Parental Work Research Articles

Adolescents witnessing family violence and its association with socio-economic factors

Abstract Background About 200 000 children in Sweden live in families where violence among adults occurs. About 10% of children have witnessed violence family violence Family violence is often more prevalent in low social status families. The present study describes adolescents that have witnessed threats of violence, abusive words or physical/sexual violence in their families, as well as the association between these types of violence and socio-economic factors. Methods Data from a school-based survey, in the County of Sörmland (2023), including 15-18-years-old students in 2023 were used. Witnessing family violence was measured by the following item “Have you experienced that an adult in your family has... 1) threatened to use violence against someone else in your family? 2) used abusive words, oppression, or been dominant or controlling against someone else in your family? 3) used physical violence against someone else in your family, such as hitting, pushing, kicking, or sexual violence”. Parental work status, the child’s living conditions and economic stress were used as socio-economic factors. Data were analysed by descriptive methods and logistic regressions. Results This study included 3 407 adolescents among which 19% had witnessed any type of family violence. The most prevalent type was witnessing abusive words, (17%), followed by physical/sexual violence (10%) and threats to use violence (9%). Witnessing any type of family violence was associated with all socio-economic variables in univariate analyses, the strongest association was found for having economic stress (OR = 3.30; 95% CI 2.72-4.01), in comparison to not having economic stress. Further adjustments for gender, grade, ethnicity, parental work status and living with both parents attenuated the association, OR = 2.50 (95% CI 2.03-2.07). Conclusions Two of ten adolescents have witnessed any type of family violence. These adolescents often belonged to families with low socioeconomic status making them vulnerable. Key messages • In this school-based study, 19 % of adolescents had witnessed any type family violence. Having witnessed abusive words was the most prevalent type of family violence. • There is as strong association between witnessing family violence hand having economic stress among adolescents. These adolescents need to be noticed in their particularly vulnerable situation.

Analysis of Children's Development Pathways based on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Childhood is a critical stage in human life, during which an individual's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development progresses rapidly. Early development is not only essential for children's future achievements but also plays a significant role in societal structure, economic growth, and cultural transmission. Promoting the holistic development of children is the responsibility not only of families and educational systems but also of society as a whole. This study, grounded in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, aims to analyze how various ecological system levels influence children's cognitive, emotional, and social development, and explores the impact of these systems' interactions on overall child growth. The research encompasses the microsystem (e.g., family and school), mesosystem (e.g., family-school interactions), exosystem (e.g., parental socioeconomic status and work environment), macrosystem (e.g., cultural background and social policies), and chronosystem (e.g., significant life events and historical context). The findings reveal that the interactions between these ecological systems play a pivotal role in children's development and influence their holistic development.

Parent work offered by child psychoanalytic psychotherapists: a literature review

ABSTRACT Born out of the traditional model of psychoanalysis for adults, child psychoanalytic psychotherapists initially focused primarily on their young patients’ inner world. Cultural, economic, and theoretical changes have, however, led child psychotherapists to re-evaluate the importance of the environment, and particularly the role of parents, in the lives of children and young people. In contemporary clinical practice, child psychotherapists often include work with parents when addressing mental health difficulties in children and adolescents. However, no clear theoretical and clinical framework exists for working with parents in psychoanalytic child psychotherapy. This paper provides an overview of the various ways child psychoanalytic psychotherapists engage with parents, as well as a discussion of the commonalities and divergences in different psychoanalytic approaches to parent work. The aim of the paper is to synthesise current literature and to clarify this area of work. This is a narrative review of the literature on the types of engagement and models of work with parents of children and adolescents currently offered by child psychoanalytic psychotherapists. The literature reflects the absence of one accepted formulation and practice in parent work. Despite the growing literature, the lack of cross-referencing and shared language using existing and new psychoanalytic ideas perpetuates the field’s fragmentation. In the current cultural and economic context, where other modalities thrive on evidence-based data, the survival of child psychoanalytic psychotherapy in public mental health provision is uncertain. An integrated formulation is needed both to help therapists in their work with parents and allow the evaluation of work with families.

Longitudinal associations between parents' job characteristics, parenting, and adolescent academic outcomes

AbstractObjectiveThis study sought to understand the prospective relationship between parents' jobs, parenting, and adolescents' subsequent school performance.BackgroundRecent research shows that parents' poor job quality and work–family conflict (WFC) are adversely associated with young people's mental health and socioemotional well‐being, with much less known about impacts on adolescents' academic outcomes.MethodWe used data from a nationally representative Australian cohort study to test a longitudinal model linking parents' job characteristics, WFC, and parenting warmth and irritability in early high school, and adolescents' academic achievement in middle high school. Separate models were run for mothers (N = 2,676) and fathers (N = 2,615), and additional multigroup models examined differences between low‐income and middle‐ and high‐income parents.ResultsFindings suggest that parents' WFC increases parenting irritability, which in turn is adversely associated with academic outcomes, particularly for low‐income mothers. Findings also showed that low‐income fathers' WFC was directly associated with poorer academic outcomes.ConclusionParents' WFC in early high school may affect adolescents' achievement in middle high school, with some risks compounded for low‐income households.ImplicationsThis study is among the first to establish a relationship between parents' WFC and adolescents' academic performance and highlights the importance of parents' job resources in supporting adolescent academic outcomes.

Moderators of movement behaviour changes among Canadian toddlers and preschoolers throughout the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Primary objectives were to examine: (1) changes in movement behaviours (i.e., outdoor play (OP), organized physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), sleep) across the first 2 years of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) among Canadian toddlers and preschoolers, and (2) intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and policy moderators of change in movement behaviors. Participants were 341 Canadian parents of children (start of study: 1-4 years; 48% female). Participants completed online questionnaires regarding their children's movement behaviours and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community factors at five time-points before and throughout the pandemic (T1-T5). Data from government websites were also used for some community and policy factors. Linear mixed models were conducted. Compared to pre-COVID-19 (T1): OP was on average 30 min/day higher at T2 and T3; organized PA was on average 62, 44, and 37 min/day lower at T2, T3, and T4, respectively; ST was on average 67, 17, 38, and 52 min/day higher at T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively; and sleep was on average 30, 36, and 82 min/day lower at T3, T4, and T5, respectively. Significant moderating variables were observed for OP (parental education, parental work inside home, COVID-19 restriction severity), organized PA (children's sex, started kindergarten, nonparental care, parental education, household income, parental employment status, house type, indoor home space and support for PA), ST (nonparental care, parental marital status) and sleep (children's T1 age group, started kindergarten, parental place of birth, parental employment status). All movement behaviors changed across the first 2 years of COVID-19 but patterns and moderators were behaviour-specific. Children from lower socioeconomic status families had the least optimal patterns.

Impacts of COVID-19 shelter in place across key life domains among immigrant farmworker Latina mothers and young adults

ObjectiveIndividuals and families from racial and ethnic groups experience social and economic disadvantage making them vulnerable to the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to capture the impacts of Shelter in Place (SIP) across key life domains including family life, education, work, mental health, and coping strategies among a sample of Mexican-origin mothers who were currently engaged in agricultural work, or whose spouses were engaged in agricultural work, and young adults who had a parent working in agriculture.MethodDuring the summer of 2020, while California was under SIP orders, we conducted three virtual focus groups using Zoom(r). We recruited focus group participants from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), an ongoing, 20-year, longitudinal cohort study of Mexican-origin families in a predominantly agricultural area of California. Three focus groups were conducted with mothers (n = 9), mean age = 48 years, young adult women (n = 8) and young adult men (n = 5), mean age = 18 years, respectively.ResultsMothers reported high levels of stress stemming from fear of Covid-19 infection, work instability and financial concerns, children’s schooling, anxiety about an uncertain future, and the demands of caretaking for dependents. Adverse mental health impacts were particularly pronounced among participants experiencing multiple adversities pre-dating the pandemic, including unemployment, single motherhood, and having undocumented family members. For young adults, work instability and varying work hours were also a source of stress because they made it difficult to make decisions about the future, such as whether to attend college or how many classes to take. Families used coping strategies including expressing gratitude, focusing on what’s under one’s control, familismo, and community engagement to manage mental health challenges during SIP.ConclusionIn the event of future pandemics or disasters, particular attention is needed to those who experience unemployment, are undocumented and/or have undocumented family members, and/or are single parents facing economic adversity. During public health emergencies, action at the local, state, and national level is needed to support farmworkers and other vulnerable groups’ secondary major stressors stemming from inequities in access to affordable housing, childcare, living wages, healthcare, and other benefits.

Parental illness work across the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic journey.

The process of referral, assessment, and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) within the UK is often protracted. Given that parents are frequently the instigators of the diagnostic process, understanding the experience of parents is important. Drawing on findings from a longitudinal study, this article explores how the parental experience of the ADHD diagnostic journey includes three significant and distinct forms of 'illness work'. Twenty-one semi-structured serial interviews were conducted over a 2-year period with seven parents of children on the ADHD diagnostic journey in North East England. We present three significant forms of parental illness work: (1) The 'diagnostic quest', parental work recognising and fighting for their children's needs and selfhood, seeking diagnosis and engaging with systems, (2) 'self-biographical illness work', the personal parental biographical response to the diagnostic journey and (3) 'child biographical illness work and recontextualizing the child', parental biographical adjustment and recontextualisation of their children. We advance Rasmussen etal.'s (2021) model by demonstrating its usefulness in understanding how parents with a personal ADHD diagnosis experience biographical disruption or cohesion in response to their children's diagnosis. That a child's diagnosis leads parents with ADHD to experience a self-biographical cohesive or disruptive response is a unique and significant finding.

About the (un)acceptability of working in the presence of the child: parents’ constructions of the child and corresponding parental responsibilities

The work-family literature suggests a contradictory relationship between working parenthood and (good) childhood, with disruptive or neglected children on the one side and absent or overburdened parents on the other. While the child occupies a complicated space in this relation, their position is rarely examined. Against this background, I explore the position of the child by turning to children’s co-presence during parents’ performance of home-based paid work and ask how parents construct the child and their corresponding parental responsibilities. Following a practice-theoretical framework, I approach parents’ accounts as practices of representation in which the boundaries of what was perceived as (not) acceptable ways of doing family and work were sketched out.For this purpose, I analysed 25 qualitative interviews with and about home-based working parents in the Austrian creative industries with positional maps. The parents had between one and three children in kindergarten or primary school.Parents’ constructions of the child were complex and ambiguous, as were the corresponding parental responsibilities. Meeting the child’s needs and not harming the child emerged as a common ground, yet the parents’ commitment to paid work was not questioned. Conversely, home-based work was seen as a way to meet both work and care demands. These findings suggest that home-based work may bridge ideas of good childhood and working parenthood. The paper contributes to an understanding of work and family that goes beyond simple dualism and offers new insights into parental home-based work, which remains relevant in the post-pandemic era.

Parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward vaccinating their children against influenza: a cross-sectional study from China.

Influenza infection is a health burden in children, and the influenza vaccine is an important prevention strategy for flu illness. Parents play a crucial role in children's influenza vaccination. The study aimed to assess parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to influenza illness for their children and explore factors that may impact their decisions. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou from November 2022 to April 2023. Answers to KAP questions regarding influenza illness and vaccination were summed, with a total KAP score of 20. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models and linear regression models were conducted to explore the factors associated with influenza vaccination. The results were presented as odds ratios (ORs), β, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, 530 parents were respondents, of whom 162 (30.56%) had vaccinated their children during the past year. The mean KAP score (standard deviation) was 13.40 (3.57). Compared to parents who reported non-vaccinated for their children in the past year, the parents who reported an influenza vaccination have higher knowledge scores, attitude scores, practice scores, and total scores. Child body mass index, parental education level (under college), parental work (part-time), and more than two family members over 60 years old were negatively correlated with knowledge score. Child health condition and knowledge score were positively correlated with attitude score. Parental age was negatively associated with attitude score. Though high awareness about influenza illness and vaccination for parents, the coverage rate of influenza vaccination in children was lower in Guangzhou. Implementing public health policies is necessary to spread knowledge about influenza illness and vaccination and to promote the practice of receiving the influenza vaccine in children. Education campaigns would help change the attitudes of parents toward vaccinating their children against the flu.

The Relationship Between the Type of Parent's Work Towards the Occurrence of Speech Delay at the Grahahusada Gresik Hospital

ABSTRACT The child's ability to communicate begins with the social reactions that the child shows by responding to the presence of others. This study aims to determine which parental role variables are associated with the incidence of speech delay in children with special needs at Grahahusada Gresik Hospital. Analytical observational research with cross sectional approach. The population in the study was all children with special needs who were examined at the children's poly with complaints of delays in work. The variables studied in the study are; individual characteristics of children, Child Age Group, Caregivers and incidence of speech delay. Techniques in sampling with total sampling techniques and analyzed using the Chi Square test. It is known that the children in the study were dominated by male gender 71.8% with the age group of toddlers 83.3% and most of the children were cared for by their own biological mothers as much as 62.8%. known the results of the Chi Square test p-Value variable gender of children 0.073, age category of children 0.004, and Caregivers 0.108. Child age category is associated with the incidence of speech delay in children with special needs at Grahahusada Gresik Hospital. Keywords: Speech Delay, Children with Special Needs, Parents

Socio-economic differences in remote schoolwork during the COVID-19 pandemic: a trend analysis of the 2020 and 2021 school-closure periods using the UK Understanding Society data

In the United Kingdom, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 led to two extended periods of school closures. Research on inequality of learning opportunity as a result of these closures used a single indicator of socio-economic status, neglecting important determinants of remote learning. Using data from the Understanding Society (USoc) COVID-19 surveys we analysed the levels and differentials in the uptake of remote schoolwork using parental social class, information technology (IT) availability in the home and parental working patterns to capture the distinct resources that families needed to complete remote schoolwork. This is also the first study to assess the extent to which the differentials between socio-economic groups changed between the first and second school-closure periods caused by the pandemic. We found that each of the three factors showed an independent association with the volume of remote schoolwork and that their effect was magnified by their combination. Children in families where the main parent was in an upper-class occupation, where both parents worked from home and where the children had their own IT spent more time doing remote schoolwork than other groups, particularly compared to children of single parents who work from home, children in families where the main parent was in a working-class occupation, where the child had to share IT, and where the parents did not work regularly from home. The differentials between socio-economic groups in the uptake of schoolwork were found to be stable between the two school-closure periods.

Gaming disorder and depression among chinese left-behind adolescents: Interactions of family, school, and personality factors

Gaming disorder and depression of Chinese adolescents have aroused widespread concern. Although there is a close relationship between gaming disorder and depression among ordinary adolescents, few studies have examined this relationship among Chinese left-behind adolescents (adolescents left in rural areas while parents work in urban areas for at least six months annually) from the perspective of environment-individual interactions. This study aimed to analyze whether family, school, and personality factors could interact in predicting left-behind adolescents’ gaming disorder and depression. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted between June and December 2020 in four high schools in Central China. A total of 618 left-behind adolescents between 11 and 15 years of age completed the anonymous survey. The results found that gaming disorder acted as a mediator linking parental neglect to depression. Teacher-student relationships and trait self-control uniquely weakened the predictive effect of parental neglect on gaming disorder and the mediating effect of gaming disorder between parental neglect and depression. The three-way interaction of parental neglect, teacher-student relationships, and trait self-control also showed a significant effect on left-behind adolescents’ depression through gaming disorder. The protective role of teacher-student relationships on the mediation of gaming disorder was stronger for left-behind adolescents with lower trait self-control, and the protective role of trait self-control on the mediation of gaming disorder was stronger for left-behind adolescents with lower teacher-student relationships. The results promote a better understanding of how family, school, and personality interact to predict left-behind adolescents’ gaming disorder and depression. The findings can inform specific practical suggestions for preventing and intervening in gaming disorder and depression.

Parents' work demands on next day's cortisol awakening response - the moderating role of family-to-work conflict

BackgroundConstant availability, overtime and feeling overwhelmed by work can impact employees' wellbeing and their biological stress responses. Especially working parents often struggle to balance the demands of their work and family life and were found to be distracted from their work due to family responsibilities. The Family-to-Work Conflict (FWC) indicates the extent to which participating in work is made difficult by family demands. Recent studies have found associations between FWC and biological outcomes such as the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), a measure of an individual's Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA)-axis activity. This diary study investigates the effect of parental work demands on next day's cortisol response as well as the moderating role of FWC and the mediating role of fatigue. MethodsOver the course of five consecutive days (from Monday to Friday), 168 observations were made on a total of 42 parents. Participants had at least one child and worked a minimum of 20 hours per week. Salivary cortisol samples were obtained immediately, 15 and 30 minutes after awakening each day. Work demands, FWC and fatigue were assessed using standardized questionnaires. Within-person effects were examined using multilevel modeling and mediation analyses. ResultsOur results indicate that there are no main effects of work demands on next day's cortisol response. The multilevel analysis revealed that FWC predicts lower wakening cortisol levels and confirmed FWC as an increasing moderator between work demands and next day's HPA-axis activity. Further, work overload was found to increase fatigue, which in turn leads to higher CAR on the following day. This indicates that fatigue mediates the relationship between work demands and CAR. Our findings add to a growing body of research demonstrating further predictors for HPA-axis activity and emphasise the importance of considering family related demands when investigating biological outcomes for working parents.

Analysis of Factors in Reducing the Incidence of Anemia in Adolescent Girls at Ummi Kulsum Banjaran SMP Bandung District

Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adulthood. In Indonesia, around 90% of women menstruate every month, but the onset of menstruation can cause anemia for teenagers who experience it. This is caused by several things, of course because there is irregular bleeding, this is caused by the teenager’s age itself. , parental factors, including education and work, each person’s food intake/nutritional status, and also the menstrual cycle/length of menstruation experienced each month. This research aims to determine the factors associated with the occurrence of anemia in adolescent girls at Umi Kulsum Banjaran Middle School in 2022. The research method used is a quantitative analytical approach research design with a cross sectional research design. The research population was all 120 female students and the sample used was 55 people using the random sampling technique. Data collection was carried out by means of interviews and direct examination of respondents. Data analysis went through three stages, univariate (frequency distribution), bivariate (chi square) and multivariate analysis (Logistic Regression). The results of the research show that there are factors that are associated with the incidence of anemia in adolescent girls, including age, nutritional status and length of menstruation with a p-value <0.05. It is recommended that students increase their knowledge about reproductive health, especially those related to enstruation, educational institutions can optimize education about adolescent reproductive health by collaborating with health workers in the surrounding environment.

Stepping Together for Children After Trauma (ST-CT): Feasibility and Predictors of Outcome of a Parent-led, Therapist Assisted Treatment

Stepping Together for Children after Trauma (ST-CT) is the first step of the promising intervention Stepped Care CBT for Children after Trauma. In ST-CT, the task of leading treatment is partially shifted to the parents, and the child and parent work together to complete therapeutic tasks from a workbook with therapist supervision. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of ST-CT in Norwegian first line services and explore child factors predicting outcome. Eighty-two children (mean age 9.9 years, 56% girls) participated. Feasibility was defined by treatment completion, reductions of child posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) mid- and post-treatment, and client treatment satisfaction. Predictors included child baseline PTSS, depressive symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, externalizing symptoms, number of different traumatic events, and type of trauma. Results showed that rates of completion (78.0%) and response (81% of completers/59.8% intention-to-treat) were comparable to previous studies by the ST-CT developer. Overall treatment effect was d = 2.46 and client treatment satisfaction was high (mean score child: 8.3, parent: 9.0, on a scale from 0 – 10). Higher baseline PTSS and depressive symptoms predicted poorer outcome at both mid- and post-treatment, while more posttraumatic cognitions, and exposure to interpersonal trauma predicted poorer outcome at mid-treatment only. These associations were no longer significant in the fully adjusted models. In conclusion, ST-CT shows promise as an effective first line treatment in this new context, with two of three children responding to the treatment. Baseline PTSS, depression, post-traumatic cognitions and type of trauma may be related to outcomes and should be explored further. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04073862. Retrospectively registered June 3rd 2019, first patient recruited May 19th 2019).

Hesitancy towards R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine among Ghanaian parents and attitudes towards immunizing non-eligible children: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundThe newly developed malaria vaccine called “R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine” showed a high safety and efficacy level, and Ghana is the first country to approve this new vaccine. The present study aimed to evaluate the rate of vaccine hesitancy (VH) towards the newly developed malaria vaccine among parents who currently have children who are not eligible for the vaccine but may be eligible in the near future. Additionally, the study aimed to identify the factors that could potentially influence VH.MethodsA cross-sectional survey using both online-based questionnaires and face-to-face interviews was conducted in Ghana from June to August 2023. The survey specifically targeted parents of ineligible children for vaccination, including those aged less than 5 months or between 3 and 12 years. The Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccination (PACV) scale was used to assess parental VH.ResultsA total of 765 people participated in this study. Their median age was 36.0 years with an interquartile range of 31.0–41.0 years, 67.7% were females, 41.8% completed their tertiary education, 63.3% were married, 81.6% worked in non-healthcare sectors, and 59.7% reported that their monthly income was insufficient. About one-third (34.5%) of the parents were hesitant to give their children the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine. The following predictors were associated with VH: working in the healthcare sector (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30–0.80; p = 0.005), having the other parent working in the healthcare sector (AOR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.30–0.94; p = 0.034), and not taking scheduled routine vaccinations (AOR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.27–2.84; p = 0.002).ConclusionsAddressing VH is crucial for optimizing R21/Matrix-M vaccine coverage in Ghana's malaria control strategy. By tackling VH issues, Ghana can effectively safeguard children's health in malaria-prone areas.

Pasar Rebo Street Library Community Alternative Education Empowerment Model for School Out-of-School Children

The problem of dropping out of school experienced by students in Kampung Tengah, East Jakarta raised the social concern of the Pasar Rebo Street Library Community to Apply the concept of empowerment throught alternatie education activities as an effort to overcome the phenomenon of students dropping out of school. This research aims to describe the internal and external factors causing dropouts, the alternative education empowerment model and the supporting and inhibiting factors in its implementation. This research uses descriptive qualitative method with purposive sampling technique to determine informants. Data were collected throught interviews, observation and documentation. The data were analyzed using structural functionalism theory, specifically Talcott Parsons’ AGIL concept and Max Weber’s Social Action theory. The results show that the internal factor that causes children to drop out of school is the desire of children to help parents work, while the external factor is the lack of parental attention to children’s education. There are five alternative education empowerment models carried out by the Pasar Rebo Street Library Community, namely the history model of the formation of teaching staff, the book collection model for teaching materials, the student data colletction model, the student classification model and the altenative education learning model. Supporting factors in alternative education activites are motivation, commitment and a supportive environment, while the inhibiting factors are the time of organizing activities, the inconsistency of some teaching staff, and the lack of interest in learning from some students. Based on the results of the research, alternative education activities carried out by the Pasar Rebo Street Library Community for school dropouts in Kampung Tengah, East Jakarta are included in the concept of empowerment, where students are given learning, knowledge and knowledge like in formal education, and there are plans to create PKBM so that students get proof of learning or diplomas.

Parents’ and neonatal healthcare professionals’ views on barriers and facilitators to parental presence in the neonatal unit: a qualitative study

BackgroundParent and infant separation in the neonatal unit is associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-integrated care has several advantages and the potential to reduce these adverse outcomes but requires parental presence. This study aimed to explore the views of parents and neonatal healthcare professionals (nHCPs) on barriers and facilitators to parental presence in a Swiss neonatal unit and to identify possible differences between nHCPs and parents, and between mothers and fathers.MethodsData were collected through semi-structured interviews with parents and focus group discussions with nHCPs. Inductive content analysis was used to identify barriers and facilitators to parental presence in the neonatal unit.ResultsTwenty parents (10 mothers and 10 fathers) and 21 nHCPs (10 nurses and 11 physicians) participated in the study. Parents and nHCPs experienced barriers and facilitators related to: (1) Structural factors of the institution, such as infrastructure or travel and distance to the neonatal unit. (2) Organization and time management of parental presence, daily activities, and work. (3) Resources, which include factors related to the legal situation, support services, family, and friends. (4) Physical and psychological aspects, such as pain, which mainly affected mothers, and aspects of emotional distress, which affected both parents. Self-care was an important physical and psychological facilitator. (5) Parent-professional interaction. Parental presence was influenced by communication, relationship, and interaction in infant care; and (6) Cultural aspects and language. Some perspectives differed between mothers and fathers, while the overall views of parents and nHCPs provided complementary rather than conflicting insights. Using visit plans to support the organization, educating nHCPs in knowledge skills and available resources to improve encouragement and information to parents, strengthening parent self-care, and improving nHCPs’ attitudes towards parental presence were seen as possible improvements.ConclusionsMultifactorial barriers and facilitators determine parental presence and experience in the neonatal unit. Parents and nHCPs made specific recommendations to improve parental presence.

Health-related quality of life in paediatric patients on peritoneal dialysis: Data from a tertiary centre.

Kidney failure has a negative impact on both children and families' quality of life (QOL). We evaluated the burden of home peritoneal dialysis (PD) using two local questionnaires and the French version of PedsQL3.0 end-stage kidney disease module and family impact module. Data are expressed as median (min-max). We reviewed the charts of 12 patients, at a median age of 8.8 (1.2-16.7) years, undergoing maintenance PD for 8 (1-42) months. Parathyroid hormone and haemoglobin levels were 215 (17-606) ng/L and 117 (104-141) g/L, respectively. Patients were taking 7 (3-10) different medications, corresponding to 9 (4-17) doses per day. The PD fluid volume per cycle was 1035 (723-1348) mL/m2 with a dwell duration of 75 (60-90) min and 6 (5-9) cycles per night. On a 2-week period, there were 2 (1-11) alarms per night resulting in 2 (0-8) times waking up and getting out of the bed for the parent(s); families were late 1 (0-11) times for school or parent's work. The time spent to connect and disconnect the cycler to the patient was 30 (12-46) min per day. QOL score on child self-report was correlated positively with weight percentile for age (R = 0.857; p = 0.014) and negatively with the number of siblings (R = -0.917; p = 0.004). The children QOL was evaluated higher by self-report scores: 77 (59-87) than by parent-proxy report scores: 53 (29-74), respectively (p = 0.028). PD children/teenagers and their caregivers can feel overwhelmed by the daily home therapy. Self-report and parent-proxy report QOL were significantly different, and it is questionable whether the parent-proxy report QOL relies rather on parents' own QOL.

Emotion work and emotional labour, neglected facets of parental health information work. Analysing mothers of neurodivergent children.

The neoliberal and biomedical 'good caregiver' discourse neglects the many facets of everyday information work that parents of children with special needs are required to do as they seek, receive and share information concerning their children's health and wellbeing. Along with time and skills, one such neglected facet is emotion work, the management of feelings in relation to societal norms. The purpose of this article is to explore emotion work, as a facet in parental health information work in the care and education sector, among mothers of neurodivergent children. Our analysis draws on interviews with 50 Swedish mothers of neurodivergent children. We present three primary insights. 1. Emotion work, on the self as well as on others, is pivotal to the information work that the mothers carry out in the education and care sector as they strive to ameliorate their children's situation. 2. Contested diagnoses, such as diagnoses associated with neurodivergent conditions, result in intense parental information and emotion work. 3. Fragmented and complex education and care systems, alongside traditional gender structures, compel mothers to undertake extensive information and emotion work.