinants for childhood obesity in our population. This finding should be considered in implementation of preventive interventions.

Temporal trends and anaemia-associated factors in 6- to 59-month-old children in Northeast Brazil

To analyse the trends and factors associated with anaemia in 6- to 59-month-old children in Northeast Brazil. Cross-sectional study assessed information from the second and third Pernambuco State Health and Nutrition Surveys carried out in 1997 and 2006. A multiple regression analysis was performed from a conceptual model addressing biological and socio-economic factors, housing and sanitation conditions, maternal factors, health care and nutrition, consumption, morbidity and nutritional status. Poisson's regression with robust variance was used. Pernambuco, Brazil. A total of 777 and 993 children, respectively, in the second and third Pernambuco State Health and Nutrition Surveys. The prevalence of anaemia (Hb < 11 g/dl) decreased by 19·3 % (40·9 % down to 33·0 %) between surveys. Maternal education level (less than 8 years in school), households ranked in the lowest environmental index tertile and children between 6 and 23 months of age were the variables common to the final models in the surveys of 1997 and 2006. Elements like living in rural areas, household income less than two minimum official wages and low birth weight were still present in the final model of the 1997 survey. Households ranked in the lowest economic index tertile were associated with anaemia in the model of the 2006 survey. The study results are quite encouraging from the perspective of reducing the prevalence of anaemia. Maternal education level, environmental conditions and child age were determinant factors in both surveys, and economic factors were determinant in 2006.

The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in preschool-age children in Mashhad, north-East of Iran.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. Although the onset of ADHD is frequently prior to the age of seven years, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence of the disorder in preschool-age children. This study was performed to determine the prevalence rate of ADHD in preschool-age children in kindergartens of Mashhad, North-East of Iran. One thousand eighty-three (553 males and 530 females) children aged between five and six years, were selected at random from 155 kindergartens in ten districts of Mashhad. The ten-item Conner's Index questionnaire was completed for each child by teachers and parents. Parents of children whose scores were positive for ADHD (>15) were interviewed by a psychiatrist and the ADHD was diagnosed based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime Version. One hundred thirty-three (12.3%; CI 95%: 10.3 -14.2%) children were diagnosed to have ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD in preschool-age children in North-East of Iran is consistent with previous studies in other countries. This study recommends the need for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in preschool-age children.

Automotive child restraint systems in Northeastern Italy

Aim: To evaluate the use of automotive restraint systems among children in Northeast of Italy and to describe parental knowledge and reasons for either use or non‐use. Methods: This population survey included subjects recruited at three Vaccination Services serving approximately 24000 children aged 0–12 y. From March 8, 2002 to June 7, 2002 parents of children being vaccinated were asked to complete a self‐administered structured questionnaire. A total of 1093 questionnaires were collected. Data were analysed using contingency tables, χ2 tests, and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Although 98% of children were restrained when riding in a car, less than 90% were using the restraint system appropriate to their body size, and 38% of parents were making some errors in the way they transported their children. Parents of children ≥3 y of age were significantly more likely to make errors. Less than half of the respondents had ever received any information on child restraint systems and it was found that being given information significantly reduced the likelihood of parents making errors when transporting children. Conclusion: Many children ride unrestrained or inappropriately restrained in cars. Parents should be provided with information on child restraint systems in order to decrease the frequency of incorrect child transportation. Special attention should be devoted to the parents of children ≥3 y of age.

Automotive child restraint systems in northeastern Italy.

To evaluate the use of automotive restraint systems among children in Northeast of Italy and to describe parental knowledge and reasons for either use or non-use. This population survey included subjects recruited at three Vaccination Services serving approximately 24000 children aged 0-12 y. From March 8, 2002 to June 7, 2002 parents of children being vaccinated were asked to complete a self-administered structured questionnaire. A total of 1093 questionnaires were collected. Data were analysed using contingency tables, chi2 tests, and multivariable logistic regression. Although 98% of children were restrained when riding in a car, less than 90% were using the restraint system appropriate to their body size, and 38% of parents were making some errors in the way they transported their children. Parents of children > or = 3 y of age were significantly more likely to make errors. Less than half of the respondents had ever received any information on child restraint systems and it was found that being given information significantly reduced the likelihood of parents making errors when transporting children. Many children ride unrestrained or inappropriately restrained in cars. Parents should be provided with information on child restraint systems in order to decrease the frequency of incorrect child transportation. Special attention should be devoted to the parents of children > or = 3 y of age.