Nations International Children's Emergency Research Articles

Menstrual Hygiene Problems and Challenges Faced by Adolescent Females in Rural Areas: A Narrative Review.

Menstruation is a vital sign of reproductive health and development. Menstrual hygiene practices are consequently a significant public health issue. However, menstrual practices are still tainted by taboos and other sociocultural constraints, which adversely affect health since adolescent females in rural areas are unaware of the scientific facts regarding menstrual hygiene practices. The Indian government has recognized the significance of menstrual hygiene and developed and implemented several programs and schemes for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). But due to a lack of, little, or inaccurate knowledge and cultural practices and socio-economic status, adolescent females face many obstacles and suffer from health issues. A comprehensive literature and datasearch was done using key databases such as PubMed and Google Scholarand other sources such as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Google to identify the relevant articles and reviewed publications using full-text search. A total of 40 articles out of 1,461 were selected for review after the screening and elimination of repeated articles. The objective of this literature review is to assess the awareness and knowledge of the importance of menstruation, the understanding of safe menstruation practices, the significance of properly disposing of menstrual products, and the knowledge of how to guard against reproductive system infection and its consequences and also to identify the problems and challenges faced by adolescent females during their menstrual hygiene practices or management. The core of many health issues is misinformation, myths, erroneous beliefs, lack of awareness, and incomplete or incorrect knowledge about menstruation. Therefore, it is essential to teach adolescent females about hygienic behavior and safe menstrual practices.

Efficacy of Ayurveda Interventions in Protein Energy Malnutrition in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

According to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in India, around 46 percent of all children below the age of three are too small, and 35.7% are underweight and come under MAM (Moderate Acute Malnutrition). Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) can be correlated with Karshya, Balashosha, Phakka, Parigarbhika, Sushka Revati, and Apatarpanjanya Vyadhi based on similar clinical features. Multiple evidencebased clinical studies are conducted in this sector, but no comparative conclusion of results or systemic review is accomplished. The study aims to evaluate and compare Ayurveda interventions' efficacy in managing children's protein energy malnutrition and to assess the effect of Ayurveda Interventions on weight gain and serum protein values in children suffering from PEM. This systemic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook of Systemic review of interventions and is reported following the Preferred Reporting Guideline for Systemic review and meta-analysis guidelines (PRISMA). All study groups showed significant p values within the group and insignificant p values in the fixed random effect model. Though the p-value is insignificant between the groups, one group among the four shows better results in the fixed effect model. In the primary outcome of weight, group 3, i.e., the category of drugs having Bruhana and Pachana combination, shows better results than other groups in the fixed effect model. In the outcome of serum protein values, BMI, and Head circumference, group 4, i.e., drugs with only Bruhana properties, show better results than other groups. Based on this review, few policies or treatment protocols can be hypothesized for managing PEM at the national level. The Ayurveda intervention combinations have worked better because they work on multiple aetiological factors and biological variations in PEM in Children.

Humanitarian Action of United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Jayapura During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The issue of humanitarianism in international relations is a vital topic to probe deeper. Activist groups, individuals, and institutionalized groups or organizations, such as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), have been carrying out humanitarian actions in Papua. UNICEF has been around for a long time in Papua, running several programs, including children's education program in Papua. However, education in Papua remains relatively low due to high rates of illiteracy and school dropouts, and poor literacy. This research explains that international organizations working in the humanitarian field can carry out the basic principles of humanitarianism, specifically, how UNICEF's programs adhere to these principles during the Covid-19 era. Direct interviews and secondary data collection were conducted in this qualitative descriptive research. The results show that UNICEF, as an international humanitarian organization, managed to uphold four basic principles in carrying out its role, particularly in improving the quality of education in Jayapura City. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has posed such obstacles to UNICEF related to donors, program implementation, and personnel that the practiced humanitarian principles became blurred and somewhat questionable. While the best practice promotes faithful adherence to the basic principles of humanity, it is undeniable that almost all organizations cannot exist without assistance from third parties which would ignore the principle of impartiality.
 Keywords: Covid-19, education, humanitarianism, Jayapura, UNICEF

Impacts of Social Assistance on Child Well-Being in Vietnam: The Mediating Role of Household Welfare

As individuals’ living standards increase, the needs for the well-being of individuals are becoming more complicated, especially among children. Even though multidimensional methods for researching child well-being in Vietnam have made some progress, analyses of single dimensions of child well-being remain common. The research analyzes the relationship between social assistance, household welfare and child well-being on both objective and subjective aspects by applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through the secondary data collected from the Vietnam Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for Children and Women survey in the period 2020-2021 by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) of Vietnam. The research results emphasize the mediating role of household welfare as high social assistance increases household welfare, thereby improving child well-being in Vietnam. Based on the research results, the research proposes several recommendations for the management and improvement of social assistance programs, thereby improving child well-being in Vietnam.

Improving the Duration and Rate of Home-Based Kangaroo Mother Care: A Before-and-After Intervention Study.

Introduction Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is an evidence-based, simple, time-tested, low-cost, and high-impact intervention for neonatal survival in hospitals and the community, particularly in resource-constrained areas. This has many beneficial effects on sick and stable low-birth-weight babies, lactating mothers, families, society, and the government. However, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recommendations for KMC, there is no satisfactory implementation of it in the community as well as in facilities. This study aimed to improve the duration of home-based kangaroo mother care (HBKMC). Material and methods We conducted a before-and-after intervention hospital-based, single-centerstudy in a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to improve the duration of HBKMC. The KMC duration was classified into four categories: short, extended, long, and continuous where KMC was provided for 4 hours/day, 5-8 hours/day, 9-12 hours/day, and more than 12 hours/day, respectively. All neonates with birth weight < 2.0 kg and their mothers/alternate KMC providers at a tertiary care hospital in India in the time periodof five months from April 2021 to July 2021 were considered eligible for the study. We tested three sets of interventions by using the plan-do-study-act cycle (PDSA cycle). The first set of interventions was the sensitization of parents and healthcare workers regarding the benefits of KMC by comprehensive counseling to mothers and other family members using educational lectures, videos, charts, and posters. The second set of interventions was to reduce maternal anxiety/stress while maintaining maternal privacy by providing more female staff and teaching proper gown-wearing techniques. The third set of interventions was to solve lactation and environment temperature issues by providing antenatal and postnatal lactation counseling and warming of the nursery. The paired T-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for statistical analysis, and p<0.05 was taken as significant. Results One hundred and eighty neonates were enrolled along with their mothers/alternate KMC providers in four phases, and three PDSA cycles were implemented. Out of 180 LBW infants, 21 (11.67%) infants received KMC < 4 hours/day.According to the KMC classification, 31% have continuous KMC in the institution, followed by 24% long KMC, 26% extended KMC, and 18% short KMC. After three PDSA cycles, HBKMC was 38.88% continuous KMC, followed by 24.22%long KMC, 20.55% extended KMC, and 16.11% short KMC. Continuous KMC was improved from 21% to 46% at the institute and 16% to 50% at home from phase 1 to phase 4 of the study after the implementation of three sets of interventions in three PDSA cycles.The phase-by-phase KMC rate and duration were improved after the application of the PDSA cycles, and this was maintained in HBKMC as well, but it was statistically not significant. Conclusion Sets of intervention packages based on needs analysis using the PDSA cyclewere able to improve the rate and duration of KMC in the hospital and at home.

HUBUNGAN PENGGUNAAN MEDIA SOSIAL DENGAN KEJADIAN INSOMNIA PADA MAHASISWA FAKULTAS KEDOKTERAN UNIVERSITAS ISLAM AL-AZHAR ANGKATAN 2021

Background: Due to the development of science, technology, and information, the use of social media is increasingly inseparable from society. A study conducted by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemkominfo) in collaboration with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2014 showed the fact that social media users reached more than 82 million people and made Indonesia the 8th largest in the world as a social media user. The use of social media through gadgets will interfere with the regulation of the hormone melatonin so that it can cause insomnia for its users, including students. Objective: To determine the relationship between the use of social media and the incidence of insomnia in students of the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar Islamic University batch 2021. Method: This study was an observational analytic studied, with a cross sectional design. The sample used is the students of Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar Islamic University batch 2021 with a total of 91 people. The insomnia assessment was carried out using the KSPBJ-IRS insomnia questionnaire and the use of social media was assessed using a measuring instrument in the form of a questionnaire adopted from Ruri Selvia's undergraduate thesis (2020). Data analysis using Chi-Squere with SPSS software version 25. Results: Analysis using Chi-Square obtained a p-value of 0.001 (p-value &lt;0.05), which means that there is a significant relationship between the use of social media and the incidence of insomnia in students of the Faculty, of Medicine Al-Azhar Islamic University batch 2021. Conclusion: There is a relationship between the use of social media with the incidence of insomnia in students of the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar Islamic University batch 2021.

How food preparation and food choice influence the nutritional growth of children: a rising matter for the nutritionists and dietitians in Nigeria.

This current work describes how the nutritionists and dietitians in Nigeria to tackle the nutritional deficiencies among the under-5 children in Nigeria due to poor food preparation by the parents and caregivers as well as how the food is chosen for these children. Studies have shown that the resultant effects of poor food preparation and the skewness of food choices on particularly the more vulnerable group of under-5s are malnutrition. According to the State of the World's Children, published by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the prevalence of child malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, is particularly high. Thus, it is high time for the nutritionists and dietitians in Nigeria to step up their advocacy, community sensitization, and awareness campaigns on appropriate diet and approach to food issues, especially on how food is prepared by most Nigerian parents and caregivers, and also work on their decision-making process governing the food choices they make for their children.

The role of Household Welfare on Child Well-being in Vietnam

This research analyzes the relationship between household welfare on child well-being in Vietnam. By applying the OLS regression model on a secondary data set from the Vietnam Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for Children and Women survey by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in the period 2020-2021, research shows that high household welfare has positive effects on all six constitutive dimensions of child well-being. The research results serve as a reference base to provide some recommendations to increase and balance household welfare across regions, thereby improving child well-being in Vietnam.

The relationship between national cultural dimensions, maternal anxiety and depression, and national breastfeeding rates: An analysis of data from 122 countries

IntroductionBreastfeeding is a natural and universal practice across countries and cultures. It is estimated that several thousand lives could be saved per year if optimal breastfeeding practices were adopted across countries. In addition, breastfeeding has numerous health, emotional and developmental benefits for both the mother and her infant. Despite widespread awareness of these benefits, rates of breastfeeding initiation and maintenance remain suboptimal, both in high- and in low- and middle-income countries. Unfavorable breastfeeding outcomes are related to several factors, including variations in cultural values and the occurrence of common mental disorders in women during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. However, the relative contributions of culture and mental health to variations in national breastfeeding rates have not been examined to date.MethodsIn the current study, recent United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) data on lifetime breastfeeding rates is analyzed in two stages, to first explore and then confirm the impact of cultural values and maternal mental health status at a cross-national level.ResultsIt was found that the estimated prevalence of both depression and anxiety disorders in women of childbearing age was negatively correlated with breastfeeding rates. Significant associations were also observed for the cultural dimensions of individualism-collectivism and masculinity-femininity. The association between anxiety disorders and breastfeeding outcomes remained significant in multivariate analysis incorporating demographic and health variables that could exert a confounding effect.DiscussionThese results suggest that both cultural values and the assessment and treatment of maternal mental illness should be components of any programme aimed at communicating the benefits of breastfeeding or at improving breastfeeding outcomes. The inclusion of these components could help promote the values of cultural sensitivity, inclusiveness and equity in breastfeeding from a global perspective.

Trends of the prevalence of malnutrition in India and Himachal Pradesh, a comparative assessment

Introduction: Malnutrition poses a significant threat to child health, with approximately 45% of under-five child deaths attributed to malnutrition, predominantly affecting low- and middle-income countries. This study delves into the trends of malnutrition in India and Himachal Pradesh, examining the interplay between infection and malnutrition and the escalating concern of overweight in developing countries. Objective:To compare malnutrition rates among under-5 children in Himachal Pradesh and India, utilizing data from the National Family Health Survey rounds (NFHS-3, NFHS-4, and NFHS-5). Additionally, the research seeks to identify districts in Himachal Pradesh with the poorest malnutrition indicators. Materials and Methods: A narrative description methodology is employed, utilizing NFHS fact sheets for India and Himachal Pradesh. The comparative analysis focuses on under-5 malnutrition indicators, including stunting, wasting, severe wasting,underweight, and overweight, with percentage distribution graphs for visual representation. Results: Wasting prevalence in Himachal Pradesh decreased from 19% in 2005 to 13.7% in 2015 but rose to 17.4% in 2019, with Kangra district showing a significant increase. Severe wasting increased in both India and Himachal Pradesh. Stunting decreased in India but increased in Himachal Pradesh, notably in Bilaspur district. Underweight declined in India but increased in Himachal Pradesh, primarily in Bilaspur district. Overweight showed an increasing trend in both India and Himachal Pradesh. Conclusion: Malnutrition,encompassing undernutrition and overnutrition, is escalating in India and Himachal Pradesh. While India exhibits declining trends in undernutrition, severe wasting is on the rise. Himachal Pradesh initially showed improvement but experienced a recent upturn in malnutrition indicators. Both regions face alarming rates of stunting and wasting, categorizing them as "very high" by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) standards. Despite various programs, efforts to alleviate child malnutrition have faltered.

Years of life lost: A call to achieve equitable end-of-life care among children.

Significant disparities continue to exist in access to inpatient pediatric hospice care among children at the end-of-life. Increasingly more children at this stage are dying in the hospital or at home on hospice which is not always an acceptable option to the children and their families. Two clinical case examples illustrate implementation of these options in practice. A missing link exists in healthcare systems across developed and developing countries in pediatric end-of-life care. Currently, the primary options involve selecting between hospital and home-based hospice care. Proposing to increase access to inpatient pediatric hospice services could potentially increase acceptability of this option to honor the child in line with the family's preferences, goals, wishes, and values. In addition, inpatient pediatric hospice could offset costs from preventable hospitalizations and overall high-cost healthcare utilization. Oftentimes, readmissions impact decision-making among caregivers that include changes in code status from Do Not Resuscitate/Do Not Intubate (DNR/DNI) to full curative care, thereby resulting in medicalization or overmedicalization of the child. It follows that reduced healthcare expenditures will increase cost efficiency across the healthcare system. Achieving health equity in palliative care among adult and pediatric patients at the end-of-life is a longstanding goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Proposing to mitigate disparities in palliative care among children through inpatient hospice as another viable option for their families could contribute to the larger overarching goal of achieving health equity in end-of-life care across the world.

Assessment of water and carbon use efficiency in the SAARC region for ecological resilience under changing climate

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) assessment report released in 2021, South Asian countries were among the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change on future generations. Hence it is become crucial to assess how resilient the ecosystems are to these changes. The current study incorporated a novel approach, the Combined Ecological Resiliency Indices Approach (CERIA), to assess ecological resiliency status at various scales during hydroclimatic disturbances. Water and carbon use efficiency (WUE and CUE, respectively) were used as indicators for the examination of ecological resilience. The standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was adopted to assess the initial stage of hydroclimatic disturbances (meteorological drought). A resiliency analysis based on combined Rd and Rd' indices (derived from WUE and CUE, respectively) revealed that just 1.87% land cover area of the entire SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region's total 17 land cover classes was resilient to meteorological drought. At the river basin scale, only 16.58% of the total 62 river basins were found resilient. Only 11 (27.46%) of the 21 climate classes on the Koppen climate classification scale were resilient to the hydro-climatic disturbance period. To achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs goal-2 and goal-13) of ‘No Hunger’ and ‘Protect the Planet’, the Joint Ecosystem Resiliency Enhancement Programme (JEREP) should be adopted in land cover, river basins, or climatic classes of the SAARC region that were highly affected.

Access to handwashing with soap facility: a post-sensitisation investigation of drivers

Abstract As part of measures to promote good hygiene, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund adopted affordable handwashing with soap facility (Tippy-Tap), and implemented sensitisation training for residents in the Binduri District of Ghana. In the context of good hygiene technology adoption, this study examines how poor communities have adopted and used Tippy-Tap over a period of 1 year. The study further identifies the associated post-sensitisation drivers of the Tippy-Tap. In addition to descriptive analysis, this study relies on post-sensitisation cross-sectional data and a logit regression with its marginal effects for the analysis. The results show that after the sensitisation programme, the adoption and use rate now stand at 90%, up from the baseline of 4%. The study provides evidence that female household-heads are more likely to adopt and use the Tippy-Tap relative to male household-heads. The study further reveals that being educated increases the probability of accessing the Tippy-Tap facility by about 23%. Subsequently, this study finds that personal, household, and community-level characteristics are the key drivers of the high adoption and use rate. In conclusion, the study finds evidence of a high adoption and use rate of the Tippy-Tap initiative after its sensitisation. The study recommends extensive sensitisation of hand hygiene using community-level social norms and practices.

Breastfeeding—An Essential Newborn Nutrient

AbstractBreastfeeding is an art/skill. Globally, it is gaining a steady prominence as World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have specified exclusive breastfeeding for the initial half year. They have likewise offered significance to initiation of breastfeeding within half an hour to 1 hour after birth that has a critical effect on the developing infant as the colostrum in the breast milk supports immunity in the developing baby and newborn child, following birth helps in invigorating the posterior pituitary, release of Oxytocin and thus helps in uterine contraction and forestalls postpartum hemorrhage in postnatal mothers.Analysis of data from 123 countries shows that babies are breastfed at some point in their lives. However, the rate shifts between low-income, middle-income and high-income countries. It is evaluated that in low- and middle-income countries, approximately 4% of children are never breastfed, while in high-income countries it is 21%. As indicated by the WHO, in excess of 20 million infants are born weighing under 2.5 kg and unfortunately developing nations are facing the brunt of this.One of the WHO Global Targets 2025 is to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months up to at least 50% to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition. Unfortunately, only 38% of infants aged 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed globally.Numerous factors contribute to produce a positive situation for breastfeeding. Within the health care organizations, mothers need information and support to breastfeed immediately after birth and beyond. Indeed, studies have discovered that implementation of breastfeeding interventions within the health care organizations and community can possibly expand the rates by 2.5 times.In India, government has implemented 6 months maternity leave that benefit many working mothers to exclusive breast feed their newborns.Breastfed children perform better intelligence tests, and are less likely to be overweight and diabetic in later life. If the breastfeeding rate improves in compared to the current rates, then additional 20,000 deaths can be prevented due to breast and ovarian cancer. Studies have found that exclusive breastfeeding can have influence on development of milestones. An ability that a child must achieve by a certain age is developmental milestone. The milestones can be physical, social, emotional, cognitive and communication skills like walking, sharing, expressing emotions, identifying familiar sounds, and talking.·

Promising trends and influencing factors of complementary feeding practices in Côte d'Ivoire: An analysis of nationally representative survey data between 1994 and 2016.

Poor complementary feeding (CF) challenges early childhood growth. We examined the trends and influencing factors of CF practices among children aged 6-23 months in Côte d'Ivoire. Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS, 1994-2011) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys(MICS, 2000-2016), the trends and predictors of World Health Organization-United Nations International Children's Emergency FundCF indicators including the timely introduction of complementary foods (INTRO), minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum dietary diversity (MDD)and minimum acceptable diet (MAD) were determined. Using 2016 MICS data, we applied multivariate logistic regression models to identify factors associated with CF indicators. Between 1994 and 2016, the mean proportion of children aged 6-8 months achieving INTRO was 56.9% and increased by about 25% points since 2006. Over 2011-2016, the proportion of children aged 6-23 months meeting MMF, MDDand MAD increased from 40.2% to 47.7%, 11.3% to 26.0%and 4.6% to 12.5%, respectively. Older children and those from urban households had higher odds of meeting MDD and MAD. Maternal TV watching was associated with higher odds of meeting MDD. The secondary or higher education levels of mothers significantly predicted higher odds of meeting INTRO and MDD. Currently, breastfeeding was also positively associated with odds of meeting MMF and MAD. Children from poorer households had lower odds of meeting MMF, MDDand MAD. Despite the improvements, CF practices remain suboptimal in Côte d'Ivoire. Influencing factors associated with CF were distributed across individual, household and community levels, calling for future programmes and policies to implement multi-level strategies to improve young children's diet in Côte d'Ivoire.

Does maternal empowerment improve dietary diversity of children? Evidence from Pakistan demographic and health survey 2017-18.

The role of maternal empowerment (ME) to improve child nutrition in patriarchal societies of developing countries remains ambiguous. This study provides empirical evidence about the impact of ME and some other factors selected under United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund theoretical framework, on dietary diversity of children (under 5years age) in Pakistan. Partial proportional odds model is estimated to obtain varying estimates of the parameters by using data of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18. Significant positive role of empowered mothers to improve child dietary diversity (CDD) is explored (OR=1.135; Confidence Interval [CI]=1.001-1.288). Moreover, positive association of maternal higher education on CDD (OR=1.329; 95% CI=1.085-1.628) supports the productive and allocative efficiency hypotheses of health economics. Maternal agricultural employment, paternal education, and paternal employment were not significantly associated with CDD. This requires further exploration. Positive association of household socioeconomic status with CDD (OR=1.768; 95% CI=1.314-2.380) and significance of some demographic variables call for social welfare programs. Positive association of mother's age and CDD demands for amendment in Child Marriage Restraint Act. The observed adverse association of family size with CDD induces effective family planning to control high birth rate in Pakistan. It may be concluded that ME and creation of awareness about nutrition security through maternal education are the important factors to overcome child malnutrition in Pakistan. Since, socioeconomic and cultural environment in South Asian countries is homogeneous, the analysis in this study might be relevant to the South Asian region. Moreover, the study provides evidence informing the debate on the role of ME to improve child nutrition in patriarchal societies.

Factors Related To The Provision Of Complete Basic Immunization To Ballta In Puskesmas Sukajadi District The Year 2022

Based on data obtained from The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) it is stated that at least 80 million children aged less than 1 year are at risk for suffering from Diphtheria, Measles. and Polio due to disruption of routine immunization services in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and husband's support simultaneously with the completeness of basic immunization for infants at the Sukajadi Health Center, Banyuasin Regency in 2022. The method in this study used a cross sectional with a population of 45 respondents and a sample of 45 respondents using accidental sampling technique. Data analysis used chi square statistical test with p value value (0.05). The results of this study were from 15 respondents who had good knowledge, 11 people (73.3%) gave complete basic immunization with p value = 0.02, from 23 respondents who had a positive attitude as many as 15 people (65.2%) who gave basic immunization complete p value = 0.02, meanwhile, from 21 respondents who received husband's support as many as 16 people (76.2%) p value = 0.001. From this study, we can conclude that there is a simultaneous relationship between knowledge, attitude and husband's support for the completeness of basic immunization for children under five at the Sukajadi Public Health Center, Banyuasin Regency in 2022

Infodemic Management Using Digital Information and Knowledge Cocreation to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Case Study From Ghana.

BackgroundInfodemic management is an integral part of pandemic management. Ghana Health Services (GHS) together with the UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) Country Office have developed a systematic process that effectively identifies, analyzes, and responds to COVID-19 and vaccine-related misinformation in Ghana.ObjectiveThis paper describes an infodemic management system workflow based on digital data collection, qualitative methodology, and human-centered systems to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Ghana with examples of system implementation.MethodsThe infodemic management system was developed by the Health Promotion Division of the GHS and the UNICEF Country Office. It uses Talkwalker, a social listening software platform, to collect misinformation on the web. The methodology relies on qualitative data analysis and interpretation as well as knowledge cocreation to verify the findings.ResultsA multi-sectoral National Misinformation Task Force was established to implement and oversee the misinformation management system. Two members of the task force were responsible for carrying out the analysis. They used Talkwalker to find posts that include the keywords related to COVID-19 vaccine–related discussions. They then assessed the significance of the posts on the basis of the engagement rate and potential reach of the posts, negative sentiments, and contextual factors. The process continues by identifying misinformation within the posts, rating the risk of identified misinformation posts, and developing proposed responses to address them. The results of the analysis are shared weekly with the Misinformation Task Force for their review and verification to ensure that the risk assessment and responses are feasible, practical, and acceptable in the context of Ghana.ConclusionsThe paper describes an infodemic management system workflow in Ghana based on qualitative data synthesis that can be used to manage real-time infodemic responses.

Learners’ Characters in Post Truth Era: A Critical Study of the book of Izhatun Nasyi’in by Syekh Mustafa Al-Ghalayaini

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) stated that in 2016, 50% of 33 million Indonesian youth have committed acts of violence due to misinformation. This incident occurred as a result of the proliferation of post truth phenomena which are increasingly dangerous. This study aims to describe the character of learners in the post truth era in the perspective of Shaykh Mustafa al-Ghalayaini in his book, Izhatun Nasyi'in. Using library research method, this research explored the concept of learners’ characters that should be possessed in responding to the post truth phenomenon. The results showed that the learning characters offered by Shaykh Musthafa al-Ghalayaini were intensive coaching, mentoring, and giving advice. Then the process of character building was based on the character values needed by students in responding to post truth phenomena such as being patient, not using religion for personal commercial purpose, having hopes and dreams, courage, prioritizing the benefit of the people, renewal, being religious, liking to read ,nationalist, will, simple, and trustworthy. These attitudes are the description of learners’ characters to fight the negative impact of post truth that occurs among teenagers.

Diphtheria in the WHO European Region, 2010 to 2019.

BackgroundDiphtheria is uncommon in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. Nevertheless, sporadic cases, sometimes fatal, continue to be reported.AimTo report on diphtheria cases and coverage with first and third doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines (DTP1 and DTP3, respectively) for 2010–19 in the Region with a focus on 2019.MethodsData on diphtheria cases were obtained from WHO/United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Joint Reporting Forms submitted annually by the Region’s Member States. WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage for DTP1 and DTP3 were summarised for 2010–19. For 2019, we analysed data on age, and vaccination status and present data by country on DTP1 and DTP3 coverage and the percentage of districts with ≥ 90% and < 80% DTP3 coverage.ResultsFor 2010–19, 451 diphtheria cases were reported in the Region. DTP1 and DTP3 coverage was 92–96% and 95–97%, respectively. For 2019, 52 cases were reported by 11 of 48 countries that submitted reports (including zero reporting). Thirty-nine countries submitted data on percentage of their districts with ≥ 90% and < 80% DTP3 coverage; 26 had ≥ 90% districts with ≥ 90% coverage while 11 had 1–40% districts with < 80% coverage.ConclusionLong-standing high DTP3 coverage at Regional level probably explains the relatively few diphtheria cases reported in the Region. Suboptimal surveillance systems and inadequate laboratory diagnostic capacity may also be contributing factors. Still, the observed cases are of concern. Attaining high DTP3 coverage in all districts and implementing recommended booster doses are necessary to control diphtheria and prevent outbreaks.