Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon

Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

RESULTS:   187     SORT BY:

ADVANCED SEARCH:

Select one or more filter options and click search below.

PUBLICATION DATE:
UNICEF Innocenti Publication
UNICEF Publication
Open Access
JOURNAL ACCESS FOR UNICEF STAFF CONTACT US
1 - 15 of 187
The onset of a pandemic: impact assessments and policy responses in Malaysia during the early months of COVID-19
Institution: United Nations Development Programme
Published: February 2023
This report is a call to action, to prepare for future crises, and the ones that we are experiencing today to tackle the multi-faceted social and economic dimensions of crises. It is, above all, a call to focus on people – women, youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector and on vulnerable groups who are already at risk. Rapid assessments during the first months of the pandemic were critical to pinpoint the social, economic and political impacts of the crisis, and discover ways to mitigate them with sustainable, resilient and rights-based solutions forged through both the public and private sector.
World employment and social outlook: trends 2023
Institution: International Labour Organisation
Published: January 2023

This year’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends provides a comprehensive assessment of current decent work deficits and how these have been exacerbated by multiple, overlapping crises in recent years. It analyses global patterns, regional differences and outcomes across groups of workers. The report provides labour market projections for 2023 and 2024 and presents trends in labour productivity growth, analysing the factors contributing to its decline.

Are the kids alright? The early careers of education leavers since the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Sam Ray-Chaudhur; Xiaowei Xu

Published: January 2023
There is substantial evidence from the UK and other countries that entering the labour market during a recession leads to persistent negative effects on employment and earnings (von Wachter, 2020). Young people graduating from school or university during an economic downturn have a harder time finding employment, and those who do find work may be forced to take jobs that are less well-suited to their skills and the development of those skills. This can keep them on poorer career trajectories for years to come. This report presents the first evidence on how the cohorts of young people who entered the labour market during the pandemic have fared up to now.

Magnitude and determinants of food insecurity among pregnant women in Rwanda during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Erigene Rutayisire; Michael Habtu; Nicholas Ngomi (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Globally, food insecurity is becoming a major public health concern, and has seriously been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last decade, Rwanda has made significant improvement in terms of overall household food security. However, the magnitude of food insecurity among pregnant women is not well known. This study investigated the magnitude and factors associated with food insecurity among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in 30 health facilities across the country where a total of 1159 pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy were recruited during antenatal care visits (ANC).

Effects of the COVID-19 crisis on household food consumption and child nutrition in Mozambique

AUTHOR(S)
Margherita Squarcina; Eva-Maria Egger

Published: December 2022
This study investigates the short-term impacts of an aggregate socioeconomic shock on household food consumption and children’s nutrition using the case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique. In response to the economic downturn, households are expected to adjust their food choices both in terms of quality, towards cheaper and unhealthier food, and quantity, reducing diet diversification and increasing the exposure to malnutrition, mainly for children. Empirical evidence on such immediate effects is still scarce, mainly due to a lack of data. This paper aims to fill the evidence gap by relying on household survey data from 2019–20, which includes a detailed consumption module and anthropometric measures for children under five. It uses a repeated cross-sectional econometric analysis to look at the variation in household food consumption and child nutrition before and after the pandemic.
Family resilience during the COVID-19 onset: A daily-diary inquiry into parental employment status, parent–adolescent relationships, and well-being

AUTHOR(S)
Ming-Te Wang; Juan Del Toro; Daphne A. Henry (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Development and Psychopathology
COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent–adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020–4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020–6/1/2020; N = 635 parent–adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents’ and children’s daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent–adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents’ and adolescents’ daily affect.
Children's services and the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: a study with educators and parents

AUTHOR(S)
Maria Letizia Bosoni

Published: December 2022   Journal: Children & Society
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptive changes across different life experiences essential to children's growth and development, including early childcare services and schools, thus threatening precious opportunities for children in early childhood to learn. The pandemic has also undermined the collaborative and alliance relationship between childcare services and families which has been widely considered an important aspect of modern services. This paper presents and discusses results from a mixed-method exploratory study with early childcare services for children between 0 and 6 years in Italy in 2021, involving both teachers and parents, to understand experiences, educational practices put in place in childcare services, feelings, resources and risks perceived by families and teachers.
Inequalities in the challenges affecting children and their families during COVID-19 with school closures and reopenings: a qualitative study

AUTHOR(S)
Ilaria Galasso; Gemma Watts

Published: December 2022   Journal: Public Health Ethics
School closure is one of the most debated measures undertaken to contain the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic has devastating health and socio-economic effects and must be contained, but schools play a vital role in present and future well-being, capabilities and health of children. This study examines the detrimental consequences of both the closure and reopening of schools, by focusing on inequalities in the challenges affecting children and their families. This paper is grounded on Irish and Italian data from a multi-national longitudinal qualitative interview study. Research participants articulated a variety of issues and challenges that highlight inequalities in access to education during school closures, in the supportiveness of home setting, and in school preparedness to reopen, often mirroring or exacerbating pre-existing inequalities.
The effects of financial stress and household socio-economic deprivation on the malnutrition statuses of children under five during the COVID-19 lockdown in a marginalized region of South Punjab, Pakistan

AUTHOR(S)
Muhammad Babar Alam; Muhammad Shahid; Bashar Isam Alzghoul (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Children
The lockdown after the COVID-19 pandemic not only caused public health crises and income stress but also put millions at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition across the globe, especially in low and middle-income countries [LMICs]. This study evaluated the effects of financial stress and household socio-economic deprivation on the nutritional status of 1551 children under the age of five during COVID-19 in Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire was used between November 2020 and April 2021 to collect information on age, height, children’s weight, and socio-economic status from 1152 rural households from underdeveloped regions in Punjab, Pakistan. With the help of the proportionate simple random sampling method, this study employed a model (binary logistic regression) to calculate the likelihood of malnourishment.
Using social capital to mitigate impacts of Covid-19: lessons from returning migrant workers and their families in a Laotian province bordering Thailand

AUTHOR(S)
Angie Dang

Published: December 2022   Journal: Proceedings: Rangahau Horonuku Hou – New Research Landscapes, Unitec/MIT Research Symposium
In the global context of the Covid-19 pandemic, migrant workers and their families are subject to job cuts, state-imposed restrictions, hostility, discrimination, prejudice and harassment from communities who fear catching the virus from them. They receive little or no state support compared to other population groups. How have migrant workers and their families managed these challenges? What could be learned from them in terms of pandemic management and support to vulnerable groups? Findings from a study in a Laotian province bordering Thailand show that returning migrant workers and their families sourced and used social capital to mitigate the impacts of the first wave of Covid-19. Their social-capital strategies have helped them to cope with the pandemic. Implications are discussed along with recommendations for support and intervention.
Government transfers and consumer spending among households with children during COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Pinghui Wu; Vincent Fusaro; H. Luke Shaefe

Published: December 2022   Journal: Research Department Working Papers
Leveraging novel data on consumer credit and debit card spending by Zip code, this study examines how the impact of government transfers on economic well-being varied by household type during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings indicate that pandemic transfers disproportionately benefited households with children, buffering them from earnings losses at the pandemic’s start and sustaining spending growth over time. Household essential spending increased proportionally with the delivery of cash transfers, while discretionary spending was influenced more by pandemic-specific factors beyond household income.
Covid-19 lockdowns and the precarity of South Asian key workers' families in the United Kingdom

AUTHOR(S)
Rizwana Yousaf

Published: December 2022   Journal: South Asian Diaspora
With growing concern in the lives of individuals and communities during COVID-19, there is growing consensus across the globe that the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on different segments of society. It is of pertinent significance to understand the differential impact of pandemic on diverse groups. The concept of ‘intersectional vulnerability’ has been used in this paper to understand the unequal impact of the pandemic. Using an intersectional lens of ethnicity, this paper aims to understand the lived experiences of South Asian key workers’ family members (women) during the COVID-19 lockdowns through narratives of precarity and vulnerability, this study brings out the challenges faced by families of key workers. Vulnerable family members’ fear, stress, economic pressures, persistent inequalities in society, and gendered experiences shape the narratives of these families. The pandemic exacerbated existing precarious positions of families by creating a situation where ethnic inequality and inequitable gendered impacts were further reinforced.
Between a rock and a hard place: COVID concerns and partnered U.S. mothers' employment during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Daniel L. Carlson; Priya Fielding-Singh; Richard J. Petts (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World
Shutdowns of in-person school and childcare in spring 2020 in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic were associated with substantial reductions in mothers’ labor force participation (LFP). By fall 2020, in-person school and daycare were more widely available, but mothers’ LFP remained as low as it was in spring. Coincidently, by fall 2020, daily COVID deaths had also began to peak. Using unique panel survey data from partnered U.S. mothers (n = 263), the authors use structural equation modeling to analyze how mothers’ concerns over COVID shaped their LFP in fall 2020. Findings show that mothers’ COVID concerns were associated with reduced LFP via children’s time at home, perceived stress, and remote work. Concerned mothers were more likely to keep children home, but this resulted in less paid work likely vis-à-vis work-family conflicts.
Economic precarity among single parents in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Zachary Parolin; Emma K. Lee

Published: November 2022   Journal: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Single-parent families have historically faced greater economic precarity relative to other family types in the United States. This study investigate how and whether those disparities widened after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on exposure to school and childcare center closures, unemployment, poverty, food hardship, and frequent worrying among single-parent families versus two-parent families throughout 2020 and 2021, it find that the challenges that single parents faced prior to the pandemic generally magnified after the arrival of COVID-19. In April 2020, one in four single parents was unemployed, and unemployment rates recovered more slowly for single parents throughout 2021, perhaps in part due to their unequal exposure to school and childcare closures. The expansion of income transfers largely buffered against potential increases in poverty and hardship, but levels of worrying among single parents continued to worsen throughout 2021.
Patterns of adolescent eating behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Ludmila Zhuravleva; Elena Zarubina; Aleksey Ruchkin (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: BIO Web of Conferences
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems of ensuring food security for all strata of the population of many countries of the world, including Russia. For scientific research of these problems, development and implementation of effective practical recommendations in the international scientific community has developed an interdisciplinary the concept of “food security”. Food security is a stable condition processes, mechanisms, infrastructures, relationships and influences related to food production, storage, transportation, supply, consumption and disposal food waste. The concept of food security it is the key to studying the problems of providing for the population food economists, lawyers, specialists management and logistics, marketers, social psychologists, nutritionists, as well as specialists in the field of other sciences. Its place in comprehensive security research food security is also found by the sociology of nutrition, which studies food systems, first of all, in its links such as the consumption of food by various social groups and food waste management. During the third stage of the sociological research, the topic which was the change in the eating behavior of various socio-demographic groups of Russian society in the conditions of ongoing pandemics, the author’s team conducted an analysis of food practices children and adolescents in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods of conducting smart survey and in-depth interviews were selected for the research.
1 - 15 of 187

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.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DATABASE

Subscribe to updates on new research about COVID-19 & children

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Share:

facebook twitter linkedin google+ reddit print email
Article Article

Check our quarterly thematic digests on children and COVID-19

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

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.