Child Public Health Resources
Reading archive
Hot Reads for Child Public Health November 2006
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United Nations Study on Violence Against Children. August 2006
The United Nations recently produced a report of a study on the violence against children. The report provides a global picture of violence against children and proposes recommendations to prevent and respond to this issue. It provides information on the incidence of various types of violence against children within the family, schools, alternative care institutions and detention facilities, places where children work and communities. The Study was prepared through a participatory process which included regional, subregional and national consultations, expert thematic meetings and field visits. Many Governments also provided comprehensive responses to a questionnaire transmitted to them by the independent expert in 2004. -
Neighborhood Poverty, Social Capital, and the Cognitive Development of African American Preschoolers. Am J Community Psychol. Vol 37. March 2006.
The impact of the ecological context of the residential neighbourhood on the cognitive development of children by considering social processes not only at the family-level but also at the neighbourhood-level was examined. 200 African American children living in 39 neighbourhoods in Baltimore, and from socioeconomically diverse background were recruited. Neighbourhood poverty was found to be associated with poorer problem-solving skills over and above the influence of family economic resources and level of positive parent involvement. Although we found that indicators of neighbourhood and family social capital were associated with cognitive skills, these factors did not explain the association between neighbourhood poverty and problem-solving ability. Implications for future research in the area of neighbourhoods and child development are discussed. -
Promoting Social Inclusion in Schools: A Group-Randomized Trial of Effects on Student Health Risk Behavior and Well-Being. Am J Public Health. Sept 2006, Vol 96, No. 9 pg 1582-1587
The efficacy of an intervention designed to promote social inclusion and commitment to education, reducing health risk behaviors among students and improving emotional well-being was tested. A cluster-randomized trial was perfomed in 25 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. The subjects were 8th-grade students (aged 13 to 14 y) in 1997 (n=2545) and subsequent 8th-grade students in 1999 (n=2586) and 2001 (n=2463). At 4-year follow-up, the prevalence of marked health risk behaviors was approximately 20% in schools in the comparison group and 15% in schools in the intervention group, an overall reduction of 25%. There was no evidence of a reduction in depressive symptoms. -
The link between short sleep duration and obesity: we should recommend more sleep to prevent obesity. Leading article Arch Dis Child 2006;91 881-884
Sleep may affect energy balance. Sleep may not be the only answer to the obesity pandemic, but its effect should be considered seriously, as even small changes in the energy balance are beneficial. The authors feel good sleep could be part of the obesity prevention approach. -
Child health and survival in the Eastern Mediterranean region. BMJ 2006;333:839-42
The authors used data from WHO, UNICEF and other national and international agencies to determine child deaths and cause specific mortality. They also evaluated the evidence base for established interventions as well as relatively new strategies for addressing newborn and child health in health system settings. Finally, they assessed the relation between government effectiveness and child health. The results showed child deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean region account for 15% of the total global burden for newborn and child mortality. Most of the deaths occur in just seven countries, several of which are in a state of conflict. Available evidence based interventions, if fully implemented, can prevent half of all child deaths in these countries. Barriers to implementation of these interventions are not so much lack of knowledge as political will and appropriate allocation of resources. -
Are infant size and growth related to burden of disease in adulthood? A systematic review of the literature. Int J Epi 2006;35(5):1196-1210
Slower rates of infant growth are associated with increased rates of death from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in later life. A systematic review was done to assess the association between infant size or growth and leading causes of adult burden of disease. The aim was to contribute to the debate on the potential of the promotion of infant growth to prevent ischaemic heart disease. Nineteen studies relating to 10 causes of burden of disease met inclusion criteria. Most studies reported data on infant size. Larger size in infancy was associated with increased risk of insulin-dependent diabetes. Larger infant size was associated with reduced rates of IHD in men but not in women. There were considerable gaps in the evidence and many conditions that account for a high burden of disease, such as cancer, mental illness, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes, had few or no studies associating them with infant size or growth. The findings suggest that there is no single optimal pattern of infant growth that is associated with beneficial adult health outcomes. There is insufficient evidence to recommend prevention of adult disease through strategies to alter infant growth. -
Child mortality and cohort lifespan: a test of diminished entelechy. Int. J. Epidemiol. 2006 35: 1264-1269
A ‘diminished entelechy’ hypothesis, in which birth cohorts subjected to relatively many or relatively virulent environmental insults early in life do not realize their otherwise expected lifespan, was tested. This was done by measuring the association between mortality in the first 5 years and life expectancy at age 5 for male and female cohorts born in Sweden (1751–1912), Denmark (1835-1913), and England and Wales (1841–1912). The methods control for trends, seasonal cycles, and other forms of autocorrelation that could induce spurious associations. The authors found that life expectancy at age 5 fell below the values expected from history in cohorts in which child mortality before age 5 increased over its expected value. There was no evidence for culling effects, in which a cohort remaining after suffering relatively many environmental insults may be smaller but hardier than expected.