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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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Parental and other caregiver loss due to COVID-19 in the United States: prevalence by race, state, relationship, and child age

AUTHOR(S)
Dan Treglia; J. J. Cutuli; Kamyar Arasteh (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Journal of Community Health
The more than one million COVID-19 deaths in the United States include parents, grandparents, and other caregivers for children. These losses can disrupt the social, emotional, and economic well-being of children, their families, and their communities, and understanding the number and characteristics of affected children is a critical step in responding. We estimate the number of children who lost a parent or other co-residing caregiver to COVID-19 in the U.S. and identify racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities by aligning COVID-19 death counts through mid-May 2022 with household information from a representative sample of individuals. We estimate that 216,617 children lost a co-residing caregiver to COVID-19; 77,283 lost a parent and more than 17,000 children lost the only caregiver with whom they lived. Non-White children were more than twice as likely as White children to experience caregiver loss, and children under 14 years old experienced 70% of caregiver loss.
Family functioning and quality of life among children with nephrotic syndrome during the first pandemic wave

AUTHOR(S)
Nowrin F. Aman; Jessica Fitzpatrick; Isabel de Verteuil (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Pediatric Nephrology

During the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic, one of the longest lockdowns worldwide occurred in Ontario, Canada, during the first wave. For parents and children managing care at home and at risk for COVID-19, the impact on their psychosocial functioning is unknown. A total of 122 families of children aged 2–18 years were enrolled as part of the prospective cohort of childhood nephrotic syndrome and completed a survey during the first wave of the pandemic (August 21–December 10), 2020. In a subset, 107 families had data available pre-pandemic to assess change. Validated measures included the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) for parents and children ≥ 12 years for family functioning, the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety (PHQ-4) for both parent and child, and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PEDSQL™-V4) for children only. Scores were compared using Student’s t-test or the Mann–Whitney U test, as appropriate.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female academics with young children in South Africa

AUTHOR(S)
Samantha Kriger; Cyrill Walters; Armand Bam (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: SOTL in the South
Against the backdrop of an increase in research on the effects of COVID-19, this article uses the analysis of survey data of female academics from the 26 higher education institutions in South Africa to identify how female academics with young children coped with academic output during the pandemic-enforced lockdown. A growing body of research documents the influence of children and childcare on the careers of female academics. In this article, we see how female academics who stayed at home during the enforced lockdown period negotiated childcare and home-schooling, and how the lockdown influenced their academic output. An online survey questionnaire was administered, consisting of 12 Likert-scale questions followed by an open-ended section that solicited a narrative account of academic work and home life during the lockdown period. Data on female academics with children under the age of six years was extracted for this study. The quantitative and qualitative data that emerged from our study of 2,018 women academics at 26 universities across South Africa describes how academic mothers felt, and how they struggled to complete the academic work required by their educational institutions. Such academic work directly influences future career prospects. This study highlights the influence that the presence of young children in the home, the pressures of home-schooling, traditional gender roles, and household responsibilities have on the academic careers of women.
Children as co‐researchers in pandemic times: Power and participation in the use of digital dialogues with children during the COVID‐19 lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Aoife Donegan; Dympna Devine; Gabriela Martinez-Sainz (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: Children & Society
This paper documents co-participatory research with children in six primary schools in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the use of what we term digital dialogues with diverse groups of children aged 9–10 years as members of Child Research Advisory Groups. The paper conceptualises the digital dialogues as sites of resistance as well as constraint, empowering children to articulate their voices in relation to schooling and the pandemic, whilst mediated by power dynamics—between adults and children, and between children, in the articulation of those voices.
Young children's lives in East London through the pandemic: relationships, activities and social worlds

AUTHOR(S)
Claire Cameron; Hanan Hauari; Katie Hollingworth (et al.)

Published: October 2022   Journal: Children & Society
Children's lives in the Covid-19 pandemic were subject to unparalleled restrictions on and disruption to their daily lives. This paper explores the day-to-day relational, social participation and activities of young children in one East London borough in early 2021, as told through qualitative interviews with their parents. This study adopts a social-ecological model of children's development, a child rights focused understanding of well-being, underpinned by an agentic view of both parents and children.
Pandemic-related socioeconomic disruptions and adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional study of female caregivers

AUTHOR(S)
Erika M. Brown; Lia C. H. Fernald; Rita Hamad (et al.)

Published: October 2022   Journal: BMC Public Health volume

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate transmission resulted in sudden and widespread socioeconomic disruptions including school and child care closures, unemployment and underemployment, and housing precarity. Understanding the extent to which these disruptions may have contributed to adverse health outcomes is critical for establishing policy priorities that can mitigate further harm. This study explored the associations between pandemic-related child care, employment, and housing disruptions with depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and food security status among a sample of economically disadvantaged and racially diverse female caregivers of young children (n=464). Data were derived from the Assessing California Communities’ Experiences with Safety Net Supports (ACCESS) study, which conducted survey-based interviews with California caregivers with low-income from August 2020 – May 2021. We implemented a series of multivariable Poisson regressions with robust standard errors to assess the potency of each exposure, independently and within the context of one another.

Changes in grandparental childcare during the pandemic and mental health: evidence from England

AUTHOR(S)
Giorgio Di Gessa; Valeria Bordone; Bruno Arpino

Published: September 2022   Journal: The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

Policies aiming at reducing rates of hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) encouraged older people to reduce physical interactions. In England, until July 2021, provision of care for grandchildren was allowed only under very limited circumstances. Evidence also suggests that reduced face-to-face interactions took a toll on mental health during the pandemic. This study aims to investigate associations between changes in grandchild care provision during the first 8/9 months of the pandemic and grandparents’ mental health. Using prepandemic data from Wave 9 (2018/2019) and the second COVID-19 substudy (November/December 2020) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study first described changes in grandchild care provision during the pandemic to then investigate, using regression models, associations between changes in grandchild care provision and mental health (depression, quality of life, life satisfaction), while controlling for prepandemic levels of the outcome variables.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in parents of infants with colic and on health care use

AUTHOR(S)
Karola de Graaf; Robin Hartjes; Claudia Barbian (et al.)

Published: September 2022   Journal: Acta Paediatrica

This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of parents of infants with colic and on healthcare use. It is a retrospective cohort study. Data of 64 parents of infants with colic prepandemic and 43 parents of infants with colic during the pandemic were analysed using validated questionnaires on parental stress, depression and anxiety.

Parents' Working Conditions in the Early COVID-19 pandemic and children's health-related quality of life: the Ciao Corona study

AUTHOR(S)
Nevesthika Muralitharan; Gabriela P. Peralta; Sarah R. Haile (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: International Journal of Public Health

This study aimed to assess the associations between parents’ working conditions during the lockdown period (March-May 2020) and children’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zurich, Switzerland. It included 2211 children (6–16 years) and their parents from the prospective study Ciao Corona. Parents reported their employment status and working conditions during the lockdown. Children’s HRQOL was assessed in June-July 2020, January and March 2021 using the parents-report of the KINDL.

How child inclusive were Australia's responses to COVID-19?

AUTHOR(S)
Sharon Bessell; Celia Vuckovic

Published: August 2022   Journal: Australian Journal of Social Issues
From March 2020, Australia introduced a range of policies to respond to COVID-19, most of which impacted significantly on the lives of children. This article applies a child-centred framework, developed from rights-based participatory research with children, to analyse how children have been represented in policy narratives around COVID-19 and the extent to which policy responses have been child-inclusive or child-centred.
Predictors of parental stress and family function one year after rapid unprepared return: a preliminary analysis from five nations

AUTHOR(S)
Amanda H. Howard; Ian Forber-Pratt; Nicole G. Wilke (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Developmental Child Welfare
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some governments issued mandates requiring that residential care providers rapidly return children and youth to family. The goal of the present study was to assess outcomes in a sample of families experiencing rapid unprepared return. Specifically, we sought to evaluate the placement stability, assess support services provided to families, and examine how services received impacted parental stress and family functioning. Participants and Setting: 115 families who had experienced rapid unprepared return across five nations, including Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, and Uganda.
Perceptions of health care providers and parents related to benefits and predisposition factors of skin-to-skin contact

AUTHOR(S)
Shelina Bhamani; Areeba Syed; Maliha Abbas (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health

Skin-to-skin contact is often termed as “Kangaroo Care”. It is a method of holding a baby skin-to-skin or chest-to-chest with a parent, typically mothers. This nursing intervention helps in establishing a strong bond between a parent and a child, provides adjustment to extra-uterine life, and contributes to the holistic growth and development of the child. Moreover, Kangaroo Care is a key intervention to support the development and nurturing of preterm infants. The study aims to identify the perceptions of healthcare providers pertaining to predisposition factors and the perceived benefits of skin-to-skin contact in times of COVID-19. A cross-sectional study design was implemented in the study. The data collected from the participants attended the workshop on skin-to-skin from a wide range of health care settings (primary, secondary, and tertiary care hospitals) from Karachi, Pakistan.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 8 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child care, COVID-19, maternal and child health, parents | Countries: Pakistan
'Tipping the balance' - an evaluation of COVID-19 parenting resources developed and adapted for child protection during global emergency responses

AUTHOR(S)
Lorraine Sherr; Helen Mebrahtu; Kasonde Mwaba (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine

Parenting was severely affected by lockdown, school closure, illness, movement restrictions and the many sudden changes wrought by the global emergence of COVID-19. Responding to the need for a rapid emergency response to support parents and caregivers, a consortium of providers developed a suite of COVID-19 parenting resources based on evidence-based parenting interventions. Launched in March 2020, these were adapted for online use, with versions in over 100 languages, and the possibility for downloading, radio, and oral provision. A rapid qualitative evaluation initiative was conducted from September 2020 to February 2021 to inform the procedure, understand the impact and to drive future provision. The evaluation collected openended responses surveys (n = 495 participants) and in-depth interviews with parents, providers, and adolescent children (n = 22) from 14 countries and one global source. Data were gathered on parenting challenges during COVID-19 and the utility of the COVID-19 parenting resources.

Parent support Is related to physical activity among children and youth with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the National physical activity measurement (NPAM) study

AUTHOR(S)
Maeghan E. James; Nikoleta Odorico; Sarah A. Moore (et al.)

Published: July 2022   Journal: Disabilities
Physical activity (PA) among children and youth with disabilities (CYD) has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent PA support and parent PA modelling (i.e., parents engaging in PA themselves) have been shown to be associated with PA in CYD. However, parents’ influence on the PA behaviours of CYD during the pandemic remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parent PA support and parent PA modelling (i.e., parent moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA)) and the PA behaviours of CYD. It was hypothesized that higher levels of parent PA support and parent PA modelling would significantly relate to both child MVPA and child PA at any intensity. An online survey was sent to parents of CYD in November 2020 (i.e., during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada) that assessed the MVPA and total PA (any intensity), parent PA support (e.g., encouraging PA, providing transportation for PA), and parent MVPA. Separate linear regression models assessed the relationships between parent PA support and parent PA modelling with (a) child MVPA and (b) child PA at any intensity. Parent and child age, child gender and disability group, marital status, and household type were controlled for in all analyses.
Gender disparities in increased parenting time during the COVID-19 pandemic: a research note

AUTHOR(S)
Jennifer March Augustine; Kate Prickett

Published: July 2022   Journal: Demography
Public health measures aimed at curbing the transmission of COVID-19 increased parenting responsibilities during the early stages of the pandemic. This research note examines time-use data from the American Time Use Surveys to provide several fresh insights as to how mothers took on a disproportionate share of this responsibility compared to fathers during this period. First, the gender gap in total parenting time narrowed by 18%. Meanwhile, the gender disparity in time in educational activities increased by 113% and was not explained by changes in mothers’ labor force participation. Mothers also took on 20% more time in secondary caregiving compared to fathers. Estimates among working parents indicated that the amount of time in which mothers coupled paid work with caregiving increased by 346% compared to fathers. These results highlight how fathers marginally increased their caregiving responsibilities compared to mothers, but not in activities that parents tend to rate as more stressful or intensive, such as supervising children's schooling and multitasking at work. The estimates provide clear evidence of the unequal caregiving burden placed on mothers during the pandemic.
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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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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.