Children and COVID-19 Research Library

WHO  recognized COVID-19 a pandemic on March 12, 2020 and National Health Commission officially declared it as a Class-B infectious disease. The technological advancements enabled the teaching staffs to keep their students involved during this period of COVID-19 pandemic. Online classes become the efficient medium to learn by staying at home. To find out the challenges faced by mothers during online learning in order to devise a systematic plan for smooth and effective learning in case of another crises like COVID-19. It was a cross sectional study carried out at CMH LMC&IOD ,  in which a user-defined questionnaire was introduced to the participants which were mothers of school going children from all over the city. The questionnaire got 161 responses in total, but two were incomplete so 159 were considered while doing the analysis. The results were analyzed using SPSS25.

Eight high-school students participated in this qualitative study to investigate the adolescents’ stress, anxiety, and family communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. To collect data, a list of questions was prepared by the researchers based on experts’ opinions, and open-ended interviews were carried out with the participants. Consequently, four models were created and thoroughly investigated.

 This study aimed to determine the impact of an educational intervention on secondary school students' Covid-19 awareness
and risk perception, as well as their preventive practices. A quasi-experimental study conducted in private secondary schools.
Methodology: The study duration was two months. Students who gave consent and didn’t have COVID-19 infection in
past were included by non-probability purposive sampling. Raosoft sample size calculator was used to calculate the sample
size and it came out to be 385 but a total of 380 students could be enrolled.

The closure of schools because of the physical restrictions applied by the government has only amplified the hardships on children, parents, and teachers alike. Thus, this study aimed to assess parents’ perception of the impact of COVID on their young children. A cross-sectional survey was taken from the parents(n=128) parents of children ages 3-8 years, using a self-reported questionnaire. A tailored-made questionnaire google link was sent to the parents registered for the webinar.  The link had all the details pertinent to the ethical considerations for the use of data. SPSS was used andp˂0.05 was considered statistically significant.

This research examines the implementation of technology-based learning, such as the use of android, personal computers, and IPads. The action of this research is the use of digital technology for early childhood on the role of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This method was chosen because the researcher wanted to identify the parents' responses through a questionnaire on the use of technology as well as some of the roles of parents towards their children during taking advantage of this technology. That way, the survey method is considered very suitable to be used and in line with the function of survey research, namely to collect and explain opinions or opinions from a group of people (samples) on a particular topic. The number of samples in this study was 385 respondents (parents). The simple random technique is the sampling technique of choice used by researchers in sampling. Location research is Bahawalpur City. This research data was obtained online through the google forms platform. The instrument used is a questionnaire regarding the use of technology through the role of parents. The statements in this research questionnaire are 10 statements. There are five Likert scales used, namely very often (5), often (4), sometimes (3), never (2), and never (1).

As schools closed and reopened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a study was conducted to assess the gendered impacts of COVID-19 school closures on adolescent girls and boys in three districts in the province of Punjab. Data as well as discussions and interviews with adolescents, teachers, and parents shed light on difficulties in accessing and adjusting to remote learning, learning loss, deterioration of behaviors and health, and other effects. Based on these findings and further reflections by stakeholders on the successes and gaps of mitigation measures, the case study proposes recommendations for improved teacher training, digital access, alternative learning options, and a gendered focus in interventions.

This note explores findings on the changing household dynamics in response to the mandated Coronavirus (COVID-19) school closures in Punjab, Pakistan. The SMS girl impact evaluation and a complementing qualitative study assessed the lived experiences of girls during school closures. Mothers and daughters in select districts were interviewed via phone. The initial round of interviews tells a story of economic hardship, gendered division of household tasks, loss of learning, lack of engagement with educational TV programming, and fear that some students may not re-enrol when schools reopen.

The current study sought to ascertain the impact of inter-parent conflicts on teenage psychological distress, social and academic adjustment and examine the suicide ideation during the COVID-19. The results found to be alarming as 22% of the individuals displayed suicidal tendencies, with 9% having attempted suicide once, 4.6% having tried suicide twice, and 11% stating that they were likely to do so again. Therefore, the media and the government might host awareness programs and counseling initiatives to promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior. Moreover, parents may be educated on community level, about the effect of inter-parental arguments on the mental health of their children.

In Pakistan, HIV has increased at an alarming rate in recent decades, and the death toll has risen. It is a public health challenge amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that is not being given due importance. The present article looks at the challenges and efforts being made to deal with HIV among children in Ratodero, Pakistan, and addresses measures that can be taken to control the disease in the child population epidemiologically.

Community attachments are thought to promote adolescents’ engagement in public health behaviors. To date, past research has exclusively examined the social benefits of community attachments among adolescents in the United States and less is known about these benefits among youth in low-income adolescent-dense countries such as Pakistan. The present study examined associations between Pakistani adolescents’ community attachments and COVID-19 public health behaviors, including social distancing, disinfecting, hoarding, news monitoring. Adolescents living in Pakistan (N = 1,110; 13–18 years; M = 16.70) reported on their COVID-19 public health behavior (social distancing, disinfecting behaviors, hoarding behaviors, news monitoring) and community attachments (social responsibility values, social trust, self-interest values).

It is very important to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization uptake in children in Islamabad, Pakistan. This cross-sectional study was done from November 2020 to January 2021. Children aged 0 to 24 months were enrolled from vaccination centers in public and private sector hospitals. In the private center vaccination services were suspended from March 20 2020 till August 2020. The public center continued to provide vaccination service during the lockdown. Delayed vaccination was defined as a lapse of 4 weeks from the due date. Children who had missed vaccination due to health issue or on doctors' recommendations were excluded.

An aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic that merits attention is its effects on marriage and childbirth. Although the direct fertility effects of people getting the virus may be minor, the impact of delayed marriages due to the first preventive lockdown, such as that imposed in Pakistan from March 14 to May 8 2020, and the closure of marriage halls that lasted till September 14 may be non-negligible. These demographic consequences are of particular import to developing countries such as Pakistan where birth rates remain high, marriage is nearly universal, and almost all child-bearing takes place within marriage. Based on historic marriage patterns, this study estimates that the delay in nuptiality during the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak may affect about half of the marriages that were to take place during the year. In Pakistan, childbearing begins soon after marriage, and about 37% of Pakistani married women give birth to their first child within twelve months of marriage. A sizeable number out of these, around 400,000 annual births that occur within twelve months of the marriage, may consequently be delayed. Postponement of marriages due to the accompanying difficult economic situation and employment precariousness will accentuate this fertility effect. The net fertility impact of the Covid-19 outbreak will ultimately depend not only on the delay in marriages but also on the reproductive behavior of existing couples.