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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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1 - 15 of 43
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.

Analysis of drawings on representations of COVID-19 among senior high school students: case of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Morocco

AUTHOR(S)
Lhoussaine Maskour; Bouchta El Batri; Sidi Mohamed Oubit (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Education Sciences
Since the coronavirus COVID-19 was identified as an international public health emergency in 2020, many studies on the perceptions of students in higher education have been published concerning it. Although young students’ perceptions also influence decision making and actions, their perceptions of COVID-19 have, so far, been little studied. Therefore, to increase knowledge about their understanding of COVID-19, a cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted as a drawing survey in two schools in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Morocco. The participants were 94 high school students (aged 14–19). The drawings were analyzed by inductive and deductive content analysis. The findings show that the majority of the students knew the archetypal representation of COVID-19. They had a good grasp of the COVID-19, how it spreads, and how to stop it from spreading. Some students were aware of the potential dangers associated with COVID-19. Admittedly, misrepresentations related to fear and unfamiliarity with COVID-19 lead to mental health issues that undermine the key factors in students’ academic success. Younger children’s representations were dominated by magical thinking that reduces COVID-19 to preventive measures.
Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 12 | Issue: 12 | No. of pages: 21 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Health | Tags: child education, COVID-19 response, information, lockdown, secondary schools, social distance | Countries: Morocco
Younger women had more access to COVID-19 information: an intersectional analysis of factors influencing women and girls' access to COVID-19 information in Rohingya and host communities in Bangladesh

AUTHOR(S)
Ateeb Ahmad Parray; Muhammad Riaz Hossain; Rafia Sultana (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Plos Global Public Health
The Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities live at a heightened risk of COVID-19 impact due to their pre-existing vulnerabilities, religious beliefs, and strict socio-cultural and gender norms that render primarily women and girls vulnerable. However, the extent of this vulnerability varies within and across population groups in the host and Rohingya communities. The intersectionality lens helps identify, recognize, and understand these factors that create inequities within populations. This study explored the factors that influenced the women and girls’ access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic through an intersectional lens. This paper presents partial findings from the exploratory qualitative part of mixed-method research conducted in ten Rohingya camps and four wards of the adjacent host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Data were extracted from 24 in-depth interviews (12 in each community) conducted from November 2020 to March 2021 with diverse participants, including adolescent girls, younger women, adult women, pregnant and lactating mothers, persons with disabilities, older adults, and single female-household heads.
The supply is there. So why can't pregnant and breastfeeding women in rural India get the COVID-19 vaccine?

AUTHOR(S)
Nadia G. Diamond-Smith; Preetika Sharma; Mona Duggal (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Plos Global Public Health
Despite COVID-19 vaccines being available to pregnant women in India since summer 2021, little is known about vaccine uptake among this high need population. We conducted mixed methods research with pregnant and recently delivered rural women in northern India, consisting of 300 phone surveys and 15 in-depth interviews, in November 2021. Only about a third of respondents were vaccinated, however, about half of unvaccinated respondents reported that they would get vaccinated now if they could. Fears of harm to the unborn baby or young infant were common (22% of unvaccinated women). However, among unvaccinated women who wanted to get vaccinated, the most common barrier reported was that their health care provider refused to provide them the vaccine. Gender barriers and social norms also played a role, with family members restricting women’s access. Trust in the health system was high, however, women were most often getting information about COVID-19 vaccines from sources that they did not trust, and they knew they were getting potentially poor-quality information. Qualitative data shed light on the barriers women faced from their family and health care providers but described how as more people got the vaccine that norms were changing.
Insights from impacts of the digital divide on children in five majority world countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Effie Lai-Chong Law; Panos Vostanis; Michelle J. O’Reilly

Published: November 2022   Journal: Behaviour & Information Technology
The digital divide is especially pertinent in Majority World Countries (MWCs), and this was exacerbated greatly by the pandemic. Tackling the digital divide underpins the work of Human–Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) and remains an important global endeavour. This project aimed to understand how children and young people (CYP) in MWC coped during the pandemic and how technology played a role. Voices of CYP were complemented by those of their parents and professionals with whom CYP interacted regularly. This empirical study involved 73 CYP and 76 adults from Brazil, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, and Turkey. Qualitative data from diaries, drawings and focus groups were analysed thematically. Four major themes were identified – ‘access’, ‘usage’, ‘risk’, and ‘future.
Post-COVID library: educating children to media and information literacy through UNESCO's Memory of the world programme

AUTHOR(S)
Ruohan Zhang; Linh Anh Moreau

Published: July 2022   Journal: Access
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted children's education in schools, and reflects the urgent demands of children and their educators for diverse learning channels and materials. Memory institutions such as libraries, archives and museums, as repositories of reliable sources of information and knowledge service provider, have a responsibility to contribute to the cultural and media literacy education of children. Therefore, memory institutions should explore innovative ways to safeguard and utilize documentary collections in media and information literacy education for people and especially children, and share and promote good practices. These efforts will also inspire younger generations to participate in the preservation and transmission of historical records.
The Truth Gap: How misinformation and disinformation online affect the lives, learning and leadership of girls and young women
Institution: Plan International
Published: June 2022

This year’s State of the World’s Girls report, The Truth Gap, explores how adolescent girls and young women deal with misinformation and disinformation when engaging with political, civic or social topics online. 26,000 girls and young women from 26 countries were interviewed and alarming findings, including that 9 out of 10 have been harmed by false information and lies online were discovered.

Use of health care chatbots among young people in China during the Omicron wave of COVID-19: evaluation of the user experience of and satisfaction with the technology.

AUTHOR(S)
Yi Shan; Meng Ji; Wenxiu Xie (et al.)

Published: June 2022   Journal: JMIR Human Factors

Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, chatbots had been playing an increasingly crucial role and gaining growing popularity in health care. In the current omicron waves of this pandemic when the most resilient health care systems at the time are increasingly being overburdened, these conversational agents (CA) are being resorted to as preferred alternatives for health care information. For many people, especially adolescents and the middle-aged, mobile phones are the most favored source of information. As a result of this, it is more important than ever to investigate the user experience of and satisfaction with chatbots on mobile phones. The objective of this study was twofold: (1) Informed by Deneche and Warren’s evaluation framework, Zhu et al’s measures of variables, and the theory of consumption values (TCV), we designed a new assessment model for evaluating the user experience of and satisfaction with chatbots on mobile phones, and (2) we aimed to validate the newly developed model and use it to gain an understanding of the user experience of and satisfaction with popular health care chatbots that are available for use by young people aged 17-35 years in southeast China in self-diagnosis and for acquiring information about COVID-19 and virus variants that are currently spreading.

Health literacy of COVID-19 and compliance with precautionary measures: a cross-sectional study in adolescents and young adults in Ireland

AUTHOR(S)
Finiki Nearchou; Clodagh Flinn; Aine French (et al.)

Published: May 2022   Journal: Youth
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with an ‘infodemic’, and young people have reported difficulties dealing with COVID-19-related information. The present cross-sectional study aimed to explore health knowledge related to COVID-19 and accessing relevant information as aspects of health literacy in a cohort of adolescents and young adults residing in Ireland. It also aimed to explore COVID-19-related concerns and levels of compliance with precautionary measures. Data were collected from young people (n = 1009) aged 12–25 years old through an online anonymous survey.
Health information and education needs for youth with complex communication needs during the Covid-19 pandemic: rehabilitation professionals’ perspectives

AUTHOR(S)
Kerstin Monika Tönsing; Shakila Dada; Kirsty Bastable (et al.)

Published: May 2022   Journal: Disability and Rehabilitation

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities faced by persons with complex communication needs (CCN) in accessing health information and education. This study reports on the perspectives of South African rehabilitation professionals regarding access to health information and education for youth with CCN. Two asynchronous online written focus groups were conducted with 15 rehabilitation professionals. Participants’ contributions were thematically analysed.

The analysis of the influence of information about the Covid-19 pandemic on toddlers' parenting

AUTHOR(S)
Emy Sutiyarsih; Narita Diatanti; Eli Lea WP

Published: April 2022   Journal: Jurnal Ners dan Kebidanan

The government's policy in implementing the New Normal to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has changed all aspects of society, including the family environment. In current conditions, parenting is the most important thing in determining optimal child development (Dewi and Khotimah, 2020). The conditions of parenting and communication in the family have both positive and negative impacts on children's development. (Kuswanti, Munadhil, Zainal & Oktarina, 2020). The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of information about the COVID-19 pandemic on toddlers’ parenting. This study was a cross-sectional analytical study. This study used a bivariate data analysis with Chi Square test

Children and adolescents' ingroup biases and developmental differences in evaluations of peers Who misinform

AUTHOR(S)
Aqsa Farooq; Eirini Ketzitzidou Argyri; Anna Adlam (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: Frontiers in Psychology
Previous developmental research shows that young children display a preference for ingroup members when it comes to who they accept information from – even when that information is false. However, it is not clear how this ingroup bias develops into adolescence, and how it affects responses about peers who misinform in intergroup contexts, which is important to explore with growing numbers of young people on online platforms. Given that the developmental span from childhood to adolescence is when social groups and group norms are particularly important, the present study took a Social Reasoning Developmental Approach. This study explored whether children and adolescents respond differently to a misinformer spreading false claims about a peer breaking COVID-19 rules, depending on (a) the group membership of the misinformer and their target and (b) whether the ingroup had a “critical” norm that values questioning information before believing it.
"It's hard to keep a distance when you're with someone you really care about"—A qualitative study of adolescents' pandemic-related health literacy and how Covid-19 affects their lives

AUTHOR(S)
Kirsti Riiser; Kåre Rønn Richardsen; Kristin Haraldstad (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: Plos One

The aim of this study was to explore how adolescents accessed, understood, appraised, and applied information on pandemic preventive measures, how their lives were impacted by long-lasting regulations and how they described their quality of life. A qualitative design with focus group interviews was used to elaborate on the quantitative survey results obtained and analyzed in a previous survey study from the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Five focus groups with seventeen adolescents were conducted digitally during the second pandemic phase in November and December 2020. The interview data were analyzed with directed content analysis.

Super-spreaders or victims of circumstance? Childhood in Canadian media reporting of the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical content analysis

AUTHOR(S)
Sarah Ciotti; Shannon A. Moore; Maureen Connolly (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Healthcare
This qualitative research study, a critical content analysis, explores Canadian media reporting of childhood in Canada during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Popular media plays an important role in representing and perpetuating the dominant social discourse in highly literate societies. In Canadian media, the effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents’ health and wellbeing are overshadowed by discussions of the potential risk they pose to adults. The results of this empirical research highlight how young people in Canada have been uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Two dominant narratives emerged from the data: children were presented “as a risk” to vulnerable persons and older adults and “at risk” of adverse health outcomes from contracting COVID-19 and from pandemic lockdown restrictions. This reflects how childhood was constructed in Canadian society during the pandemic, particularly how children’s experiences are described in relation to adults. Throughout the pandemic, media reports emphasized the role of young people’s compliance with public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save the lives of older persons.
Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 10 | Issue: 1 | No. of pages: 10 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child health, communication, COVID-19 response, disease control, information, lockdown, media, social distance | Countries: Canada
The impact of a messaging intervention on parents’ school hesitancy during COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Morgan S. Polikoff; Daniel Silver; Marshall Garland (et al.)

Published: January 2022
During the 2020-21 school year, families' access to--and desire to participate in--in-person schooling was highly stratified along racial and income lines. Research to date suggests that "school hesitancy" was driven by concerns about "fit" and safety, as well as simple access to in-person opportunities. In the context of a nationally-representative survey study, we tested the impact of targeted messaging on parents' reported willingness to send their children back for in-person learning in the 2021-22 school year. This study's results suggest that specific messages focused on either fit or safety issues outperform generic messages--they substantially increase the reported likelihood for previously-unsure parents to send their children back for in-person learning (while having no effect on parents who already reported they would or would not send their children back). The results have direct implications for education agencies seeking to address school hesitancy as the pandemic continues.
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