Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This article seeks to review the current knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the health effects for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), became a major pandemic in 2020. Recognition of the disease could be difficult, as symptoms in children are at times different than adults and can mimic other common childhood viral infections. Children with underlying medical conditions did make up a higher proportion of those hospitalized, but also were affected in other ways including loss of nursing support, missed education and rehabilitative services, and increased stress for themselves and their families, affecting mental health in this vulnerable population. This review seeks to address what is currently known about the overall effects on CYSHCN and their families, and identify gaps in research, including the implementation of health care systems, and possible suggestions for change in the educational and community supports for this group of individuals. Ongoing analysis of large national and international data sets, as well as smaller reports based on specific congenital anomaly, genetics disease, and acquired childhood illness, and then attention to local resources and family resilience is still necessary.

The pandemic COVID-19 led to the sudden imposition of lockdown and travel restrictions worldwide, that made tele practice one of the most viable options for various hospitals and healthcare centres. The present study aimed at exploring the parental perspective on teletherapy, for children having speech and language delay, during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown. A total of 100 parents with children with speech and language delays and who have undergone a minimum of five teletherapy sessions at a tertiary care hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were recruited. A questionnaire with 12 close-ended questions was administered over the phone call to know the parent’s perspective on the impact of teletherapy and its benefits. The responses obtained were tabulated and calculated for percentage response to each question.

This study aimed to compare the levels of state and trait anxiety in pediatric patients with epilepsy and healthy controls during the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey. In this study, the state (STAI-I) and trait (STAI-II) anxiety scales were applied to patients between the ages of 10-17 years that had been followed due to epilepsy and were in quarantine. Anxiety status and potential risk factors were compared with healthy age and gender-matched control group.

This study examines the access to healthcare for children and adolescents with three common chronic diseases (type-1 diabetes (T1D), obesity, or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)) within the 4th (Delta), 5th (Omicron), and beginning of the 6th (Omicron) wave (June 2021 until July 2022) of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany in a cross-sectional study using three national patient registries. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was given to parents of pediatric patients (<21 years) during the routine check-ups. The questionnaire contains self-constructed items assessing the frequency of healthcare appointments and cancellations, remote healthcare, and satisfaction with healthcare. In total, 905 parents participated in the T1D-sample, 175 in the obesity-sample, and 786 in the JIA-sample. In general, satisfaction with healthcare (scale: 0–10; 10 reflecting the highest satisfaction) was quite high (median values: T1D 10, JIA 10, obesity 8.5). The proportion of children and adolescents with canceled appointments was relatively small (T1D 14.1%, JIA 11.1%, obesity 20%), with a median of 1 missed appointment, respectively. Only a few parents (T1D 8.6%; obesity 13.1%; JIA 5%) reported obstacles regarding health services during the pandemic. To conclude, it seems that access to healthcare was largely preserved for children and adolescents with chronic health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Children with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) often experience emotional and behavioral problems such as anxiety and depression. Social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic caused social restrictions and limited access to healthcare facilities, which may have worsened the metabolic control. This study aimed to analyze the behavioral problems among type 1 diabetes mellitus children with good and poor metabolic control during COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted in January - August 2021 in the Endocrine Outpatient Clinic of General Hospital Dr. Soetomo Surabaya. Type-1-DM children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups based on metabolic control, including good (HbA1C ≤ 8) and poor (HbA1C > 8). The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) was used as a screening tool with the domain internalizing problems (IP), externalizing problems (EP), and attention problems (AP). The data were analyzed using Pearson or Spearman test with Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) version 18.0.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 4 (COVID-19) vaccine on epileptic seizures, as well as its adverse effects, in children with epilepsy (< 18 years). This anonymous questionnaire study involved a multicenter prospective survey of outpatients and inpatients with epilepsy (＜18 years) registered in epilepsy clinics in 8 hospitals in six cities of Shandong Province.

This paper aimed to explore the experiences, information and support needs of parents/caregivers of children with cancer and how these changed as the COVID-19 pandemic evolved. Online surveys containing closed and free-text questions on experiences, information and support needs were completed at four time points (between April 2020 and October 2021) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics of closed items and content analysis of qualitative data were conducted.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the deadliest pandemic in American history. This study aims to assess the differences in youth reported traumatic stress among those with and without chronic illness, and how those reports are impacted by parental level of concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Using convenience sampling, parents and their children completed a series of questionnaires focused on demographic information including questions about medical conditions, parental level of concern about COVID-19, and youth-report of posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Children with chronic medical conditions are more susceptible to developing a serious negative outcome from corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than healthy children. This study investigated the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) and its predictors in parents of children with chronic liver disease (CLD) in Egypt. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Liver Institute from September to October 2022, using a random sampling method. Data were collected using the validated Arabic version of parents’ attitudes about childhood vaccines (PACV) scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and discriminant analysis were used to identify direct and indirect determinants of VH.

The current study aims to survey the willingness of parents to vaccinate their children, who are childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors (CALLS), and identify factors associated with vaccine acceptance. Parents of CALLS on/off treatment, with the general condition of being amendable to vaccination, were recruited for interviews with attending oncologists about COVID-19 vaccination acceptance from July to November 2021 in China. After controlling for socioeconomic factors, the Association of Oncologists’ recommendations and parent–oncologist alliance with acceptance status were investigated. For validation, propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis was used. Results: A total of 424 families were included in the study, with CALLS mean remission age of 5.99 ± 3.40 years. Among them, 91 (21.4%) agreed, 168 (39.6%) hesitated, and 165 (38.9%) parents disagreed with the vaccination.

Little is known about the experience of receiving in-person and virtual clinical health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic for Canadian children with developmental disabilities and delays facing multiple layers of vulnerability (e.g., low income, low educational attainment families). It examined the relationship between socio-demographic factors and the receipt of these services (physical and mental health services) during COVID-19 for Canadian children with these conditions. Data collected in Canada for the Global Report on Developmental Delays, Disorders and Disabilities were used. The survey: (1) was developed and disseminated in collaboration with caregivers of children with disabilities, (2) included topics such as response to the pandemic and receipt of services and supports, and (3) documented the experiences of a non-random convenience sample of caregivers of children (any age) with these conditions during and prior to the pandemic.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of families of children with disabilities and the mediating roles of perceived social support, perceived parental self-efficacy, psychological health, psychological resilience, and perceived family burden on this relationship. Children with disabilities and their families are among the most affected populations from the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus, as the special education and rehabilitation services they had been receiving were interrupted.  A correlational survey design was used to collect data from 824 parents of children with disabilities in Turkey. Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on family quality of life.

Qualitative researchers are increasingly using online data collection methods, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study compared the data quality (i.e., interview duration, average number of themes and sub-themes, and inaudible words) of 34 interviews (29 conducted by Zoom (16 with camera on, 13 camera off) and 5 conducted by phone) drawn from a study focusing on youth’s coping experiences during the pandemic.

Similar to normal pediatric population, children with thalassemia are at risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection. Theoretically, they are at higher risk of severe infection because of comobidities associated with chronic transfusions. This study is an attempt to find out the awareness of COVID-19 vaccination in transfusion dependent thalassemia patients attending thalassemia clinic at our institute. It is an observational study consisting of 21 children with transfusion dependent thalassemia from 12 years to 18 years of age attending the thalassemia clinic between May to July 2022. Awareness and the status of COVID-19 vaccination in children and their families was assessed using a questionnaire.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is autoimmune illness which mostly affects the joints. Access to care and rheumatic arthritis outcomes and satisfaction may be improved by utilizing the tele-nursing especially during the outbreak of COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the effect of tele nursing on health outcomes of children with rheumatic arthritis and satisfaction of their caregivers during Covid 19 pandemic. Three out patients’ clinics of rheumatology were selected from; Menoufia University hospital, Teaching hospital and school health insurance clinics. A purposive sample of 120 students were selected and divided equally to study and control group. Data was collected using The Arabic form of The Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report & Client Satisfaction Questionnaire.