Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This scientific brief was prepared based on results of evidence synthesis and a WHO expert consultation. The WHO COVID-19 LENS (Living Evidence Synthesis) working group consolidated available evidence, based on rapid reviews of the literature and results of a living systematic review on pregnancy and COVID-19 (up to October 7, 2020), on potential mechanisms of vertical transmission of infectious pathogens, feasibility of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2, data related to interpretation of positive SARS-CoV-2 virologic and serologic neonatal tests, lessons from diagnosis of other congenital infections, and existing proposed definitions to classify timing of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. WHO convened a multidisciplinary, international panel of experts between October and November 2020 to review the evidence and propose a consensus initial classification system for the timing of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The panel included experts in obstetrics, neonatology, paediatrics, epidemiology, virology, infectious disease, congenital infections, and placental pathology. The selection of the panel ensured geographic representation, gender balance, and no important conflicts of interest, in accordance with WHO standard procedures.

This research brief is an addition to a series of five briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries. These briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five goal areas of UNICEF’s 2018–2021 Strategic Plan, although it is anticipated that they will also be useful for others working in the child well-being space.

Knowledge of women’s experience of childbirth in the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated maternal health outcomes is scarce. A sample of primarily American women who gave birth around the height of COVID-19 (n =1,611) and matched controls, i.e., women who gave birth before COVID-19 (n =640), completed an anonymous Internet survey about recent childbirth, birth-related traumatic stress (peritraumatic distress inventory; PTSD-checklist), maternal bonding (maternal attachment inventory; mother-to-infant bonding scale) and breastfeeding status. Groups (n =637 in each) were matched on demographics, prior mental health/trauma and childbirth factors to determine the unique contribution of COVID-19 to the psychological experience of childbirth.

Nearly a year since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, children worldwide continue to grapple with unprecedented hardships. However, the virus did not destroy children’s resolve to find and use their voices as forces for change. This brief explores factors that inhibit children’s meaningful participation and outlines key takeaways from children on how their participation can lead to outcomes that are more meaningful and impactful.

The number of coronavirus disease 2019–infected people taking treatment at home is increasing every day in Japan. Even though they need to be hospitalized, due to the inability to secure childcare, infected parents are taking medical treatment at home. This short report focused on developing a new childcare system in Japan for parents infected with coronavirus disease 2019. It is important that each public sector makes family-friendly policies to ensure the development of a childcare system equipped to deal with the current pandemic.

Lockdown measures including school closures due to COVID-19 may affect youths’ activity patterns and obesity status. This will be for the first time examined in China in this study on the basis of a large national sample from the COVID-19 Impact on Lifestyle Change Survey (COINLICS). Through an online questionnaire, 10,082 participants from high schools, colleges, and graduate schools, aged 19.8 ± 2.3 years, voluntarily reported their lifestyles and weight status before (January 2020) and after lockdown (April–May 2020).

The briefing note examines the impediments of access to learning caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in northwest Syria, further compounding issues caused by conflict and years of underinvestment in the education sector in Syria. Save the Children surveyed 489 teachers in northern Syria to try and understand what they see and believe when it comes to the reasons that lead children to drop out of education and what would it take to bring them back.

The connection between civic space, civil society engagement and access to healthcare has been sharply highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Civil society around the world has mobilised to bring attention to the needs of the most vulnerable people, and demonstrated the invaluable role it plays in addressing inequities and championing health for all. It is this commitment and zeal that will make UHC possible. This study sets out why accountability is vital to achieving universal health coverage. It also makes the case for protecting and expanding civic space as a way of encouraging civic engagement, resulting in accountability. We put forward recommendations to governments and global health actors to improve meaningful civil society inclusion in health governance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the delivery of care for chronic neurological diseases globally. As requirements for physical distancing have led to restrictions on the availability of health care services, many countries have adapted methods of telemedicine to sustain care access for patients, while making difficult decisions surrounding which aspects of direct clinical care can be deferred and the time span acceptable for delaying chronic medical care. For people with epilepsy, issues such as determining criteria for what constitutes urgent management, managing the risk of increased seizures in the setting of illness, as well as ensuring a stable medication supply, have all been raised as critical concerns during this pandemic.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has put economies across the globe in an unexpected hibernation as governments of many countries have announced weeks-long lockdown to flatten the curve of infection. It cannot be debunked that the lockdown was deemed as ‘the essential vaccine’ in the current times, but unfortunately, it is coming with a critical trade-off . The trade-off, not of economic costs vs human life, which has been much debated and documented but of one human life vs another. Specifically, in case of India, with a population of 1.3 billion, of which more than two-third are situated in rural settlements, this outbreak has become quite intimidating as the already limited health infrastructure has come under severe pressure to cater to the patients with the contagion.

In response to the SARS-COV-2 threat Malawi has closed schools and universities. As a result, pupils risk losing their only good meal a day, shelter from household violence and stipends, delaying graduation and their first job in life. Moreover, Malawi blood transfusion service depends on schools, colleges, places of worship, and workplaces. Decreased blood stocks will increase preventable mortality.

The public discourse around the COVID-19 pandemic has been strikingly quantitative. Worldwide, the mainstream media has regularly informed the public of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, including projections of worst-case scenarios drawn from esoteric epidemiological models. The prominence and visibility of data, regardless of its completeness or quality, underscored the threat of COVID-19 to policy makers and lay individuals alike. It also prompted governments to swiftly lock down their societies, despite the socioeconomic disruptions and human suffering associated with such lockdowns. The widespread media coverage of COVID-19 data and swift response from governments highlight the potency of real-time data, and contain important lessons for public health policy, which when applied, could raise the profile of other health issues and spur action among key stakeholders.

Gender-based violence (GBV), with one out of three women worldwide experiencing violence in their lifetime, has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “global public health problem of epidemic proportions”. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO and other international authorities have warned about the increased risk of GBV related to more time spent indoors, isolation from social and protective networks, and greater social and economic stress re-lated to both the epidemic and response measures. In fact, since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, reports from many countries including France, Ger-many, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Argentina, Singapore, Canada, and the United States indicate that violence against women has increase.

This study aimed to show the psychosocial impact of the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic on Dutch children with cancer in outpatient care and their caregivers (n = 799) using regular monitoring and screening outcomes. No differences were observed between the pre‐COVID‐19 and early‐COVID‐19 periods in health‐related quality of life and fatigue of children. Fewer caregivers were distressed during the COVID‐19 period than pre‐COVID‐19. In conclusion, the additional stress of COVID‐19 did not deteriorate psychosocial functioning of children with cancer and their caregivers.

From April 20–30, 2020, during a nationwide lockdown, the Population Council Bangladesh conducted the first round of a rapid phone-based survey on COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). The survey randomly selected girls who had provided phone numbers during enrollment in a skills-building program that began before the pandemic. The survey’s objective was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent lives and to design programs that would contribute to protecting girls and meet social distancing guidelines imposed by the government. Phone interviews were conducted with 479 girls living in the districts of Chapainawabganj, Kushtia, and Sherpur who were participants in a program focused on reducing child marriage by increasing school attendance and grade progression among girls ages 12 to 15.1 A follow-up survey was conducted from June 12–22, 2020, prior to the introduction of virtual skills sessions as school closure and social distancing protocols were in effect. The nationwide lockdown had been withdrawn by that time. A third round of remote data collection took place from September 5–11, 2020. This brief presents the findings and comparisons from the three rounds of phone surveys.