Investing in family-centered early childhood education: A conceptual model for preventing firearm homicide among Black male youth in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Firearms are now the number one killer of children and adolescents in the United States. Firearm homicides among Black male youth are the driver of this increase. Prevention requires a multi-faceted life course approach. Academic achievement has been identified as a protective factor. Early childhood education, which is linked to later achievement, is thus an intervention area of interest. Conceptualizing the potential links between early childhood education and reduced risk for youth firearm homicide is important for guiding policy advocacy and informing future research. METHODS: This paper presents a conceptual model linking early childhood education to reduced risk for firearm homicide. Each link in the model is discussed, and a corresponding review of the literature is presented. The need for anti-racist policies to strengthen the impact of early childhood education is highlighted. RESULTS: Early education and firearm homicide research are each well-established but largely disconnected. There are clear immediate benefits of early childhood education; however, these effects wane with time, particularly for youth of color. At the same time, juvenile delinquency-a major risk factor for firearm homicide-is influenced by educational inequities. CONCLUSIONS: Effective interventions to reduce firearm homicides among Black male youth in the United States are needed. Early childhood education shows promise as an intervention. However, to have an impact, this education needs to be accessible and affordable for all, particularly families of color and low income. Societal structures and policies must also better support the positive gains seen through early childhood education to avoid dissipation.

Building School-Based Capacity to Support Parenting: Challenges and Lessons Learned.

Both schools and caregivers play an important role in supporting children's mental health, but there are few mechanisms for caregivers and school-based mental health providers to work collaboratively to address children's needs. Closures of schools during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic left gaps in mental health support services to children and increased the burden on caregivers to ensure their children's well-being. In this study, investigators explored the feasibility and acceptability of a motivational interviewing-based program in which school-based mental health providers were trained to connect directly to caregivers to assist them in supporting key aspects of their children's well-being, including sleep, coping, and academic behavior. Results indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the program and a perception that it was helpful to caregivers and children. However, major challenges in recruitment of providers, as well as qualitative interviews with those providers who participated, indicated that the feasibility of implementing such a program is limited without significant additional implementation infrastructure. Findings suggest that structured support of caregivers, accessed through their children's schools, has high potential for improving child outcomes and family well-being. Future research should explore what implementation infrastructure is needed for schools to effectively offer these types of supports.

Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeons Dissatisfied in On-Call Practices Despite Improving Call Conditions. The 2015 POSNA Membership Survey Regarding Trauma Care.

BACKGROUND: To examine the current trends in trauma call coverage of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in North America and to identify predictors of surgeon on-call satisfaction. METHODS: In 2015, ∼1200 active members of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) were surveyed regarding emergency room on-call practices. In total, 410 members completed the survey with a response rate of 35%. Information collected included call frequency, practice setting and satisfaction with call. This information was analyzed and compared with the 2006 and 2010 trauma call surveys of Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America membership using 2 sample difference in proportion, χ tests for trend and the Fisher exact tests. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors of call satisfaction among pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. RESULTS: In total, 47% of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons had access to a designated trauma operating room in 2015, up from 39% in 2010 and 24% in 2006. In total, 43% of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons currently receive a stipend for taking call, up from 35% in 2010 and 28% in 2006. Although 83% of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons believe that trauma call is an integral part of their practice, only 53% are satisfied with their call experience. Controlling for covariates, believing that call is integral to one's practice doubles odds of call satisfaction. Having resident or fellow support and being financially compensated for orthopaedic trauma call also increases one's odds of satisfaction. The odds of being satisfied with call decrease by 7% for each year of increase in age of the surgeon. CONCLUSIONS: Access to a designated trauma operating room and financial compensation for call coverage have steadily increased over the past decade. A sizable majority of respondents continue to believe that trauma care is an integral part of being a pediatric orthopedist. Despite this, 47% of respondents remain dissatisfied with their trauma call arrangements. The age and attitude of the individual surgeon and extent of hospital support predict satisfaction of surgeons providing trauma coverage. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V-economic and decision analysis.

The effect of persistent toe walking on the skeletal development of the pediatric foot and ankle.

The aim of this study was to determine whether persistent idiopathic toe walking leads to compensatory skeletal changes in the pediatric foot and ankle. Foot radiographs of children diagnosed with idiopathic toe walking and sex-matched and age-matched controls were retrospectively reviewed. Five blinded providers assessed the foot radiographs for skeletal changes to the ankle. The relationship between each measure and toe-walking status was examined. Providers observed radiographic evidence of skeletal changes of the talus in idiopathic toe walkers compared with controls, suggesting that persistent toe walking impacts the skeletal development of the talus. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: prognostic level III.

Quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan. DESIGN: Case management observations were conducted on 10-12 children under five selected by systematic random sampling in 31 outpatient hospital clinics across the country, followed by interviews with caretakers and providers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quality of care defined as adherence to the clinical standards described in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. RESULTS: Overall quality of outpatient care for children was suboptimal based on patient examination and caretaker counseling (median score: 27.5 on a 100 point scale). Children receiving care from female providers had better care than those seen by male providers (OR: 6.6, 95% CI: 2.0-21.9, P = 0.002), and doctors provided better quality of care than other providers (OR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-6.4, P = 0.02). The poor were more likely to receive better care in hospitals managed by non-governmental organizations than those managed by other mechanisms (OR: 15.2, 95% CI: 1.2-200.1, P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to strengthen optimal care provision at peripheral health clinics must be complemented with investments at the referral and tertiary care facilities to ensure care continuity. The findings of improved care by female providers, doctors and NGO's for poor patients, warrant further empirical evidence on care determinants. Optimizing care quality at referral hospitals is one of the prerequisites to ensure service utilization and outcomes for the achievement of the Child health Millennium Development Goals for Afghanistan.