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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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Spotlight on COVER: evaluating world vision’s COVID-19 emergency response through the experiences of key stakeholders
Institution: World Vision
Published: January 2023

World Vision’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was the organisation’s largest ever in terms of geographic reach.  Launched March 11, 2020 - the day the World Health Organization declared the pandemic - the response spanned more than 70 countries and reached more than 81 million people over its two-and-a-half-year lifespan. In order to find out how effective the response was and what lessons needed to be learned World Vision consulted with 5,700 community members, health workers and faith leaders in eight countries, as well as staff from more than 50 offices.  The lessons showed what we got right and where we needed change or improve. This report also provided insights into the critical role our partners played in working with World Vision to reduce the spread of the disease, support health systems and staff, stand with children caught in the middle of the crises and advocate to protect the most vulnerable among them.

A light in the dark: How children make sense of COVID‐19

AUTHOR(S)
Jamie Libenstein; Danaë Larivière-Bastien; Dominique Dupont (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
Understanding the negative impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents is essential in order to provide proper support and intervention. Nonetheless, surmounting adversity, such as COVID-19, may also provide positive lessons for youth to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic and prepare society for future crises. The objective of the current qualitative study was to document the perceived positive aspects identified by children and adolescents during COVID-19 and how they made sense of their experience. Participants (N = 67, 5–14 years old) were recruited in May and June 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via a videoconferencing platform. Based on the transcribed and coded interviews, a thematic qualitative analysis was derived utilizing NVivo. Participants' answers were grouped into four main themes and sub-themes: (1) school changes, (2) bonding time, (3) free time, and (4) technology usage. Analysing youth perspectives on their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic provides insight into some of the positive changes and lessons that can be gained amidst the overwhelming negative consequences of the pandemic.
Child flourishing, school engagement, physical activity and screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

AUTHOR(S)
Wei Lyu; George L. Wehby

Published: January 2023   Journal: ACADEMIC PEDIATRICS
This study aims to examine changes in flourishing, school engagement, physical activity, and recreational screen time among school-aged children in the United States during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. In this cross-sectional study, data come from the 2018–2020 National Survey of Children's Health for 68,203 children aged 6 to 17 years. Flourishing is always/usually curious to learn, resilient and having self-regulation. School engagement is always/usually completing homework and having interest in doing well in school. Other outcomes are daily 60+ minutes physical activity or number of such days, and daily recreational screen time or 2+ hours/day. Weighted regression models compare 2020 to 2019 and 2019 to 2018 adjusting for child/household covariates and state indicators.
Searching for online information on the fit of children's footwear during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of Google Trends data

AUTHOR(S)
Carina Price; Stewart Morrison; Michael Haley (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
Selecting footwear with appropriate fit in children is challenging due the changes with foot size and dimensions which occur throughout childhood. Access to appropriate footwear is important but recent challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in closure of retail stores for prolonged periods where parents/carers could not physically purchase footwear for their children and the footwear industry suffered disruption to their supply chain, and falls in retail sales. Simultaneously increased use of social media platforms for health information seeking throughout the pandemic have been documented. This likely would have included parents/carers seeking information online to support footwear purchases for their children. The primary aim of this work was to explore how searches for online fitting information for children changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown periods. A secondary aim was to identify how searches were influenced by footwear style.
Digital–environmental habitus of families in England in times of pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Maria Laura Ruiu; Gabriele Ruiu; Massimo Ragnedda

Published: January 2023   Journal: New Media & Society
This article uses adopts a revised version of the concept of techno-environmental habitus to investigate and make sense of the differentiation among digital technology users’ attitudes towards the environment in England. Digital–environmental habitus refers to the combination of structural determinants (existing background) and the metabolised increased use of digital technologies in people’s everyday life that also interacts with individual environmental attitudes.
Family functioning buffers the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for children's quality of life and loneliness

AUTHOR(S)
Micah A. Skeens; Kylie Hill; Anna Olsavsky (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Frontiers in Psychology
COVID-19 resulted in mass quarantine measures early in the pandemic. This disruption of daily life widened inequities and made children one of the most vulnerable populations during the crisis. This national, cross-sectional “COVID-Kids” study collected data from almost 500 parent–child dyads using standardized measures to better understand the effects of COVID exposure and impact on children’s quality of life and loneliness. Data were collected via social media from May to July 2020. According to parent proxy and child self-report, United States children experienced worse quality of life (p < 0.0001; d = 0.45 and 0.53) and greater child-reported loneliness (p < 0.0001) when compared to normative, healthy samples (i.e., children who do not have a chronic medical condition). Older children (r = 0.16, p = 0.001) and female children (r = 0.11, p = 0.02) reported greater loneliness. Higher child-reported family functioning scores were associated with better quality of life (r = 0.36, p < 0.0001) and less loneliness (r = −0.49, p < 0.0001). Moderated mediation analyses indicated the indirect effect of parent COVID impact on the association between COVID exposure and child quality of life was weaker in the context of better family functioning.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Supportive Parenting App on parental outcomes: randomized controlled trial

AUTHOR(S)
Shefaly Shorey; Evelyn Law; Thilagamangai (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Journal of Medical Internet Research

Adjusting to new or additional parenting responsibilities increases stress and affects parental well-being. Existing research has highlighted both parents’ desire to receive more support. It has also been found that receiving sufficient social support enhances parenting outcomes. With the increasing popularity of mobile health apps, a Supportive Parenting App (SPA) intervention was developed to fulfill the support needs of parents during the perinatal period.
 This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the SPA on parental outcomes during the perinatal period.

A win-win for all of us: COVID-19 sheds light on the essentialness of child care as key infrastructure

AUTHOR(S)
Owusua Yamoah; Sarah Balser; Callie Ogland-Hand (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Child care centers in the United States allow many parents and caregivers to work in and outside of the home and support the growth and development of children. Child care closures and COVID-19 mitigation measures at the onset of the pandemic heightened the need for and awareness of the role of child care as core infrastructure. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived role and benefits of child care based on the lived experiences of parents/caregivers and staff navigating child care during the pandemic. It conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with parents/caregivers (n = 20) of children who attended child care and staff (n = 12) who were working at child care programs in Ohio from September to November 2020. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed through the lens of four frameworks (i.e., capabilities, developmental, economics, and mutualism) related to child well-being.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on educational, psychosocial and behavioral aspects of children: a cross sectional survey

AUTHOR(S)
Ramya Pandi; Aradhya Korapati; Kanta Kumari (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics

The outbreak of COVID-19 appeared first in China and then, rapidly, spread to the rest of the world, and WHO declared it as a pandemic.A nation-wide closure of educational institutions was implemented as an emergency measure in India in March 2020. Meanwhile the traditional classroom instructions were replaced by online classes and home-based learning. Pandemic stressors such as boredom, being in isolation, one of the family members hospitalized/ succumbed to covid, etc, may have even more negative impact on children’s behaviour and emotions. Objectives were to study the impact of covid 19 pandemic on psychosocial, educational and behavioral aspects of children. The current study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional survey conducted among the parents attending paediatric OPD in NRI general and superspeciality hospital, Mangalagiri, between September 2021 to December 2021 over a period of 70 day along with their children of age group between 3 years to 18 years with an aim to explore various psychosocial, educational and behavioral aspects of children and their correlation.

Social relations of urban children in the liminal time of the pandemic period

AUTHOR(S)
Marzenna Nowicka

Published: December 2022   Journal: The New Educational Review
This paper analysed the social relations of Polish children during the SARSCoV- 2 pandemic. The period of isolation and remote learning was approached as a transitional time using Victor Turner’s concept of liminality. The concept offered a new perspective on children’s experiences during the regime of health protection constraints and the resulting limitations. The research material was collected using focus group interviews with 41 urban children aged 7 and 9 to describe liminal features of their everyday life and characterise their social interactions.
Parental COVID‐19–related health information practises, sources, evaluations and needs: a qualitative interview study

AUTHOR(S)
Hala Altawil; Ronny Klawunn; Marie-Luise Dierks (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Health Expectations

Parents of infants and young children may have specific health information needs and preferences, as they are responsible for their children's health. COVID-19 posed many challenges for families, not least in terms of the constantly updated disease-prevention guidelines. However, little is known about parents' experiences with this unprecedented situation, that is, how and where they seek, use and evaluate COVID-19 (child)-specific health information. This study aimed to find out more about this to provide insights to health (information) providers when communicating pandemic information to parents. It conducted semistructured telephone interviews (August to October 2020) with a purposively selected sample of 20 German-speaking and 10 Arabic-speaking parents of children up to 4 years old. Recruitment occurred through multiple channels, including childcare institutions and social media. Qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts illustrates the main differences between the two groups.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and wellbeing of children, adolescents and their parents: a qualitative study

AUTHOR(S)
Kelly G. H. van de Pas; Marijn L. Hesselink; Robin Schlechtriem (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Children
Prior studies have shown that changes in daily structure and habits due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the lifestyle and wellbeing of families. This study aimed to obtain in-depth information on children’s and adolescents’ experiences regarding their lifestyle and wellbeing during the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with fifteen families were carried out between May and November 2021. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the transcripts and fundamental qualitative description to describe the results. Children and adolescents revealed an overall unhealthier lifestyle and decreased wellbeing. These negative effects were even larger in adolescents and children with overweight or psychosocial complaints. Our results revealed that parents were actively involved in maintaining a normal daily structure. Furthermore, diet changes were inconsistent and dependent on food availability. An increase in screen time was experienced as inevitable, and external influences were necessary to keep children and adolescents active. Almost no effects were reported on physical health, whereas negative emotions were experienced in varying degrees.
Cook like a Boss Online: an adapted intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic that effectively improved children's perceived cooking competence, movement competence and wellbeing

AUTHOR(S)
Lynsey Hollywood; Johann Issartel; David Gaul (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated physical inactivity, poor dietary intake and reduced mental wellbeing, contributing factors to non-communicable diseases in children. Cooking interventions are proposed as having a positive influence on children’s diet quality. Motor skills have been highlighted as essential for performance of cooking skills, and this movement may contribute to wellbeing. Additionally, perceived competence is a motivator for behaviour performance and thus important for understanding intervention effectiveness. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the effectiveness of an adapted virtual theory-based cooking intervention on perceived cooking competence, perceived movement competence and wellbeing. The effective theory-driven and co-created ‘Cook Like A Boss’ was adapted to a virtual five day camp-styled intervention, with 248 children across the island of Ireland participating during the pandemic. Pre- and post-intervention assessments of perceived cooking competence, perceived movement competence and wellbeing using validated measurements were completed through online surveys. Bivariate Correlations, paired samples t-tests and Hierarchical multiple regression modelling was conducted using SPSS to understand the relationships between the variables and the effect of the intervention.

Physical well-being of children and adolescents during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: findings from the "Come te la passi?" cross sectional survey in Bologna, Italy

AUTHOR(S)
Aurelia Salussolia; Jacopo Lenzi; Marco Montalti (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Children
The COVID-19 had a strong impact on the physical and general well-being of the youngest. In Italy, citizens were forced to change their habits, especially during the national lockdown, causing increased levels of sedentary and unhealthy behaviors. “Come te la passi?” was a cross-sectional study aimed at investigating changes in the physical activity levels (PA) and well-being of children and adolescents in the City of Bologna. An anonymous survey was administered to parents/guardians of children and adolescents aged 6–18 years. Results: 1134 questionnaires were collected during June 2021; 457 (40.3%) were females, and the mean age was 13.0 ± 3.4 years. Regarding the general well-being perception, 61.3% of the participants reported concerns about the future, 46.3% reported sleep difficulties, and 72.8% reported experiencing attention difficulty, with higher percentages among adolescents. Considering the PA frequency, an overall reduction was found, with the percentage of those who rarely did PA and those who frequently did PA both increasing. No gender differences were found.
Coping with the COVID-19 lockdown: the role of household and family responsibilities in Beijing

AUTHOR(S)
Weilin Xu; Martin Dijst; Yanwei Chai

Published: December 2022   Journal: Transactions in Planning and Urban Research
The COVID-19 pandemic combined with lockdown measures fundamentally changed urban family life worldwide. This article compares how different household types—singles, couples, nuclear families, and extended families—experienced the lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing. It argues that not only the household responsibilities associated with household types at the household level, but also the family responsibilities on a larger geographical scale must be considered to understand the challenges faced by different households under the COVID-19 lockdown in urban China, where intergenerational supports such as family responsibilities to other generations living apart are prevalent during the pre-pandemic stage due to the collectivist culture. This article contributes the lens of household diversity and geographic distance to understanding everyday lives of families under lockdown and to reflect on family transformation in urban China over the past decades more broadly. Through the study of families, it also has implications for neighborhood planning and management aimed at mitigating a pandemic’s negative impacts.
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UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.

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Each quarterly thematic digest features the latest evidence drawn from the Children and COVID-19 Research Library on a particular topic of interest.
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COVID-19 & Children: Rapid Research Response

UNICEF Innocenti is mobilizing a rapid research response in line with UNICEF’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives we’ve begun will provide the broad range of evidence needed to inform our work to scale up rapid assessment, develop urgent mitigating strategies in programming and advocacy, and preparation of interventions to respond to the medium and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The research projects cover a rapid review of evidence, education analysis, and social and economic policies.