Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The acceptance of vaccines among pregnant and breastfeeding women is vital to alleviate the risk of contracting and transmitting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, we aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant and breastfeeding/lactating women and the factors associated with the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among pregnant and breastfeeding women living in Saudi Arabia. A 23-item, self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant or lactating women.

Multiple vaccines have been tested in clinical trials for their efcacy and safety. In Saudi Arabia, Pfzer– BioNTech or Moderna were approved for children, however, previous studies to report their safety profle are limited. This research aims to understand the side efect of children’s vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Saudi Arabia. This was an observational retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey in Saudi Arabia from March to May 2022. The inclusion criteria were parents aged 18 years and above who live in Saudi Arabia and have vaccinated their children. The self-reported questionnaire was adopted from published studies to investigate the study objectives Descriptive statistics were used to describe patients’ demographic characteristics, continuous data were reported as mean±S.D., categorical data were reported as percentages (frequencies), and logistic regression was used to identify predictors of persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms.

The vaccination of children against Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a prime area of focus around the globe and is considered a pivotal challenge during the ongoing pandemic. This study aimed to assess parents′ intentions to vaccinate their children and the barriers related to pediatric COVID-19 vaccination. An online web-based survey was conducted to recruit parents with at least one child under the age of 12 years from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jouf region. The parental intentions to vaccinate children were assessed via six items, while barriers against vaccination were assessed through seven items in validated study instrument. A 5-point Likert scale was used to record the responses of parents regarding both their intentions and barriers.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many adverse mental health consequences from the lockdown. It caused an exacerbation of depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. Among the affected populations, high school students were one of the most commonly affected groups. This study is aimed to assess the psychological impact as well as the prevalence of depression and anxiety levels among high school female students during the COVID-19 outbreak in Medina, Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on a total of 300 high-school female students in Medina, Saudi Arabia between April 2021 and June 2021. Data were collected via an online survey to measure depression and anxiety using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively.

Computer vision syndrome (CVS) can be described as ocular-related symptoms that result from prolonged exposure and use of computers, smartphones, tablets, and other devices with digital displays. The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CVS among school-age children, the associated signs, risk factors, and the association between the disease before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The targeted population was school-going children aged 6 to 18 in the Jazan region in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia. A sample of 440 participants was selected to represent the population under study. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Sociodemographic characteristics were recorded, such as age, gender, education level, parents’ education, occupation, frequency, and intensity of eye symptoms if present. Results: Most of the participants were adolescents between 16 and 18 and at a high-school education level.

To manage the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO recommends adult and child vaccination. Vaccine skepticism has been a major worldwide health concern for decades, and the situation is worsening. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate parental willingness to vaccinate their children (aged 5 to 11 years) against COVID-19 and to describe its relationship with attitude, barriers, facilitators, and sources of knowledge regarding the vaccine. Methods: From February to March 2022, a community-based cross-sectional survey was undertaken among the parents of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. We employed a convenient sampling procedure to gather the required sample. Using the Raosoft sample size calculator, a minimum sample size of 385 was determined based on a 95% confidence level, a 5% margin of error, and a 5% precision level. The data were analyzed using version 26 of SPSS. A p-value less than 0.05 was judged statistically significant. The Chi-square test and likelihood ratio were utilized to describe the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, driving factors, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy associated factors were identified using multivariate binary logistic regression. A total of 528 replies were received.

In 2020, there seems to have been a global shift in lifestyle and eating habits with the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the ensuing lockdowns implemented by national governments. This study assessed the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on SSBs consumption among healthy 6–11 years old children in Saudi Arabia; This is a mixed-methods study, incorporating a quantitative component, which was a validated Arabic online questionnaire completed by parents, and a qualitative component, involving structured interviews with 10 selected parents using a criterion sampling method.

This research aimed to measure the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) and study the relationship between screen time and dry eye symptoms in the pediatric population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. This descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study included the pediatric population, ages 1 to 18 years, of both genders, who attended outpatient clinics of two main hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Collected data included age, gender, dry eye symptoms, and common DED risk factors, followed by the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, which consists of 12 items graded on a five-point scale (0 = never to 4 = all the time).

Children’s mental health is one of the major concerns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Multiple strategic policies are applied to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, including boundaries closure, social distancing, lockdown, and quarantine. These measures affect the mental health of adults as well as children. In Saudi Arabia, many studies investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults’ mental health, but few were done on children. Children's behavior can be assessed through parents' observation, which can be an important indication of children's mental health. This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on children's mental health and to evaluate the effect of familial and social-demographic characteristics on children’s psychology during the COVID-19 crisis in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia.

 Fever is a common childhood symptom that is considered to be the cause of around 70% of pediatric visits. This study aimed to assess parents’ knowledge about and management of fevers in children since the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study collected data from 488 Saudi Arabian parents using a self-administered questionnaire to assess the parents’ knowledge about fevers and how to manage them in children. SPSS was used for analysis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2), is currently a global pandemic with the highest number of people affected in the modern era; only a small proportion of children have been infected with COVID-19. Most of them were asymptomatic or only had mild symptoms. Both direct and indirect advantages will result from an effective and a safe COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy is a potential threat to global public health. Parental attitudes to-wards the vaccines play a key role in the success of the herd immunity for COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the parents’ willingness and attitudes about the COVID- 19 vaccine in Taif city in K.S.A. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 384 parents. The data collection tool was an online questionnaire that consisted of sociodemographic data of parents and children, and questions for assessment of parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children with the COVID-19 vaccine. All data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS program version 22. The committee is accredited by the National Committee for Bioethics with No. (HAO-02-T-105) and the proposal fulfills the requirements of Taif Uni-versity and accordingly ethical approval was granted.

During the Corona pandemic, parents of children with disabilities experienced unprecedented situations. The aim of this study was to identify the educational needs and challenges which prevented parents from providing adequate support to their children during the outbreak. An online survey was launched on June 4, 2020, to gather information from 638 parents of children with disabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a multidimensional impact on mental health due to health concerns, social distancing and lockdowns, job loss, and limits in institutional support. Accordingly, COVID-19 may disproportionally impact families with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) due to the already high prevalence of mental health conditions in children with SEND and their parents. Hence, it is essential to determine the short-term impact of the pandemic on the mental health of families with SEND to identify their ongoing health, including psychological wellbeing and support needs. The current study examines the anxiety level and concerns of children with SEND and their parents living in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional national study design was utilized as a part of an international consortium using an online Arabic survey. Data were collected from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development beneficiaries from May to July 2020. The sample consisted of 1,848 parents of children with SEND aged between 1 and 18 years (mean = 9.66; SD = 4.31). A descriptive and bivariant analysis is reported.

Parental attitudes towards childhood vaccination programs are important for successful delivery. Children were affected by COVID-19; however, parental attitudes towards childhood COVID-19 vaccination have not been fully assessed. The purpose is to assess parental hesitancy and attitudes about their children receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. This was a cross-sectional study using an electronically distributed questionnaire including a convenience sample of 123 Saudi Arabian parents of school-aged children between five and eleven years old. Most of the participants were mothers (77.2%) aged 31–40 years old (61%). The mean score of the questionnaire about parents’ attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine was M = 18.95, SD = 5.52.