Innocenti Research Briefs Adolescent Participation in Research: Innovation, rationale and next steps AUTHOR(S) Emily J. Ozer; Amber Akemi Piatt Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Undertaking youth-led participatory action research is an increasingly popular approach to advancing adolescent engagement and empowerment. This research - led by adolescents themselves - promotes social change and improves community conditions for healthy development. This brief reviews the theoretical and empirical rationales for youth-led participatory action research, its key principles, phases, practical implications and ethical issues.The brief is one of seven on research methodologies designed to expand and improve the conduct and interpretation of research on adolescent health and well-being in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building on the recent Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, these briefs provide an overview of the methodological quality of research on adolescents. They cover topics including: indicators and data sources; research ethics; research with disadvantaged, vulnerable and/or marginalized populations; participatory research; measuring enabling and protective systems for adolescent health; and economic strengthening interventions for improving adolescent well-being. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 13 | Thematic area: Adolescents | Tags: adolescents, participatory research, research methods × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Emily J. Ozer; Amber Akemi Piatt 2017 Adolescent Participation in Research: Innovation, rationale and next steps. , pp. 13.
Innocenti Research Briefs How to Measure Enabling and Supportive Systems for Adolescent Health AUTHOR(S) Russell Viner Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Enabling and protective systems for adolescents are the family, peers and the education and legal systems. In addition to research that focuses on individual adolescents, it is also important for researchers to consider measuring social determinants when conducting research on adolescent well-being. This brief reviews the key concepts of social and structural determinants of health and the methodological issues related to their measurement in adolescence.The brief is one of seven on research methodologies designed to expand and improve the conduct and interpretation of research on adolescent health and well-being in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building on the recent Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, these briefs provide an overview of the methodological quality of research on adolescents. They cover topics including: indicators and data sources; research ethics; research with disadvantaged, vulnerable and/or marginalized populations; participatory research; measuring enabling and protective systems for adolescent health; and economic strengthening interventions for improving adolescent well-being. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 16 | Thematic area: Adolescents | Tags: adolescent health, adolescents, protection of children × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Russell Viner 2017 How to Measure Enabling and Supportive Systems for Adolescent Health. , pp. 16.
Innocenti Research Briefs Methodologies to Capture the Multidimensional Effects of Economic Strengthening Interventions AUTHOR(S) Fred M. Ssewamala; Laura Gauer Bermudez Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs The economic status of households can and does affect the health and well-being of adolescents. To address the intersection between economic deprivations and broader development goals, including health and well-being, governments, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have begun to include economic strengthening interventions as part of their core programming. This brief presents strategies for examining the multidimensional effects of economic strengthening interventions with a specific focus on the health and well-being of adolescent beneficiaries, highlighting research gaps and opportunities.The brief is one of seven on research methodologies designed to expand and improve the conduct and interpretation of research on adolescent health and well-being in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building on the recent Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, these briefs provide an overview of the methodological quality of research on adolescents. They cover topics including: indicators and data sources; research ethics; research with disadvantaged, vulnerable and/or marginalized populations; participatory research; measuring enabling and protective systems for adolescent health; and economic strengthening interventions for improving adolescent well-being. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 18 | Thematic area: Adolescents | Tags: adolescents, empowerment, research methods × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Fred M. Ssewamala; Laura Gauer Bermudez 2017 Methodologies to Capture the Multidimensional Effects of Economic Strengthening Interventions. , pp. 18.
Innocenti Research Briefs Parenting Interventions: How well do they transport from one country to another? AUTHOR(S) Frances Gardner Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs This brief, by Frances Gardner, summarizes her team’s recent findings from two global, systematic reviews of the effectiveness of parenting interventions. There is strong evidence that behavioural parenting programmes improve caregiver-child relationships, reduce child problem behaviour, and prevent physical and emotional violence against children. To date, the majority of evaluations that show the effects of parenting programmes are from high-income countries, although there is a growing list of rigorous, randomized trials from low- and middle-income countries. Contrary to common belief, parenting interventions appear to be at least as effective, when transported to countries that are different culturally and in their service provision, from those developed for a specific national or cultural context. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 5 | Thematic area: Adolescents | Tags: children of working parents, family environment, local level projects, parental responsibility, parents, research × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Frances Gardner 2017 Parenting Interventions: How well do they transport from one country to another?. , pp. 5.
Innocenti Research Briefs Care Work and Children: An Expert Roundtable AUTHOR(S) Prerna Banati; Elena Camilletti; Sarah Cook Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs A first roundtable to explore the issues regarding care work and children was hosted in Florence by the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti from 6 to 7 December 2016. Unpaid care and domestic work have often been neglected in both research and policymaking, being viewed as lying within the domestic sphere of decisions and responsibilities, rather than as a public issue. However, over recent decades, researchers across a range of disciplines have strived to fill the evidence, data and research gaps by exploring the unpaid care and domestic work provided particularly by women within the household, and uncovering the entrenched social and gender norms and inequalities. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 8 | Thematic area: Gender Issues, Rights of the Child, Social Policies | Tags: care of disabled children, care of the aged, domestic workers, labour migration, public policy × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Prerna Banati; Elena Camilletti; Sarah Cook 2017 Care Work and Children: An Expert Roundtable. , pp. 8.
Innocenti Research Briefs Does Keeping Adolescent Girls in School Protect against Sexual Violence? Quasi-experimental Evidence from East and Southern Africa AUTHOR(S) Tia Palermo; Michelle Mills Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Sexual violence against women and girls is widespread globally. In their lifetime, one in three women will experience intimate partner physical or sexual violence and 7 per cent will experience forced sex by someone other than an intimate partner. This study finds protective effects of educational attainment against lifetime experience of sexual violence among women in Uganda, but not in Malawi. Further, in our pathway analyses, we find large impacts on delaying marriage in both countries. These results suggest that policies aimed at increasing educational attainment among girls may have broad-ranging long-term benefits. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 2 | Thematic area: Adolescents, Child Protection, Education, Gender Issues | Tags: adolescents, education of girls, gender based violence, research methodology, sexual violence, violence × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Tia Palermo; Michelle Mills 2017 Does Keeping Adolescent Girls in School Protect against Sexual Violence? Quasi-experimental Evidence from East and Southern Africa. , pp. 2.
Innocenti Research Briefs Prevention, Protection, and Production: Evidence from the Zambian Child Grant Programme AUTHOR(S) Audrey Pereira Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs The majority of cash transfers in developing countries focus on conditional cash transfers and typically include beneficiary co-responsibilities as a condition for receiving transfers, such as children’s school attendance or growth-monitoring visits. However, in sub-Saharan Africa cash transfer programmes are mostly unconditional, and have the potential to impact households across a wider range of social and productive domains. This Brief summarizes the Zambian Child Grant Programme and looks at the impacts on recipient households. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 3 | Thematic area: Social Policies | Tags: basic education, cash transfers, evaluative studies, nutrition, zambia × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Audrey Pereira 2016 Prevention, Protection, and Production: Evidence from the Zambian Child Grant Programme. , pp. 3.
Innocenti Research Briefs The Zambian Government Unconditional Social CashTransfer Programme Does Not Increase Fertility AUTHOR(S) Lisa Hjelm; Tia Palermo Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs This is the first study from sub-Saharan Africa examining the relation between cash transfers and fertility using a large-sample social experiment design and reporting fertility histories of individual women. The findings are important because they provide strong evidence that a social protection programme targeted to families with young children does not create the unintended effect of increased fertility. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 6 | Thematic area: Economic Development, Social Policies | Tags: cash transfers, fertility, household composition, surveys, zambia × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Lisa Hjelm; Tia Palermo 2016 The Zambian Government Unconditional Social CashTransfer Programme Does Not Increase Fertility. , pp. 6.
Innocenti Research Briefs Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfers in Africa Do Not Increase Fertility: Issue Brief AUTHOR(S) Tia Palermo; Lisa Hjelm Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs A common perception surrounding the design and implementation of social cash transfers is that those targeted to families with young children will incentivize families to have more children. To date, however, research on unconditional cash transfer programmes in Africa (including Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia) have demonstrated no impacts of cash transfer programmes on increased fertility. Examples are given of how some design features capable of minimizing the fertility incentive can be built into programmes. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 3 | Thematic area: Child Poverty, Economic Development, Social Policies | Tags: africa, cash transfers, fertility rate, programme planning, social policy × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Tia Palermo; Lisa Hjelm 2016 Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfers in Africa Do Not Increase Fertility: Issue Brief. , pp. 3.
Innocenti Research Briefs The Impact of Cash Transfers on Food Security AUTHOR(S) Lisa Hjelm Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs Vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan African countries often face high levels of food insecurity which disproportionately affect households living in poverty and children are particularly at risk. This review of eight social cash transfer programme evaluations has shown that cash transfers have an impact on several different dimensions of food security. However, few evaluations include child-specific questions and to make stronger links between food security and nutrition status individual-level indicators are needed. Despite limitations, there is good evidence that cash transfers have a large impact on food security. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 5 | Thematic area: Child well-being, Health, Social Policies | Tags: food consumption, food expenditures, nutrition × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Lisa Hjelm 2016 The Impact of Cash Transfers on Food Security. , pp. 5.
Innocenti Research Briefs Cash Transfers Improve the Mental Health and Well-being of Youth: Evidence from the Kenyan Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children AUTHOR(S) Audrey Pereira Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs Approximately half of all mental health disorders begin by age 14, and three-quarters by age 24. Among adolescents, depression is one of the leading contributors to morbidity, while suicide and interpersonal violence are among the leading causes of mortality. Mental ill-health also reinforces poverty through decreased productivity and loss of earnings, increased health expenditures, and social stigma. Since the evidence on the effects of poverty-alleviation programmes on mental health have been inconclusive, there is a need for research on specific poverty-alleviation interventions for vulnerable groups who are more at risk for poor mental well-being. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 2 | Thematic area: Social Policies | Tags: adolescents, cash transfers, mental health, poverty alleviation, vulnerable groups × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Audrey Pereira 2016 Cash Transfers Improve the Mental Health and Well-being of Youth: Evidence from the Kenyan Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. , pp. 2.
Innocenti Research Briefs Undermining Learning: Multi-Country Longitudinal Evidence on Corporal Punishment in Schools AUTHOR(S) Hayley Jones; Kirrily Pells Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs Although it is often legally prohibited, the use of physical violence for discipline is a well-established norm in many communities, both at home and at school. Corporal punishment is often part of a wider problem of violence in schools, which includes other forms of humiliating punishment from teachers, peer bullying and gender-based violence. Violence in schools, including physical and verbal abuse by teachers and peers, is the foremost reason children aged 8 give for disliking school. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 5 | Thematic area: Child Protection, Convention on the Rights of the Child | Tags: convention on the rights of the child, corporal punishment, right to humane school discipline, school discipline, social norms, violence against children × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Hayley Jones; Kirrily Pells 2016 Undermining Learning: Multi-Country Longitudinal Evidence on Corporal Punishment in Schools. , pp. 5.