Project description:Highlights • School-based depression screening was well-received by participating communities.• The main barrier was adequate staffing to manage screening referrals.• Schools planning implementation need support focused on anticipated challenges. Screening in High Schools to Identify, Evaluate and Lower Depression (SHIELD) was a randomized clinical trial of school-based universal depression screening conducted with public high schools in Pennsylvania, United States. Screened adolescents were twice as likely to initiate depression treatment compared to peers who were not screened. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experience of communities participating in universal screening via SHIELD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with school staff (n = 11), parents (n = 4) and adolescents (n = 7) from April-October 2021. A codebook was developed with 20 % of audio transcripts coded for inter-rater reliability (staff k = 0.88, parents k = 0.90, adolescent k = 0.74). The two coders divided and individually coded remaining transcripts for thematic content analysis. Three themes were identified: 1) Depression screening was well-received; 2) The main challenge with screening was inadequate staffing to manage referrals; and 3) School staff suggested alternate formats and methods for future screening. In summary, school-based depression screening was well-received, but schools experienced challenges with staffing and resources to support identified adolescents and offered alternative suggestions for future screening. Schools interested in depression screening need education and capacity building focused on barriers and challenges with the process. Learning from staff who have realized this evidence-based practice in their respective districts will support next steps towards implementation.
Project description:Dr. Sue Goo Rhee is recognized as a Redox Pioneer because he has published five articles in the field of antioxidants and redox signaling that have been cited >1000 times and 69 of his articles in this field have been cited between 100 and 1000 times. Dr. Rhee is known for his discovery of the first three prototypical members of the phospholipase C family, and for the discovery of the ubiquitously expressed peroxiredoxins. Peroxiredoxin catalyzes the thiol-mediated reduction of H2O2. These enzymes protect cellular molecules from oxidative damage. Importantly, they also regulate cell signaling by modulating the intracellular levels of H2O2 that are induced by signaling agonists. He elucidated the mechanism by which the peroxiredoxins participate in signaling by H2O2: Dr. Rhee demonstrated that growth agonists such as epidermal growth factor induce a transient elevation of intracellular H2O2 that oxidize the catalytically essential cysteine residue of protein tyrosine phosphatases. The oxidation inactivates the phosphatases, allowing enhanced protein tyrosine phosphorylation to mediate cell signaling. In addition, he established that peroxiredoxins are exquisitely regulated through phosphorylation, glutathionylation, and hyperoxidation of their active site cysteine to cysteine sulfinic acid. Dr. Rhee showed that cysteine oxidation to its sulfinic acid derivative is not irreversible as previously thought. The reduction of hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin is catalyzed by sulfiredoxin. His further investigations implicated cyclic hyperoxidation and reduction of peroxiredoxin in the regulation of certain circadian rhythms.
Project description:BACKGROUND:School-age children are important drivers of annual influenza epidemics yet influenza vaccination coverage of this population is low despite universal publicly funded influenza vaccination in Alberta, Canada. Immunizing children at school may potentially increase vaccine uptake. As parents are a key stakeholder group for such a program, it is important to consider their concerns. PURPOSE:We explored parents' perspectives on the acceptability of adding an annual influenza immunization to the immunization program that is currently delivered in Alberta schools, and obtained suggestions for structuring such a program. PARTICIPANTS:Forty-eight parents of children aged 5-18 years participated in 9 focus groups. Participants lived in urban areas of the Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone. FINDINGS:Three major themes emerged: Advantages of school-based influenza vaccination (SBIV), Disadvantages of SBIV, and Implications for program design & delivery. Advantages were perceived to occur for different populations: children (e.g. emotional support), families (e.g. convenience), the community (e.g. benefits for school and multicultural communities), the health sector (e.g. reductions in costs due to burden of illness) and to society at large (e.g. indirect conduit of information about health services, building structure for pandemic preparedness, building healthy lifestyles). Disadvantages, however, might also occur for children (e.g. older children less likely to be immunized), families (e.g. communication challenges, perceived loss of parental control over information, choices and decisions) and the education sector (loss of instructional time). Nine second-level themes emerged within the major theme of Implications for program design & delivery: program goals/objectives, consent process, stakeholder consultation, age-appropriate program, education, communication, logistics, immunizing agent, and clinic process. CONCLUSIONS:Parents perceived advantages and disadvantages to delivering annual seasonal influenza immunizations to children at school. Their input gives a framework of issues to address in order to construct robust, acceptable programs for delivering influenza or other vaccines in schools.
Project description:One significant concern during the COVID-19 pandemic is parents' mental health, which may consequently affect children's health and well-being. The objective of this study is to investigate generalized anxiety and depression in parents of primary-school-aged children and identify risk factors for mental health problems. A cross-sectional survey comprising 701 parents of primary school children in five of Thailand's major provinces was carried out from January to March 2022. Generalized anxiety and depression levels were assessed using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9. Logistic regression was performed to determine the effects of independent variables on anxiety and depression. Results showed that the prevalence of generalized anxiety and depression was 42.7% and 28.5%, respectively, among Thai parents. Three strong associative factors included: (1) having a youngest child with mental health problems; (2) not assisting their children every day; and (3) drinking alcohol. These findings show that the parents must deal with several difficulties when trying to maintain work and parenting duties while being confined at home during emergency situations. The government should provide sufficient assistance to parents who lack skills in handling children with emotional and behavioral problems. Meanwhile, health promotion to reduce alcohol consumption should continue to be an area of focus.
Project description:Children with gastroschisis are at high risk of morbidity in early life, which could affect long-term outcomes. We determined parent-reported outcomes in school-aged children born in 2000-2012, using paper questionnaires. Parent-perceived child vulnerability and motor function were compared with the Dutch reference data; parent-rated data on cognition, health status, quality of life, and behavior were compared with those of controls matched for age, gender, and maternal education level. Of 77 eligible participants, 31 (40%) returned the questionnaires. Parent-reported motor function was normal in 23 (74%) children. Total scores on health status, quality of life, and behavior did not differ significantly from those of matched controls. Children with gastroschisis had lower scores on cognition (median (interquartile range); 109 (87-127)) than their matched controls (124 (113-140); p = 0.04). Neonatal intestinal failure and increased parent-perceived vulnerability were associated with lower scores on cognition (β - 25.66 (95% confidence interval - 49.41, - 1.91); - 2.76 (- 5.27, - 0.25), respectively).Conclusion: Parent-reported outcomes of school-aged children with gastroschisis were mainly reassuring. Clinicians and parents should be aware of the higher risk of cognitive problems, especially in those with neonatal intestinal failure or increased parent-perceived vulnerability. We recommend multidisciplinary follow-up at school age of children with gastroschisis and neonatal intestinal failure. What is Known: • Many infants with gastroschisis experience morbidity in early life. • Data on developmental outcomes and daily functioning in children with gastroschisis beyond the age of 5 years are scarce and conflicting. What is New: • Parents of school-aged children treated for gastroschisis report normal motor function, health status, quality of life, and behavior. • Children with gastroschisis, especially those with intestinal failure, may be at risk for cognitive problems at school age. Parents who reported their child as being more vulnerable also reported more cognitive problems at school age.
Project description:BackgroundAdolescents are often required to wear footwear that adheres to uniform guidelines at secondary school. There is a paucity of literature on factors influencing school footwear choice and what drives the development of school footwear guidelines. The aims of this study were to describe (i) current school footwear guidelines in secondary schools across Australia, (ii) factors that influence footwear choice in secondary school students and their parents, and (iii) principals, parents, and students' beliefs on factors which contribute to school footwear guidelines.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to principals, secondary school students (aged 14-19 years) and their parents across Australia. The survey included questions on current school footwear guidelines, factors influencing footwear choice (for students and parents), participants beliefs on the effect footwear has on musculoskeletal health, current and previous lower limb pain, and beliefs on factors that contribute to school footwear guidelines. Parent and student responses to factors that influence their footwear choice were compared using proportional odds logistic regression. Students and parents' responses to factors influencing footwear guidelines were compared to principal responses using proportional odds logistic regression. Significance was set at an alpha of < 0.05.ResultsEighty principals, 153 parents and 120 secondary school students responded to the survey. 96% (77/80) of principals reported that their schools have set guidelines for school footwear. 88% of principals considered comfort to be important when developing school footwear guidelines. Proportional odds logistics regression showed that parents and students were 3.4 and 4.9 times more likely, respectively, than principals to rate comfort as being important when schools develop footwear guidelines. More than 40% of students reported experiencing musculoskeletal pain, and 70% of these students reported the pain to be exacerbated when in their school shoes. Less than a third of participants considered healthcare recommendations important to the development of footwear guidelines.ConclusionsNearly all principals that participated in this survey had set guidelines for school footwear. There is a discord between parents, students, and principals on the importance that factors such as comfort, play in the development of school footwear guidelines.
Project description:No validated instruments for assessing school users' satisfaction are available. This paper means to contribute to address this lack. It outlines a new instrument of measurement of school users' satisfaction - QUASUS (QUestionnaire for the Analysis of the School User's Satisfaction). The main peculiarity of QUASUS lies in the fact that it pays specific attention to the dimension of prosumership, namely the view of the client-service co-constructive relation as a constitutive component of the service's construction and delivery. The study reports the output of an initial validation study of the instrument. Based on two samples of parents (N = 2802 and N = 1365) from Italian schools, analyses provided support to the hypotheses tested: QUASUS proved to be characterized by a good level of reliability (HP1); is able to detect the component comprising the school users' satisfaction (HP2); proves a global connotation of the experience of the school by a unidimensional measure of the overall satisfaction (HP3), associated significantly with the prosumership (HP4).
Project description:Around the globe, the coronavirus pandemic has triggered various reactions of governments designed to contain the pandemic. Among other things, the pandemic led to an unforeseen and unprecedented closure of schools and daycare facilities. In turn, these closures might have forced parents to stay at home to care for their children who could not attend schools or kindergartens. From a social policy perspective, this raises the question of the extent to which parents’ employment has been affected, as time spent on childcare might make parents reduce their working hours. To answer this question, we exploit within-country variations in school and childcare policies across the federal states of Germany to analyse their effect on parents’ working time. In specific, we compare the working time of parents who live in different federal states with different restrictions regarding childcare in a difference-in-differences and difference-in-difference-in-differences framework. Our results reveal a non-negligible positive effect of an earlier and more far-reaching reopening of schools and daycare facilities on parents’ employment. Our results indicate that prolonged closure goes along with negative employment effects for parents. Hence, containment and closure policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have substantial economic and social side effects.
Project description:ObjectivePrior work suggests executive dysfunction (ED) on the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-2 Initiation/Perseveration subscale (DRS IP) predicts poor antidepressant response in late-life depression. This study examined if either patient perception of ED or the Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B) could identify patients with impairment on the SCWT or DRS IP.MethodsPatients were 65 or older and had a diagnosis of major depression without dementia. Cognition was assessed with the TMT-B, the SCWT, and the DRS IP. A self-reported Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) subscale assessed patients' perceptions of ED.ResultsIn 247 participants (mean age 71.3 years), the PDQ subscale was not associated with test performance. The sensitivity of the TMT-B in identifying impairment on the SCWT or DRS IP was low (35% and 23%, respectively).ConclusionNeither the TMT-B nor self-reports are useful screening tools for ED on the SCWT or DRS IP.