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Stress among parents has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research prior to the pandemic indicates that parents of children who struggle with emotion regulation (ER) and who themselves are less mindful report more stress and diminished coping abilities. We know little, however, about these associations in the context of COVID-19. To prevent COVID-related deteriorations in parent well-being and child outcomes and to support parents during this potentially challenging time, it is important to understand the factors that are associated with increased stress as well as adaptive coping. This paper discusses the association between children's ER, mindful parenting (MP), parent stress, and parents' coping with parenting during the pandemic in a sample of 217 caregivers of school-aged children (91.0% mothers). Results indicated that children's ER was associated with parents' self-reported coping with parenting in the pandemic but was not associated with increased stress. Further, MP moderated the association between children's ER and coping, such that parents who were the most mindful and had children with better ER skills reported significantly greater ability to cope with pandemic parenting. Coping was lower for other combinations of ER and mindful parenting. These findings contradict those from before COVID, suggesting the relationship between children's ER and parent outcomes may differ in the COVID-19 context, and offering insights into which parents may be most likely to struggle with coping with pandemic parenting. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Family Journal is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Lockdown is an important measure that has been globally adopted to reduce the spread of the contagious disease caused by SARS CoV-2. The imposed schedule and confinement led to extensive use of digital media and rise in sedentary activity drastically. The escalated duration of screen exposure causes disruption in sleep behavior. An online survey was conducted to comprehend the effect of lockdown on sleep behavior and screen exposure time on school children. Screen exposure time involved with various electronic gadgets was also analyzed. It was observed that the social jet lag and sleep debt were significantly less during lockdown than before it. Inertia during lockdown significantly increased. The difference between screen exposure time on weekdays before lockdown and weekends during lockdown was identified to be the highest. Three clusters based on sleep behavior and duration of screen time were identified of which Cluster 2 revealed simultaneous existence of high sleep duration and screen time. These baseline data on sleep parameters and duration of exposure to the screen will help us in devising approaches to mitigate the evident disruption this unprecedented phase has brought about. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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We aimed to determine whether neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics are associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence in elementary school children and, if so, the associated characteristics. We obtained data on the number of infected children from 282 public elementary schools and the socioeconomic characteristics of each school district in Osaka City, Japan. We examined associations between these variables through negative binomial regression analyses. The proportion of employment in the wholesale and retail trade industry and the college graduation rate were significantly positively and negatively associated, respectively, with the total number of COVID-19-infected children. It was discovered that percentages of employment in the accommodation and food service industries in Wave 2, wholesale and retail trade industries after Wave 3, and healthcare and social assistance industries in Wave 5 were significantly positively associated with the number of infected children; likewise, the college graduation rate in Wave 5 was significantly negatively associated with the number of infected children. Our findings provide insight into the relevant and important areas of focus for public health policymakers and practitioners to ensure reduced disparities in COVID-19 infection rates.
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This journal issue includes s of papers presented at the conference. Topics discussed are: sleeping characteristics among primary school children in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka;cosmetic effects of post thyroidectomy scar and evaluation of patient satisfaction;post-vaccination symptoms of COVID-19 vaccines among adults in Galle;multiple chest trauma in a victim of road traffic collision;anatomical variations of renal vein in a group of Sri Lankan cadavers;hospital acquired infections among patients in Intensive Care Units in Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya;serum Vitamin D level among 1 to 5-year-old children in Galle Municipality and Bope Poddala MOH area.
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Background: The pandemic resulted in increased screen hours in children due to virtual education. The rate of progression of myopia was noticed to be remarkable in the past 2 years. This study is an endeavor to study the effect of increased screen hours during COVID home confinement on the degree of progression of myopia in school children and to evaluate the difference in change of refractive errors with a variation in the screen size of the digital device used. Method(s): This was prospective observational study with a retrospective comparison arm, wherein 70 school children (140 eyes) aged 4-18 years were subjected to a cycloplegic refraction test. The difference in spherical equivalent refraction from the year 2018 to 19 was compared with that of the difference observed in the pandemic year 2019-2020. A statistical analysis was also made regarding the correlation of variation in refraction between the different genders, age groups, and screen sizes. Result(s): Of the 70 children, 29 (41.42%) were girls and 41 (58.58%) were boys. The gadgets being used vary from mobiles to laptops, and the range of screens and sizes varies from 100 cm2 to 500 cm 2. Similarly, the duration of device use varied from 4 to 8 h. For 2018, the mean value of the spherical equivalent was -1.69 +/- 1.42, for 2019 it was -1.92 +/- 1.50 and for 2020 the mean value was -2.61 +/- 1.47 for the right eye. The mean value of the spherical equivalent for the left eye in 2018 was -1.68 +/- 1.51, in 2019 the value was -1.87 +/- 1.58, and in 2020, the mean value was -2.73 +/- 1.78. Conclusion(s): Increased exposure to digital devices during the COVID-19 period has a role to play in the progression of myopia in school-aged children.Copyright © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
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We present results from a single case study based on semi-structured interviews with a student (a boy in school year 3) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and his school staff after participating in a short and small-scale intervention carried out in a socio-economically disadvantaged Swedish elementary school in 2019. The student participated in a seven week long intervention with a total of 12 philosophical dialogues (ranging from 45 to 60 minutes). Two facilitators, both with years of facilitation experience and teacher degree and at least BA in philosophy, facilitated the majority of the dialogues and mainly followed a "routine" procedure. The student was interviewed in direct connection to the end of the intervention about his experiences from the dialogues and his perceptions about whether and how the dialogues had influenced him. The student's two teachers, who had participated in the dialogues as participants, were interviewed as a pair, also in direct connection to the end of the intervention, while the school principal was interviewed two years after the study. These staff interviews concerned the staff's experiences of the influence of the dialogues on the students within the intervention as well as transfer effects to other contexts in school. The data from the study include detailed elaborations from a student perspective of different effects on the student's communicative and cognitive development, which are in several respects supported also by staff reports. The results show that the student was able, interested, and willing to participate in philosophical dialogues, and our data point to several positive outcomes for the student in the communicative and cognitive domains.
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The COVID-19 pandemic led to a worldwide lockdown and school closures, which have placed a substantial mental health burden on children and college students. Through a systematic search of the literature on PubMed and Collabovid of studies published January 2020-July 2021, our findings of five studies on children and 16 studies on college students found that both groups reported feeling more anxious, depressed, fatigued, and distressed than prior to the pandemic. Several risk factors such as living in rural areas, low family socioeconomic status, and being a family member or friend to a healthcare worker were strongly associated with worse mental health outcomes. As schools and researchers discuss future strategies on how to combine on-site teaching with online courses, our results indicate the importance of considering social contacts in students' mental health to support students at higher risk of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Reflections emerging from what was learned from conducting online research by using an online survey administered to primary school pupils during the Covid-19 pandemic are presented in this paper. First, a brief review of relevant literature is outlined. Secondly, the advantages and limitations of conducting online research are addressed. An overview of the research process employed including the sample, measures used and procedures employed for ethics clearance are how online research was made possible during a pandemic was explored. The main challenges were: (a) parental engagement and the subsequent collection of consent forms;(b) the actual data acquisition itself. These issues and others are explored through a reflection process using the cycle outlined by Gibbs (1988). The paper also points out how the reflective process was applied throughout the project. The study is focused on how pupils aged between 9 – 11 years perceived their own creative self-concept and their wellbeing at school. In this quantitative study, five hundred and thirty pupils were recruited through their schools following the dissemination of information letters and consent forms. While various advantages emerged from conducting online research, this approach was not without problems. Finally, this study presented an opportunity for learning and growth for the author through a process of reflection and evaluation.
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Inoculation is one of the most common intervention methods to mitigate the number of incidents during an outbreak. It is a crucial point to decide which age or target groups in a society are priorly vaccinated. In this study, we considered this challenge and a late vaccine distribution scenario with a new vaccine delivery strategy. A given population is divided into five age groups with different contact and transmission rates. The proposed strategy distributes weekly shots to people in an age group or groups according to results of simulation modelling different vaccination strategies for a week time horizon by considering historical incident rates of the outbreak. The method is tested against the strategy of vaccinating schoolchildren considered in many related publications in the literature. According to results, for 20 scenarios based on different contact and transmission rates and under three coverage levels, our method outperforms the benchmark strategy under 20% and 30% coverage levels for each scenario. Both strategies mostly follow same distributions and come up with same results under 10% coverage level. We can conclude that the proposed method is robust to changes in contact and transmission rates and provides superior results when coverage levels are relatively high. The method can provide effective vaccination strategies by considering disease dynamics for primarily COVID-19 and future pandemics. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Aşılama, bir salgın sırasında oluşacak vaka sayısını azaltmak için kullanılan en yaygın müdahale yöntemlerinden biridir. Bir toplumda hangi yaş ve hedef gruplarının öncelikle aşılanacağına karar vermek çok önemli bir noktadır. Bu çalışmada hem bu nokta hem de geç aşı dağıtım senaryosu, yeni bir aşı dağıtma stratejisi ile düşünülmüştür. Íncelenen popülasyon farklı kontak ve bulaştırma oranları düşünülerek beş farklı gruba ayrılmıştır. Önerilen aşı dağıtma stratejisi, salgın sırasında oluşan vaka sayılarını da düşünerek, haftalık dağıtılabilecek aşıları farklı yaş gruplarında bulunan kişilere, bir hafta süre için farklı dağıtım stratejilerini modelleyen bir benzetimin sonuçlarına göre dağıtmaktadır. Bu metot, literatürdeki birçok çalışmada düşünülen okul çağındaki çocukları öncelikle aşılama stratejisine karşı test edilmiştir. Farklı kontak ve bulaştırma oranlarına göre oluşturulan 20 farklı senaryo ve 3 farklı kapsama seviyesi için elde edilen sonuçlara göre önerilen metot, %20 ve %30 kapsama seviyesi için karşılaştırılan stratejiden daha iyi sonuçlar vermiş, %10 kapsama seviyesi için de benzer sonuçlar gözlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, kapsama seviyesinin göreceli daha yüksek olduğu durumlarda, önerilen metodun kontak ve bulaş oranlarında meydana gelen değişimlere karşı daha gürbüz olduğu ve daha iyi sonuçlar verdiği görülmüştür. Başta COVID-19 olmak üzere gelecekte yaşanabilecek salgınlarda, hastalık dinamiklerini de düşünerek, efektif aşı dağıtımlarını gerçekleştirebilecektir. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the Faculty of Engineering & Architecture of Gazi University / Gazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi, is the property of Gazi University, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Inoculation is one of the most common intervention methods to mitigate the number of incidents during an outbreak. It is a crucial point to decide which age or target groups in a society are priorly vaccinated. In this study, we considered this challenge and a late vaccine distribution scenario with a new vaccine delivery strategy. A given population is divided into five age groups with different contact and transmission rates. The proposed strategy distributes weekly shots to people in an age group or groups according to results of simulation modelling different vaccination strategies for a week time horizon by considering historical incident rates of the outbreak. The method is tested against the strategy of vaccinating schoolchildren considered in many related publications in the literature. According to results, for 20 scenarios based on different contact and transmission rates and under three coverage levels, our method outperforms the benchmark strategy under 20% and 30% coverage levels for each scenario. Both strategies mostly follow same distributions and come up with same results under 10% coverage level. We can conclude that the proposed method is robust to changes in contact and transmission rates and provides superior results when coverage levels are relatively high. The method can provide effective vaccination strategies by considering disease dynamics for primarily COVID-19 and future pandemics. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Aşılama, bir salgın sırasında oluşacak vaka sayısını azaltmak için kullanılan en yaygın müdahale yöntemlerinden biridir. Bir toplumda hangi yaş ve hedef gruplarının öncelikle aşılanacağına karar vermek çok önemli bir noktadır. Bu çalışmada hem bu nokta hem de geç aşı dağıtım senaryosu, yeni bir aşı dağıtma stratejisi ile düşünülmüştür. Íncelenen popülasyon farklı kontak ve bulaştırma oranları düşünülerek beş farklı gruba ayrılmıştır. Önerilen aşı dağıtma stratejisi, salgın sırasında oluşan vaka sayılarını da düşünerek, haftalık dağıtılabilecek aşıları farklı yaş gruplarında bulunan kişilere, bir hafta süre için farklı dağıtım stratejilerini modelleyen bir benzetimin sonuçlarına göre dağıtmaktadır. Bu metot, literatürdeki birçok çalışmada düşünülen okul çağındaki çocukları öncelikle aşılama stratejisine karşı test edilmiştir. Farklı kontak ve bulaştırma oranlarına göre oluşturulan 20 farklı senaryo ve 3 farklı kapsama seviyesi için elde edilen sonuçlara göre önerilen metot, %20 ve %30 kapsama seviyesi için karşılaştırılan stratejiden daha iyi sonuçlar vermiş, %10 kapsama seviyesi için de benzer sonuçlar gözlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, kapsama seviyesinin göreceli daha yüksek olduğu durumlarda, önerilen metodun kontak ve bulaş oranlarında meydana gelen değişimlere karşı daha gürbüz olduğu ve daha iyi sonuçlar verdiği görülmüştür. Başta COVID-19 olmak üzere gelecekte yaşanabilecek salgınlarda, hastalık dinamiklerini de düşünerek, efektif aşı dağıtımlarını gerçekleştirebilecektir. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the Faculty of Engineering & Architecture of Gazi University / Gazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi, is the property of Gazi University, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
The primary aim of this book is to explore the many facets of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children, families, and teachers across the world. While a major focus of this book is connected to academic learning, we also delve into the social and emotional impacts that are only now starting to be explored. The educational effects are likely to be numerous and substantial as reports are beginning to suggest that some children may be as far as two to three years behind where they should be. This has largely occurred because the current mode of instruction was not engaging enough as social connection has been compromised. And although online learning served as the best replacement for what occurred in our traditional classrooms, its effectiveness has been mixed at best. Teachers worked tirelessly to build engaging lessons, change teaching practices, care for children, monitor social distancing, learn how to apply new technology tools, and this under-appreciated work has unfortunately led many to leave the profession. The impact on our youth goes beyond the academic losses that may have occurred during the pandemic. Other areas of a child's life such as family, physical health, and mental health are related to the social embeddedness which typically occurs in schools and with extracurricular activities. However, most of these have been limited during the past two years. We explore some of the latest work that has begun to uncover the negative impact of these facets on a child's life. We explore ways that societies and schools can move forward to transition back to "life as normal" while also addressing new issues and needs that have emerged. Although much of what we have uncovered has negative connotations, these experiences have provided many lessons and recommendations which we share throughout this book. Schoolchildren of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impact and Opportunities consists of 10 chapters written by educators across the world. We asked these authors to share their experiences from the past few years and to articulate what lessons they learned. We believe that we have a rich collection of chapters which provide an insightful perspective on teaching and learning. Our authors include parents, graduate students, K-12 teachers and principals, and college faculty, all who have tackled the challenges that been thrust upon the education world. We hope that as you read these chapters, you can appreciate the challenges that have impacted children, families, and teachers during the past several years. Our authors have shared personal stories, small research studies, and literature reviews which illustrate the challenges we have had to overcome. Regardless of the struggles, we believe that these have created opportunities for us to learn and act to better the educational opportunities for current and future generations of learners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Purpose: Childhood obesity has become a social problem due to the social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the dietary problems of obese children through various dietary assessment methods and to confirm the usefulness of each method. Methods: The subjects were 88 students in the 4th to 6th grade of elementary school who participated in the nutrition camp organised by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, 2020. To evaluate dietary problems and assess diet quality, 24-hour meal records, monthly food intake frequency, and Dietary Screening Test (DST) data were analyzed. Results: Of the subjects, 15.7%, 30.3%, and 53.9% were normal weight, overweight, and obese, respectively. The average age was 11.77 +or- 0.77 years and the average body mass index was 23.96 +or- 3.01 kg/m2. It was observed from the 24-hour meal record method that the overweight and obese subject groups consumed fewer green vegetables (p < 0.001) and white vegetables (p < 0.01) than the normal weight group. In the monthly food intake frequency method, the consumption of ramen (p < 0.01), snacks (p < 0.05), and sausages (p < 0.05) were high in the obese group, and that of anchovies, broccoli, and sweet pumpkin was high in the normal group (p < 0.05). The comparative data from the DST revealed that the overweight and obese groups had less vegetable intake than the normal weight group (p < 0.01) and had higher intakes of dairy products, fast food, and sweet snacks (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The usefulness of each method in the dietary evaluation of obese children was confirmed. To address the problem of obesity, it is necessary to evaluate the dietary problem and approach it with a customized solution tailor-made for the individual subject.
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Objective: To understand the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of influenza in Mianyang City from 2019 to 2021, so as to provide a basis for the prevention and control of influenza. Methods: Influenza surveillance data in Mianyang City from 2019 to 2021 were collected and analyzed statistically. Results: A total of 55 970 cases of influenza were reported in Mianyang City from 2019 to 2021, with an average annual incidence of 388.08/100 000. A total of 103 723 cases of influenza-like illness cases (ILI) were reported, with an average annual ILI% of 3.58%. The incidence, ILI%, and positive detection rates of influenza were all far higher than those in the corresponding period in 2019. The classification of the population is mainly composed of students under the age of 15. The top three reported cases were Fucheng District (20 118, 35.94%), Youxian District (6 394, 11.42%) and Jiangyou District (5 800, 10.36%). 10 126 samples of ILI were received and detected, with a positive rate of 19.53%, the positive rate of ILI samples was mainly students under 15 years old. The dominant strains of influenza viruses showed an alternating trend over the years, and A (H3) was the predominant type in 2019. Except for 2 A (H9) strains detected in 2021, the rest were all BV strains. Due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, the positive detection rate was low throughout the year. 43 outbreaks of ILI were reported, which were mainly occurred in winter, and most of them were in primary schools. Conclusion: From 2019 to 2021, the characteristics of cases, ILI, pathogen surveillance and outbreak events of influenza in Mianyang City are basically the same, with students under 15 years of age and schools remaining the key population and sites of concern. the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions for influenza prevention and control is further evidenced by the low incidence of influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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There is an increasing concern regarding the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people;as a result, schools are increasingly expected to provide support, but they have few resources to do so. As such, there is a need for establishing mechanisms for supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young people that are relatively easy and cost-effective and that can be embedded within the school day to ensure sustainability. The overarching aim of our Branching Out project was to understand how successful elements from one such programme that supports children's mental health through the art-in-nature-based practice can be expanded from school-based approaches that reach small numbers of children to include whole communities. This paper reports on one strand that examined the practice of organisations offering arts and/or nature-based activities outdoors in schools, either as part of the curriculum or as an extra-curricular activity. Survey questions served as an a priori thematic framework around the characteristics of arts-in-nature activities delivered;the perceived impacts of activities;working with volunteers, teachers, and schools;and barriers to expansion and sustainability. Despite extensive searching, identifying, and recruiting relevant arts organisations was difficult;however, respondents strongly supported the notion that the arts-in-nature practice has a positive impact on children and young people's connection to nature, supports their mental health and wellbeing, and engages them with their local environment. Yet, challenges were identified in engaging teachers and schools and funding such projects, suggesting a need for a multi-professional approach to creating more sustainable and impactful practice for children, young people, and communities.
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The unprecedented measures to control the spread of COVID-19 have affected both students and parents as education institutions have almost overnight shifted to virtual platforms. This study explores the effectiveness of online classes on primary school children s performance and investigates online classes impact on children s behaviour and holistic development. It explores the impact of online classes on parents workload by adopting a sequential research method. The data were collected using Google form and telephonic interviews with randomly selected parent respondents. Results exhibit that online classes are ineffective, and there is an indicative change in children s behaviour. Also, the lack of social interaction with peers and teachers, and minimal physical activities, have made online sessions monotonous for children. Parents have been experiencing an increased workload, as they are expected to be mentors, curators, and personal tutors for their children. The study emphasizes a need for exclusive curriculum and pedagogy development suitable for online classes. Copyright © 2022, IGI Global.
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The study aimed to explore links between social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing problems among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were N = 748 children (387 girls) aged 7–11 years (M = 8.91, SD = 1.07) attending primary schools in Italy. Children completed an online questionnaire assessing subtypes of social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, social avoidance, unsociability) and indices of internalizing problems (i.e., social anxiety, loneliness, depression). Among the results, shyness was positively associated with social anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Unsociability was related to depression but not to social anxiety and loneliness. Social avoidance was positively related to loneliness and depression (particularly among older children) and negatively associated with social anxiety (particularly among boys). Results are also discussed in terms of the implications of the different subtypes of social withdrawal in late childhood and early adolescence.
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School-aged children, as a developmental stage, are a group at high risk for mental health issues, particularly during this pandemic of COVID-19. Children may be perpetrators, witnesses, or victims of violence or irregularities perpetrated directly or through social media. This community service activity is designed to improve the mental health of children during the COVID-19 pandemic through early detection, prevention and early treatment of mental health issues through parental and teacher empowerment programs. When children learn online and do more activities at home with their families, there are many factors that affect children's mental health. For instance, cyberbullying, addiction to gadgets and the Internet, withdrawing from family interactions, anxiety, dishonesty and discipline in the performance of duties and children as witnesses and victims of abuse by those closest to them. This is not widely known by the school, teachers, counsellors and parents clearly, which results in the state of the child getting worse. Through an empowerment program that was conducted with socialization and training on early detection, preventive efforts and early treatment of mental health problems among school-aged children, they can discover early deviations that occur and take preventive measures with early treatment efforts. Henceforth, through this empowerment program, teachers and parents work together to carry out counselling activities and reflection sessions to understand the issues faced by students so that they can intervene immediately. Teachers and parents can work as a team to help children improve physical and mental health through online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore the perception of teachers, parents and students' regarding implementation of a school-based lifesaving skills program and help predict potential barriers and solutions. METHODS: This qualitative exploratory study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, from December 2020- to October 2021. We included students, teachers, and parents of secondary (grades VIII, IX, and X) and higher secondary level students (grades XI and XII) in Karachi, Pakistan's public and private schools and colleges. We selected one public, two semi-private, and two private schools. We recruited students, teachers, and parents through convenience sampling. We conducted fifteen focus group discussions (FGDs) with the students, six FGDs with the teachers, and eighteen in-depth interviews (IDIs) with parents. We transcribed the data from audio recordings and translated it into the English language. Finally, we manually analyzed the data using thematic analyses. RESULTS: This study found that bystanders' main barriers to performing lifesaving skills are lack of knowledge, fear of legal involvement, fear of hurting the patient by incorrect technique, lack of empathy among community stakeholders, and gender bias. However, the participants had a positive and supportive attitude toward implementing lifesaving skills training in schools. They suggested starting student training in the early teenage years, preferred medical staff as trainers, and suggested frequent small sessions in English/Urdu both or Urdu language and training via theory and practical hands-on drills. Furthermore, the training was proposed to be integrated into the school curriculum to make it sustainable. Finally, the government needs to support the program and make the legal environment more conducive for bystanders. CONCLUSION: This study identified the significant barriers to performing lifesaving skills in an emergency in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). The participants supported implementing a national lifesaving skills program in schools and colleges. However, the participants expressed that support is needed by the government for sustainability, integrating lifesaving skills into the school curriculum, providing legal support to the bystanders, and creating awareness among the general public.
Subject(s)
Schools , Sexism , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Students , Curriculum , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This article outlines the protocol for a trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention called Open Sky School to reduce mental health problems among elementary school children. Experimental studies show that contact with nature (e.g. walks in parks) improve mental health. A growing number of teachers have been applying outdoor education within the regular school curriculum and evidence suggests that such teaching methods could improve students' mental health but a randomized controlled trial has never been conducted. METHODS: A two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial will be conducted in elementary schools across Québec, Canada. Following informed consent by teachers, parents and students, schools will be randomly assigned 1:1 to the intervention or the control group with a total of 2500 5-6th grade students and 100 teachers expected to participate. The intervention will take place outdoors in a green-space (2 h per week for 12 weeks) and include a toolkit of 30 activities to foster well-being (e.g. mindfulness) and academic competencies (e.g. mathematics). Questionnaires will be administered to teachers and students before, immediately after and 3 months after the intervention. The primary outcome will be reductions of mental health problems in children from pre-to-post test (Social Behavior Questionnaire: self and teacher reports). Secondary outcomes include depression, positive and negative affect, nature connectedness, and pro-environmental behaviors among children. We will explore, immediate benefits on teacher's well-being and positive and negative affect and sustained benefits among students at 3 months follow-up. For the primary outcome, we will explore moderators including child's sex, child's disability status, the green-space of neighbourhoods, the school's socio-economic position and teacher's experience. DISCUSSION: In conducting the first randomized controlled trial of the Open Sky School, our results could provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of nature-based interventions in reducing mental health problems among elementary school children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05662436 on December 22, 2022.