Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The students in primary and high schools were the most at risk of being impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak in terms of their educational status. The whole education system slowly transited from in-class to online as per the time’s demand. By examining students’ online learning experiences during the COVID-19 epidemic in various situations, this study aims to present student voices of online education and explain why the implications are significant for student learning. Two nations are studied on a comparative window-Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates-having different levels of socioeconomic development, the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, pandemic preparedness measures, and the growth of online learning. A total of 125 students from Bangladesh and the UAE were surveyed quantitatively on the efficiency of online learning. To determine the efficacy of online education, constructs were created, and a questionnaire based on the structures was established. This study is cross-sectional and uses an inferred deductive methodology. Although many studies assert that online learning is just as successful as traditional learning, relatively few studies have examined the effectiveness of online instruction, particularly when switching from traditional learning methods to online learning. Additionally, no paper has investigated how elementary school pupils perceive the system, despite the fact that they were the most susceptible during the changeover. This essay seeks to close that gap.

Since the approval of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine for children in 2021, there had been ongoing debates about the necessity of vaccinating children, owing to the seemingly mild nature of the infection in children, despite causing significant morbidity and mortality in the 5-11 age group in 2020-2021, and its association with complications such as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). This sparked the need to evaluate parents’ perceptions, knowledge, and the effect of information sources on their decision-making. It is important to understand the various drivers and concerns expressed by parents locally, to shape vaccination campaigns to address such issues. While numerous studies across the world have extensively investigated parental willingness and intention to vaccinate children against COVID-19, it is important to acknowledge that these studies have been conducted before COVID-19 vaccines became approved for children in the respective countries. There is an obvious scarcity of data on the parental knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance of the vaccine for children after the respective countries have approved and provided the vaccine. The present study aims to provide data that could reveal possible barriers to vaccine uptake such as deficits in knowledge, negative attitudes, and poor practices towards the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence address these factors to make the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign, as well as future childhood vaccination campaigns, more successful.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 epidemic circumstances on the practice of pediatric dentistry in the United Arab Emirates. An online questionnaire was distributed among members of Emirates Club of Pediatric Dentistry. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: (1) dentists’ demographic characteristics, (2) general knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, (3) practice of pediatric dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the world in early 2020. As a preventive measure, schools in the UAE adopted remote learning. This study aimed to assess the effects of the lockdown and remote learning on the health-related behaviours of school students in the UAE. A cross-sectional study using an online survey comprising 33 questions related to physical activity, eating, sleeping and screen time was answered by the students’ parents. Chi-square tests, paired Student’s t tests and frequency tables were used for analysis.

Whilst the impact of Covid-19 infection in pregnant women has been examined, there is a scarcity of data on pregnant women in the Middle East. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of Covid-19 infection on pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates population. A case-control study was carried out to compare the clinical course and outcome of pregnancy in 79 pregnant women with Covid-19 and 85 non-pregnant women with Covid-19 admitted to Latifa Hospital in Dubai between March and June 2020.

In light of the pandemic, pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to increased psychological distress and in need of imperative preventive measures. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health, lifestyle adaptations, and their determinants among pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates. A survey was conducted electronically between June and August 2020. Pregnant women were recruited from prenatal clinics in the UAE and invited to participate in an online survey developed on Google Forms. The questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics, the Impact of Event Scale- Revised, the Perceived Support Scale and lifestyle-related factors.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 forced trainee teachers from the United Arab Emirates to have virtual field experiences in the field of early childhood education. The various stakeholders, young children, families, preservice teachers, and university faculty hold different perceptions of online teaching formats. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of trainee teachers and faculty supervisors about online field experiences with young children. The study was done using a qualitative case study within an interpretivist paradigm. Twelve internship students and five supervisors were purposively selected to complete open-ended questionnaires about virtual field experiences.

The psychosocial impact of previous infectious disease outbreaks in adults has been well documented, however, there is limited information on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults and children in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) community. The aim of this study was to explore anxiety levels among adults and children in the UAE and to identify potential risk and protective factors for well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a cross sectional parental survey, to assess the impacts of home confinement on children in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai, UAE. Children included were from 3 years until 16 years old who were in schools or pre-school placements before COVID-19 started. Total number of children included in the survey was 658 of which 327 were boys and 331 girls. We found that the impact of the home confinement on children was significant and directly affected their quality of life that may extend beyond the lockdown for longtime. This study will help relevant authorities and organizations to understand the negative impacts brought by the COVID-19 confinement on children and to adopt appropriate strategies to help children and their parents tackle these impacts and get them back to normal life and school again. This study also paved the way for future studies in the identification and management of children’s behavior, attention, education, and other factors that play active roles in quality of life and normal development. Moreover, this study may help in embracing early preventative and management plans by schools and authorities in future similar pandemics, infections, disasters or school outbreaks. We also discuss strategies for school reopening and flexibility when an outbreak happens again in a school or community.