Children's Home Research Articles

Identifying barriers and interagency solutions to meeting the needs of families experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV): Home visiting and IPV agency perspectives

BackgroundAddressing intimate partner violence (IPV) among expectant families and caregivers with young children requires that multi-professional systems work collaboratively towards a common goal. IPV services and maternal and infant home visiting programs are two important perspectives to consider in designing interagency strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify shared priorities among home visiting and IPV professionals on IPV-related challenges and interagency solutions to support families with young children. MethodsHome visiting and IPV service providers (n=22) separately completed a structured brainstorming activity during four virtual focus groups using nominal group technique (NGT) to generate, rank, and reach consensus on prioritized barriers and solutions for the service population. The multi-professional study team (including home visiting and IPV partners) grouped and organized the top three prioritized barriers and solutions identified across groups using a pile sort activity. As a reliance measure, NGT discussion transcripts were coded to the final pile sort categories to ensure our presentation of the data was contextualized and supported by original participant responses. ResultsTwenty-four items were sorted into seven piles (three barriers and four solutions). The need to address families’ concrete needs was consistently prioritized across groups and matched with solutions that provide families with immediate financial support. Participants prioritized barriers resulting from client involvement in multiple, complex systems and named interagency process solutions (e.g., cross-systems training, enhanced referral processes) as the corresponding solution. The impact of individual and collective trauma was discussed as a barrier and matched with community-facing development (e.g., healthy relationship education). Policy, advocacy, and funding-oriented solutions were discussed as cross-cutting across all barriers. ConclusionEffective cross-system efforts are warranted to meet the interrelated needs of families impacted by IPV. The study highlights a shared view on prioritized challenges and actionable solutions to inform interagency collaboration among IPV agencies and early childhood home visiting programs. Our findings shed light on the importance of an organized public health approach to target IPV prevention and response.

Early environments and exploration in the preschool years.

A great deal of research has demonstrated how children's exploration is driven by opportunities for learning. However, less work has investigated how individual differences across children and their environmental contexts relate to patterns in playful exploration. We performed a "mega-analysis" in which we pooled preschool-aged children's play data from four past experiments in our lab (N = 278; M(age) = 56 months) and correlated play behaviors with age and socioeconomic status (median income, modal education in children's home zip codes). We found that, with age, children performed more unique actions during play. Additionally, children from lower SES areas explored more variably; the link between this play and tendencies to focus on pedagogically demonstrated features traded off differently than it did for higher SES children. This work lays critical groundwork for understanding exploration across developmental contexts.

Implementation of training and coaching to improve goal planning and family engagement in early childhood home visiting

Early childhood home visiting services aim to support child and family health and development, yet challenges engaging and retaining families persist. One promising strategy to improve family engagement involves enhancing the capacity of the home visiting workforce to partner with families to set and implement service goals that align with families’ needs and preferences. This study examined implementation of ‘Goal Plan Strategies’ (GPS), a training and coaching innovation designed to improve family-centered goal planning. Aims were to evaluate (1) the extent to which training and eight sessions of audio-based coaching were implemented with fidelity, (2) whether coaching fidelity was associated with home visitors’ perceptions of coaching and confidence using goal planning strategies, and (3) whether GPS was perceived as feasible, acceptable, and useful by coaches and home visitors. Home visitors (N = 22) and coaches (N = 10) took part in GPS and completed surveys, session logs, and interviews. Training and coaching sessions were observed and coded for fidelity (e.g., dose, adherence, quality). GPS was implemented with high levels of fidelity. Findings support feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness of GPS, overall, and suggest the need to examine coaching dosage and overlap with other implementation supports more closely. Findings highlight the benefits of audio-based coaching, mentoring of coaches, and observational measures of implementation fidelity.

Employed Mothers’ Justifications for Using Child Home Care Allowance in Finland

This paper examines the justifications for using the Child Home Care Allowance given by Finnish mothers with a one-year-old child, and the factors associated with these justifications. The study is based on a survey with parents, focussing on mothers with existing employment contract and spouse ( n = 530). The main justification for home care of a one-year-old child was that the child is too young for out-of-home day care. Experiencing home care as the best interest of the child did not vary according to socioeconomic background. Normative views of motherhood as well as criticism towards the quality of day care was more likely among mothers with a lower occupational status. The practical difficulties of working life were more pronounced among mothers with irregular working hours. The financial unprofitability of employment as a reason for home care was related to the mother’s weaker subjective health, lower socioeconomic status, and higher number of children in the family.

Dimensions of affective temperament and the experience of violence or social exclusion in childhood

Affective temperament is considered relatively stable, manifesting as traits, a way of expressing a person's characteristic or emotional state, which overall impacts mood. It also provides information about the risk of developing psychopathology in a given person. Despite its relative stability, it can be shaped by various difficult life experiences. The article presents the results of a survey conducted in 2019 on 300 respondents, the aim of which was to compare groups in terms of affective temperament who experienced social exclusion and physical and psychological violence in the family home in childhood with people who did not experience such situations in their lives. This problem is fundamental. This shows, among others, the diagnosis of violence against children in Poland from 2023, which shows that 79% of children and teenagers have experienced violence or neglect at least once in their lives. Dimensions of affective temperament and the experience of violence or social exclusion in childhood

Identifying Deficiencies in Children's Residential Care in Finland: Inspectors' Views on Working With Information

ABSTRACTAbusive and illegal practices in residential care are a recognised issue in child welfare internationally; thus, the question of how these institutions are supervised is important. However, children's residential care is complex by nature, making its supervision a challenging task. This article examines residential care supervision by looking at the ‘knowledge work’ that two central legality supervisors in Finland—the Parliamentary Ombudsman and Regional State Administrative Agencies—conduct when inspecting children's residential homes. Here, ‘knowledge work’ refers to the process of working with information to identify deficiencies in care. Eleven interviews and 16 inspection reports are analysed with a focus on the nature of the information that these supervisors gather when inspecting residential units and how they evaluate the significance and reliability of the information. The results show that to complete their institutional task, the inspectors gather information from various sources, including documents and interviews with children. The significance of the information is then assessed by comparing it with legislation and the supervisory mandate, and its reliability is verified by considering the diverse information sources as a whole collection of information. The results suggest that how well ‘knowledge work’ is conducted highly affects the impact of supervision.

Autistic traits and eating behaviors in Chinese preschoolers: Role of sensory profiles and home environment

ObjectiveThis study aims to 1) explore the association between autistic traits and eating behaviors in Chinese preschoolers; 2) explore the mediating role of sensory processing patterns on the relation of autistic traits and eating-related behaviors; and 3) examine home nurturing environment as a moderator between autistic traits and eating-related behaviors. We hypothesize that there is a significant association between autistic traits and eating behaviors, which is mediated by sensory processing patterns and moderated by the home nurturing environment. Method509 children aged 3–4 years participated in this cross-sectional research. They were assessed using the Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2) for autistic traits, the Chinese Preschoolers' Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CPEBQ) for eating-related behaviors, the Short Sensory Profile-Second Edition (SSP-2) for sensory processing patterns, and the Children Home Nurture Environment Questionnaire (CHNEQ) for home nurturing environment. Mediation regression analyses were used to examine the role of sensory processing patterns, while moderation analyses to examine the role of home nurturing environment. ResultsWe observed a positive association between autistic traits and eating behavior problems among typically developed children. Sensory processing patterns significantly mediated the impact of autistic traits on children's eating-related behaviors and home nurturing environment also moderated this relationship. DiscussionOur research suggests that Chinese preschoolers with higher autistic traits may face more eating challenges when they possess more heightened sensory processing patterns, while living in supportive home environments helps to improve their eating behaviors. These findings contribute to the understanding of how and to what extent eating problems are influenced by autistic traits, and they offer insight into the alleviation of eating problems from the perspectives of sensory patterns and family nurturing environments.

Map of individual special needs of students in need of long-term treatment as a tool for building the educational route of a hospital school student: identifying psychological and pedagogical characteristics

Introduction. The realization of the right to education of children with chronic somatic diseases and in need of long-term treatment is possible by ensuring the personalization and individualization of the educational route. Information about psychological, pedagogical, social and medical characteristics of a pupil helps to develop and implement it. Purpose of the study: scientific substantiation, design and testing of the Map of individual special needs of hospital school students with data on educational, psychological and pedagogical characteristics of children and adolescents studying in hospital school in 2021-2022. Materials and methods. The participants were students of the flagship site of the project of hospital schools of Russia "UchimZnaem" in Moscow in the number of 396 people aged from 4 to 18 years. Methods: source analysis, design, psychological and pedagogical experiment, expert evaluation, statistical processing of results. Results. A map of individual special needs of children in need of long-term treatment was developed and implemented, which became an effective tool for implementing an individual educational route for hospital school students. It was revealed that the majority of respondents (96%), despite the possible risks of deterioration of their psychophysiological condition due to severe and prolonged treatment, are able to study in general education programs and do not have pronounced cognitive deficits, have high learning motivation, the indicators of development of higher mental functions correspond to age norms. But there were also revealed difficulties in 57% of schoolchildren related to communicative and emotional-volitional spheres. Conclusions. The proposed Map of individual special needs can be used as a tool for personalization and individualization of education of children in difficult life situations, revealing the key characteristics of schoolchildren. Also the obtained data can be used by psychologists, teachers, tutors when organizing training in medical hospitals and at home for children and adolescents with chronic somatic diseases, as they demonstrate possible risks in the development and psychological well-being of this category of students.

Ants

"Ants" is a place poem written as I was sitting on the front porch of my childhood home looking out at the place along the winding driveway where the ants hills have been as long as I can remember.

Religion and Spirituality as Sites of Learning

Learning penetrates religion in many ways. Primary religious socialisation – sometimes referred to as religious nurture – is the process by which children are explicitly and purposefully taught to do things religiously or they learn implicitly by following what their families and other people around them do, speak and feel. In secondary religious socialisation one sets about learning something additional to or different from what was learned and internalised in one’s religious or non-religious childhood home and surroundings. Secondary socialisation may also entail processes of unlearning something previously learned in order to grasp and master the skills, ways of thinking and feeling, and discursive habits of the new worldview and context of life. Learning in both primary and secondary socialisation can in some cases turn into a thoroughly religiously informed way of life. Alternatively, religious learning may not always be sufficiently lengthy and committed to result in full socialisation. Many people engage in religion merely in special situations or turning points in life, and after that particular need is over, religion loses its acute significance. Furthermore, religious learning may also have intended or unintended effects and consequences beyond the more strictly bounded religious sphere and may come to be reflected in personal and relational life much more widely. (See Long and Hadden 1983; Sherkat 2003; Collet Sabe 2007; Berliner and Sarró 2008; Erricker, Ota and Erricker 2012; Scourfield et al. 2013; Klingenberg, Sjö and Broo 2019.)

Complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home: a systematic review of quantitative research

Objective: Identifying complications related to enteral nutrition at home in children is important in terms of establishing standard discharge education and training programs to support parents in managing complications. The study aimed to synthesize current evidence on the complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home. Methods: The study was conducted according to PRISMA recommendations. Eight databases were reviewed between 2012 and 2022 in Turkish, German, and English languages. Articles were assessed in three stages: title, abstract, and full text. The review included 18 studies that met all the inclusion criteria. The Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instruments were used to assess the quality appraisal of the studies. Results: A total of 18 studies with 19,531 children were included from 14 countries. The outcome measures were major and minor complications with pediatric enteral nutrition at home. 11 of the 18 papers included were retrospective studies on complications of PEG. In studies reporting the overall rate of major complications ranged from 0% to 14.3%, and the most common complications were reoperation (2.64%-12.4%), and gastrocolic fistula/perforation (0.9%-3.8%). In studies reporting the overall rate of minor complications, the rate ranged from 16.4%-73.6% and the most common complications were infection (8.2%-31.9%), dislodgement (1.6%-21%), skin granulation (4%-50.4%), and vomiting (1%-49.89%). Conclusion: This systematic review reveals that the rate of complications in pediatric enteral nutrition at home cannot be underestimated. Healthcare providers should plan their practice considering these complications to support parents in managing complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home.

An examination of relevant factors attributable to child health, food behavior, and lifestyle concerns of parents with infants aged at least 18 months: With a view to expanding into Shokuiku (food and nutrition education)

Objectives This study focused on food after weaning and examined the children's diet and home environmental factors that influence parents' concerns during health checkup for infants (aged 1.6 and 3 years).Methods In the analysis, 646 participants, excluding invalid responses, who cooperated with the survey during health checkup for 1.6- and 3-year-old in the Tohoku, Chubu, and Chugoku regions from March 2019 to January 2020, were included. The survey included 56 items of dietary, lifestyle, and health concerns (yes/no answers), child attributes, and frequency of food intake (six options, 18 types). Concern factors were extracted by factor analysis. The association between the worry scores and each factor was analyzed.Results The 1.6- and 3-year-olds were associated with high scores for (health awareness and lifestyle) and low fruit intake, high salty snacks intake, and low subjective economic status, high scores for (diet content and atmosphere) and low intakes of carotene-rich vegetables, other vegetables, seaweed, and fruits, high scores for (interest and motivation in food) and low carotene-rich vegetables intake, high scores for (food experience and behavior) and high cereals (bread) intake, low subjective economic status. The 3-year-olds were associated with high scores and being boys.Conclusion We extracted four worry factors that parents with children after the weaning period have and clarified the factors related to each factor and group characteristics.

Ambient PM2.5 and specific sources increase inflammatory cytokine responses to stimulators and reduce sensitivity to inhibitors

Ambient exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from multiple diseases. Recent observations suggest the hypothesis that trained immunity contributes to these risks, by demonstrating that ambient PM2.5 sensitizes innate immune cells to mount larger inflammatory response to subsequent bacterial stimuli. However, little is known about how general and durable this sensitization phenomenon is, and whether specific sources of PM2.5 are responsible. Here we consider these issues in a longitudinal study of children. The sample consisted of 277 children (mean age 13.92 years; 63.8% female; 38.4% Black; 32.2% Latinx) who completed baseline visits and were re-assessed two years later. Fasting whole blood was ex vivo incubated with 4 stimulating agents reflecting microbial and sterile triggers of inflammation, and with 2 inhibitory agents, followed by assays for IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Blood also was assayed for 6 circulating biomarkers of low-grade inflammation: C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, -8, and -10, tumor necrosis factor-α, and soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor. Using machine learning, levels of 15 p.m.2.5 constituents were estimated for a 50 m grid around children's homes. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race, pubertal status, and household income. In cross-sectional analyses, higher neighborhood PM2.5 was associated with larger cytokine responses to the four stimulating agents. These associations were strongest for constituents released by motor vehicles and soil/crustal dust. In longitudinal analyses, residential PM2.5 was associated with declining sensitivity to inhibitory agents; this pattern was strongest for constituents from fuel/biomass combustion and motor vehicles. By contrast, PM2.5 constituents were not associated with the circulating biomarkers of low-grade inflammation. Overall, these findings suggest the possibility of a trained immunity scenario, where PM2.5 heightens inflammatory cytokine responses to multiple stimulators, and dampens sensitivity to inhibitors which counter-regulate these responses.

Nutritional Problems Among Special Needs Children in a Rural Special Needs Children Home Near Chennai.

Background Special needs children have various health problems, and the most common problems are nutritional deficiency and malnourishment which leads to increased morbidity affecting their quality of life. This study aims to assess the nutritional status and health-seeking behaviour of special needs children. Methods The study was conducted among 46 special needs children at a special needs children's home. After collecting basic sociodemographic details, they were assessed for nutritional status and health-seeking behaviour using a semi-structured questionnaire followed by general and clinical examination. Results Out of these 46 special needs children, 69.6% were male and 30.4% were female. The mean age was 11.69±4.62 years. In this study, 65.22% were underweight; 6.52% were overweight; 10.87% were obese I; 4.35% were obese III; 13.04% were normal. Among them, 37%seek Government healthcare facilities for their healthcare needs. Referral advice was provided to all required children. Conclusion A high proportion of the special needs children were screened positive for nutritional deficiency and malnourishment which needs to be addressed. Interventions should be aimed at correcting the nutritional deficiency and malnourishment by involving the caretakers, mainly mothers of these children.

Effectiveness of a Telephone Counseling Intervention in Reducing Passive Smoking Among Children.

Legislative smoking bans that prohibit smoking in public places have successfully reduced passive smoking in public areas. However, smokers only partially adhere to smoking restrictions in their homes. Young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to tobacco smoke because they spend more time at home. In this study, we designed an intervention program based on an empowerment theory to reduce passive smoking among children. The priority participants were nonsmoking mothers living with smokers who smoke in the presence of children. The aim of this randomized control trial study was to examine the effectiveness of this intervention in reducing children's exposure to tobacco smoke at home. The intervention group received tailored educational brochures and two follow-up counseling telephone calls at 2 and 8 weeks, which provided resources to support the mothers to increase their knowledge, skill, and self-confidence in promoting behavior shaping of smokers. The control group received only tailored educational brochures. We found the intervention group demonstrated a higher rate of maternal actions to reduce their children's exposure to smoke and a higher rate than the control group of attempts to avoid smoking in the presence of children at the 16-week follow-up. These results suggest that the intervention helped reduce passive smoking among children. These findings highlight the need to empower and train mothers to help them develop rules for smoking at home. These interventions could be applied in the home of children who live with smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit smoking.

Does exposure to books foster a taste for spatial mobility? Home library size in childhood and adult migration intentions

Abstract Does exposure to books in childhood encourage adult migration? We contend that it does—through reading, which provides a simulative experience and arouses readers’ curiosity, as well as raising their openness to new experiences, awareness of opportunities in other places, and confidence in social situations, all of which foster migration intentions. Using data from the Life in Transition-III Survey, we find that the number of books in a childhood home is positively related to adult migration intentions. This relationship holds after controlling for a set of socio-economic characteristics, including individual and parental education. We also show that the book effect increases with the respondents’ level of education.

Maintaining Family Engagement During Home Visitor Turnover: a Mixed Methods Study of Best Practices

Evidence-based home visiting services (EBHV) are available in states and localities nationwide through the federally-funded Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. Nevertheless, the anticipated benefits of EBHV, such as improved child developmental outcomes and increased positive parenting practices, may be undermined by the fact that most families withdraw from services earlier than the model developers planned. Prior studies have linked family attrition with staff turnover. The current study used a mixed methods design to investigate the conditions under which families remained active in the home visiting program after their assigned home visitor resigned. Coincidence Analysis revealed that giving families advance notice (at least 1 month) prior to the home visitors’ upcoming resignation or developing a strong positive working alliance with the inheriting home visitor appears to independently make a difference for ongoing family engagement at 3 and 6 months following a staff transition. These findings suggest that emphasizing how staff turnover is managed may mitigate the risk of family withdrawal during these transitions.

An exploratory study of Saudi parents' perceptions and beliefs about institutional and home care for children with disabilities

Quality care is critical to the quality of life and well-being of persons with disabilities. However, children with disabilities face unprecedented challenges which include access to assistive technology and rehabilitative devices, social exclusion, and negative attitudes in their various care settings. The present qualitative study seeks to understand parents' perceptions of home or institutional care for children with disabilities. The study utilized an exploratory qualitative approach paradigm with five focus groups in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Framework data analysis identified opposing and supporting perspectives for home and institutional-based care. Beneficial aspects of home care relate to cultural upbringing and the opportunity to acquire social and daily living skills. Families believe there are benefits of institutional care because such care settings have specialists and resources to support persons with disabilities. They argue for these resources to be linked to disability cases in families to optimize the development of children with disabilities. The study concluded that a dedicated care team to support families to cater to the needs of their children with disabilities at home is preferred over institutional-based care.

Influence of Capacity of Caregivers in Support of Children with Disabilities

This study aimed to triangulate the critical variable of caregiver support that influences social service accessibility by understanding the roles of caregivers in supporting children with disabilities within the informal settlements of Kenya’s sub-county of Kasarani. The primary target population includes caregivers, often parents, of children with disabilities, and the secondary target is stakeholders, funding agencies, and community-based humanitarian organizations within Kasarani. A questionnaire was provided to 200 prospective participants, with 157 responding. The resulting data was encoded and analyzed using SPSS to reveal descriptive statistics and a regression analysis model to determine relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The results show that social service accessibility in Kasarani is influenced by the four identified targets of this study. Specifically, a one-unit increase in caregiver participation provides a 0.231-unit increase in accessibility of social services. The findings suggest that increasing home care for children with disabilities is vital; therefore, it is recommended that the government use policies to establish additional homes for disabled children and expand funding for home care and local-based community organizations to improve the lives of those with disabilities.

Home participation and personal and environmental factors in children and adolescents with Down syndrome.

To describe current home participation (frequency, involvement) and caregiver's desire for change in home participation of children and adolescents with Down syndrome, as well as home environmental factors, and to explore the associations of personal and environmental factors with current participation and caregiver's desire for change. Eighty-two caregivers (mean age = 45 years 10 months) of children and adolescents with Down syndrome (mean age = 10 years 7 months) were surveyed about the child's home participation and environmental factors using the Participation and Environment Measure-Children and Youth. Furthermore, children's personal and environmental factors were collected. Results are reported using descriptive analysis and correlations (Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and Mann-Whitney U test) to describe the relationship between current participation and caregiver's desire for change, with personal and environmental factors as ordinal and nominal variables respectively (p < 0.05). Children's participation was highest with regard to personal care management and lowest with regard to school-related activities. Most caregivers desired change in homework and household chores. Greater frequency was associated with male sex, caregiver less rigorous social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and children receiving therapies. Greater involvement was associated with younger age in children and higher environmental support. Older age in children was associated with caregiver's greater desire for change. Personal and environmental factors correlated with participation in specific ways. Creative strategies to promote participation that consider caregiver's wishes should be undertaken.