Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Youth who have migrated from rural to urban areas in Ethiopia are often precariously employed, lack access to sexual and reproductive health services, and are at heightened risk of sexual violence. However, little is known about the sexual and reproductive health consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and associated lockdowns and service disruptions for urban-dwelling socially disadvantaged youth. This paper draws on qualitative virtual research with 154 urban youths aged 15–24 years who were past and present beneficiaries of United Nations Population Fund-funded programs, and 19 key informants from the city bureaus and non-governmental organisations in June 2020. Semistructured interviews by phone explored the impact of COVID-19 on young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

While youth are routinely lauded as “changemakers” in society, they are often unsupported in refugee responses. As the Rohingya mark five years of exodus in Bangladesh, what is the state of youth inclusion across sectors? Do youth and adolescents feel supported, or are they being ignored and left behind?  To assess, information from three data streams was used: (a) desk research of available literature on youth participation and inclusion in humanitarian programming; (b)key informant interviews with practitioners from national and international non-overnment organizations and UN agencies, specifically individuals leading or coordinating sectors and working groups engaged with youth programming; and (c)focus group discussions and key informant interviews with refugee individuals and groups across 11 camps.

Covid-19 infection is an additional burden to the life of the Rohingya children living in cramped camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. BRAC has introduced Humanitarian Play Lab (HPL) for children’s playful learning in the camps since 2017. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the modality was changed from face-face interactions to a telecommunication model. This qualitative research aims to understand caregivers’ and frontline providers' practices and perceptions about children’s well-being during the pandemic. Interviews were conducted with purposively selected parents and frontline providers through telephone. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. The lockdown directly and indirectly affected children’s mental and physical well-being. A shared parenting role was observed in child education and learning. Parents widely accepted tele-communication services for children as it was considered important for continuing children’s wellbeing and learning. This research highlights the relevance and timeliness of utilising telecommunications services by parents for children's psychosocial health and playful learning.

This descriptive study sought to explore how child welfare agencies and community partner organizations experienced and adapted service provision for immigrant children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were completed with 31 child welfare agency practitioners and community partners in 11 states who work with immigrant clients or on immigration related policies within the child welfare sector. Data were coded and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

This qualitative study explored how service providers perceived the stressors that Latinx immigrants experienced due to COVID-19 and the restrictive immigration enforcement climate in the U.S. The study also examined how social service providers responded to immigrant families’ social service needs in light of the impediments imposed by the pandemic. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted via telephone and Zoom with social service providers. (n = 28) who provided direct services to immigrant clients in Los Angeles, CA. Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological method was utilized as a data analysis guide. Findings showed that Latinx immigrants experienced: (a) high rates of economic stressors and negative mental health outcomes due to the pandemic; (b) immigration-related distress and barriers seeking services; (c) shifting social service needs; and (d) relied on spiritual practices and mutual aid. Culturally responsive practice and policy implications are included.

Digital messaging programs have the potential to be a powerful, low-cost, technological tool to support multiple facets of caregivers' knowledge, and implementation of developmentally appropriate caregiver-child activities among diverse immigrant populations. However, involving caregivers and community stakeholders in the cultural and linguistic tailoring of interventions to optimize utilization and engagement may be critical to ensuring messaging programs' usability and acceptability. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to use the dynamic adaptation process (DAP) within an Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework to examine the implementation of a digital messaging program, developed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at providing Spanish-, English-, and Mandarin-speaking immigrant caregivers with caregiver-child activities that supported children's development and caregivers' knowledge.

Parenting interventions in humanitarian settings have prioritized the acquisition of parenting knowledge and skills, while overlooking the adverse effects of stress and distress on parenting—a key mediator of refugee children's mental health. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI), which emphasizes caregiver wellbeing together with training in positive parenting. This research conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial of the CSI with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with an intent-to-treat design, from September 2019–December 2020. A total of 480 caregivers from 240 families were randomized to the CSI or a waitlist control group (1:1). Retention from baseline to endline was 93%. Data on parenting and caregiver psychological wellbeing were collected at baseline, endline, and three-month follow-up.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the existing crisis that the vulnerable refugee population faces. More than a million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh. COVID-19 has affected both males and females. It is critical to understand how this population group is coping during this trying period. They are constituted by 52% women and 55% adolescents. The socioeconomic and physiological repercussions of the pandemic on the Rohingya people are contextualised in this study. The socioeconomic and health impacts of COVID-19 on Rohingya women and adolescents in Bangladesh are investigated. Because of the restrictions imposed, over 63% of Rohingya adolescent females suffered from food scarcity. The vast majority of respondents (87%) stated that they had reduced their meal frequency, resulting in a protein deficiency. Since their arrival in Bangladesh, they have had limited access to medical and educational facilities. The pandemic has further exacerbated the situation. Girls are more vulnerable to sexual and gender-based abuse, early marriage, school dropout, and pregnancy. This research aims to add to existing knowledge on refugees, Rohingya, women, and adolescents

Most of the research on refugee economic participation has focused on adult refugee populations, particularly men. Data on adolescents and youth, particularly girls and young women, is limited. This report aims to fill some of these research gaps and contribute to efforts to support refugee youth to realise their potential in line with the commitments enshrined in both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ‘leave no one behind’, and in the Global Compact on Refugees, to ‘enhance refugee self-reliance’. Focusing on male and female youth aged 15–24 years from Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities in Jordan, as well as vulnerable Jordanians in host communities, the report captures their aspirations and experiences in building independent and sustainable livelihoods. It incorporates a gender lens to identify and analyse the factors that promote or hinder youth participation in the labour market, paying particular attention to gender norms and roles.

Echoing global trends, where the absolute number of displaced persons continues to grow in tandem with the proportion of people living in protracted displacement, the vast majority of both Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon have been there for 10 years or longer. So, how can decision-makers lay the foundations for gender-responsive education systems and economic empowerment for refugee youth in Lebanon? The collapse of Lebanon’s GDP by 58% during recent years has resulted not only in an explosion of demand for humanitarian assistance, but also created growing concerns about meeting SDG targets. Questions arise over how best to support adolescents and young people to transition into adulthood in the midst of such intertwined, and escalating, crises. This ODI Report began with an extensive review of secondary data, and uses primary qualitative data collected from Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon over the first half of 2021. Our research aims to identify programming proposals and recommended actions for donor and policy-makers to facilitate the economic and educational success for all young refugees living permanently outside their country's borders.

Worldwide, more people are on the move now than ever before, yet many refugees and migrants face poorer health outcomes than the host populations. Addressing their health needs is, therefore, a global health priority and integral to the principle of the right to health for all. The key is to strengthen and maintain health systems by ensuring that they are refugee- and migrant-sensitive and inclusive. Health outcomes are influenced by a whole host of determinants. However, refugees and migrants face additional determinants such as precarious legal status; discrimination; social, cultural, linguistic, administrative and financial barriers; lack of information about health entitlements; low health literacy; and fear of detention and deportation. This groundbreaking publication outlines current and future opportunities and challenges and provides several strategies to improve the health and well-being of refugees and migrants. It is an advocacy tool for national and international policy-makers involved in health and migration.

This report shares findings from qualitative research on the impacts of Covid-19 on Cambodian migrant workers in four sites along the Cambodia-Thai border. Government restrictions in Thailand and the border closure in February 2020 led to job losses and reduced working hours, and ultimately to an increase in the rate of return migration. Return migrants were forced to use informal points of entry with the facilitation of informal brokers, facing increased costs and risks and, in the process, becoming undocumented. This report shows an unequal access to health services between documented and undocumented migrants. Even in the context of Covid-19, some migrants continue to travel with young children who support the family, mostly through light agricultural work.

Group well-child care (GWCC) is an alternative to traditional pediatric well-child care designed to increase parental social support and peer learning. This mixed methods study explored the adaptation and implementation of GWCC to a virtual format during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic) among Spanish-speaking Latino immigrant families. Interviews were conducted with eight providers and 10 mothers from May through September 2020. Qualitative analyses used a priori codes based on an implementation science framework. Quantitative data included demographics, the COVID-19 Impact Scale, and virtual group attendance. Bivariate analyses identified correlates of virtual visit attendance.

Family separation policies’ impacts on children’s education and well-being are critical issues of our time. This paper argues through ethnographic study that although im/migrant parents believed in the promise of a better life for their children as they migrated, COVID-19 and remote schooling contributed to a breakdown in structures of care once they were in the United States. Thus, the experience of remote schooling during 2020 was a difficult task for parents and children who were already dealing with the trauma of detention or separation at the border. Ultimately, we argue that to understand the educational experiences of im/migrant parents and children in the United States, we must consider a multiple disruptions framework. The findings in this article reveal the layered consequences that broader immigration policy has on the everyday educational lives of im/migrant children and their parents.

This paper presents research on girls’ and boys’ gendered perceptions of their learning during school closures due to COVID-19. The research was conducted in ten countries affected by displacement across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It applied statistical analysis using multivariate logistic regression models from the results of a survey conducted with parents or caregivers and their children. It complemented the quantitative study with qualitative methodology, which provided a nuanced understanding of girls’ and boys’ perceptions of their learning and their voiced concerns during the COVID-19-related school closures.