Home oxygen has been safely incorporated into emergency department management of bronchiolitis in certain populations. After discharge, a small proportion of patients (2.7%–6%) require subsequent admission. For patients managed successfully as outpatients, pediatricians report variable practice styles and comfort levels.

Our results define the clinical course and outpatient burden associated with discharge on home oxygen. By using an integrated health care system, we captured slightly higher rates (9.4%) of subsequent admission and found fever to be associated with this outcome. (Read the full article)

Parents in disadvantaged households are less likely to book share with their children during early childhood. These children are more likely to enter school with delays in emergent literacy and language skills, apparent as early as the age of 3.

This study examines the effect of parental immigrant status as a predictor of reading and sharing books with children. This research disentangles immigrant status from other variables thought to explain disparities in familial practices related to emergent literacy. (Read the full article)

Poor health in children is associated with exposure to family violence and disruption. Telomere length has been hypothesized to be a lasting biological indicator of exposure to early adversity and potentially predictive of negative health outcomes throughout the life course.

Telomere length reflects exposure to family violence and disruption and may be an early indicator of the biological impact of early adversity. Children exposed to interpersonal violence and family disruptions had significantly shorter telomeres. Gender moderated these associations. (Read the full article)

Supplemented mother’s own milk is the preferred nutrition for very low birth weight infants.

Through targeted encouragement and guidance, most mothers are able to provide milk to their very low birth weight infants, both for early and prolonged feeding, in an open-bay NICU. (Read the full article)

Previous studies examining developmental outcomes associated with late preterm and early term birth have shown mixed results. Many of these studies did not fully take into account the role of the social environment in child development.

Social factors, not late preterm or early term birth, were the strongest predictors of poor developmental outcomes at 2 to 3 and 4 to 5 years. The influence of mild prematurity may lose strength beyond the neonatal period. (Read the full article)

The single-family room (SFR) NICU is a major response to improve care and reduce developmental morbidity in preterm infants. However, no studies have examined how and why this model is associated with changes in medical and neurobehavioral outcome.

This study shows improved medical and neurodevelopmental outcome in infants hospitalized in the SFR model of care. More important, improvements occurred specifically in relation to increases in maternal involvement and developmental support afforded by the SFR environment. (Read the full article)

Family meals are protective for child health, but there are inconsistent findings in relation to child weight status. More research is needed examining why family meals are protective for child health and whether there are differences by child weight status.

The current mixed-methods study used direct observational methods to examine family dynamics during family meals and child weight status. Results indicated that positive family interpersonal and food-related dynamics during family meals were associated with reduced prevalence of childhood obesity. (Read the full article)

Family engagement in the care of hospitalized children may improve outcomes, including medication safety. Although family-centered rounds (FCRs) provide a venue for family engagement in care, how families use this venue to influence medication-related topics is unknown.

Most families initiated medication-related dialogue during FCRs, discussing inpatient and home medications. Topics raised were important for medication adherence and safety, even altering treatment plans. Findings suggest specific medication topics that health care team members can anticipate addressing during FCR. (Read the full article)

Poverty is prevalent among children in the United States, and it has a clear association with negative health outcomes. Smoking and passive smoke exposure are both more common among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and are associated with asthma morbidity.

Reported family hardships were common among children admitted for asthma or wheezing, and most were associated with detectable tobacco smoke exposure. The cumulative number of hardships was also associated with greater odds of tobacco smoke exposure. (Read the full article)

Sharing human milk between those with an abundant supply and those seeking milk for their child is growing in popularity, including that facilitated by Web sites established to link buyers and sellers.

This study documents that human milk purchased via the Internet can be contaminated with cow’s milk, which poses a potential risk to infants with allergy or intolerance to cow’s milk. (Read the full article)

Current childhood vaccination coverage rates among military dependents in the United States are not known. Past studies on childhood vaccination coverage in military dependents have shown mixed results, with the majority showing lower than ideal coverage rates.

This study analyzes a national database with 6 years of data and provider-confirmed vaccination status to describe the current documented vaccination coverage rates among military dependents in the United States. (Read the full article)

Delayed cord clamping is recommended for all premature births, despite some studies suggesting a decreased placental transfusion at cesarean delivery.

Umbilical cord milking appears to improve systemic blood flow and perfusion in preterm infants delivered by cesarean delivery more efficiently than delayed cord clamping. (Read the full article)

Gastrostomy tube placement is a difficult decision for families of children with neurologic impairment. Better understanding the impact of these tubes on the lives of children and families will help improve decision-making and support from health care providers.

Gastrostomy tube placement has broad-reaching implications for children and their families. There are physical, emotional, and relational challenges and benefits for the child, the parents, and the family unit. Exploring potential outcomes with families may improve decision-making conversations and support. (Read the full article)

Although treatment programs for childhood obesity can demonstrate success, long-term outcomes have seldom been evaluated. The benefit of intervention when overweight is identified in a screening assessment and parental recognition of the problem is minimal is understudied.

A low-dose (sessions every 1–3 months), but long-term (2 years), family-based intervention was effective at reducing BMI compared with usual care in children recruited via a weight screening initiative in which many parents had been unaware their child was overweight. (Read the full article)

Many families share genetic cancer risk information with their children, and some parents and providers believe BRCA1/2 testing should be permitted in adolescence. The psychosocial effects and impact on health and risk behaviors of this knowledge is unknown.

In our cohort of 869 mother-daughter pairs, we found no differences in general adjustment, but 10- to 13-year-old girls with breast cancer family histories reported higher breast cancer–specific distress and perceived breast cancer risk. Mother distress was associated with daughter distress. (Read the full article)

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages providers from dismissing families who refuse vaccines for their children, yet some providers continue to do so.

We show that ~1 in 5 pediatricians dismiss families who refuse vaccines, and there is significant regional variation in the practice. Dismissing families for refusing vaccines was also associated with stricter state nonmedical exemption policies. (Read the full article)

Boys and girls start out on the same biological footing when it comes to math, finds the first neuroimaging study of math gender differences in children, published this month in the journal Science of Learning.

Boys and girls start out on the same biological footing when it comes to math, finds the first neuroimaging study of math gender differences in children, published this month in the journal Science of Learning.

Pennsylvania College of Technology dental hygiene students and volunteer dental professionals will provide free dental hygiene services to veterans, members of the armed services, and their dependents on Saturday, April 4.

U.S. Department of Education money will help public television develop projects promoting math and literacy for children ages 2 to 8.

For communities with significant numbers of Latino and immigrant residents, the barriers to an accurate 2020 Census count are high—and so are the stakes for their schools, which could lose hundreds of millions of dollars if counts are inaccurate.

For companies to survive and even thrive beyond the coronavirus pandemic, they’re going to have think more like the millennial generation, says Dr Anushka Bogdanov.

The furore surrounding the arrival of over 200 Cuban medical doctors in South Africa to fight the coronavirus has highlighted a failure on the part of the SA government to explain the nature and drivers of our country’s relationship with Cuba, says Mills Soko.

For more than a year and a half, UN peacekeepers have continuously supported military operations conducted by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) against the Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in North and South Kivu.

Are you unhappy with your credit provider? Have you been given more debt than you can afford to pay back? Help is at hand, and it’s just an SMS away.

Sharing moments of levity and hope from the education world amid the mass disruption of schooling and life from the coronavirus.

Penn State World Campus student Julie Brubaker balanced her family, job, and earning her bachelor’s degree, all while her military husband was deployed.

Norton Family's wealth of features and easy setup make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.

A family of four was caught flouting lockdown restrictions after attempting to travel to Motherwell for a mini-break.

Staff from NHS England have been asked to travel hundreds of miles to Scotland to be tested for coronavirus, according to reports.

A family who was fined for travelling more than 400 miles for the bank holiday weekend have been slammed online by politicians and Scots.

So many years after vouchers began, we still can't agree on their benefits.

"There's a science of learning, and ... there's not a single teacher who couldn't benefit, I think, from knowing these principles," said the executive director of Deans for Impact, a group of education school leaders.

Lima, Peru, Apr 23, 2020 / 10:02 am (CNA).- As the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in Peru leaves the working poor in a vulnerable situation, one priest has been working to ensure that thousands in need have access to food.

Fr. Omar Sánchez Portillo is the secretary general of Caritas Lurín, on metro Lima’s south side.

Sánchez has distributed more than 15,000 food baskets, with the help of donors and volunteers at the Beatitudes Association, which he founded, since the nationwide quarantine was declared March 15. Peru’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 19,000 cases of coronavirus with 530 deaths.

Recently, Sánchez also received a donation of 5,000 live chickens from a poultry farm. He found himself needing to quickly process the chickens for distribution.

Sánchez turned to his fellow priests in the diocese of Lurín with an appeal on Whatsapp. To his surprise, almost 30 priests showed up to volunteer, including Bishop-elect Cristobal Mejía, who was recently named bishop of Chulucanas.

The priests and other volunteers worked all day, plucking, cleaning and preparing the birds for distribution.

“Today has been a long day,” Sánchez commented on his Facebook page. “Thank you dear priests! Thank you for your example, your work, and your joy. I feel proud to belong to a such an active, alive diocese so full of God, and to be part of a presbyterate full of holiness and enthusiasm for our priestly mission.”

In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, Sánchez noted that in the Diocese of Lurín, which is comprised of 55 parishes, there are many poor people who do not have access to electricity or running water.

The priest estimates about 60% of the people in the diocese live in extreme poverty. Southern Lima, where his diocese is located, contains the third and fourth most COVID-infected areas in the country.

Sánchez also pointed out that most Peruvians lack the ability to save money, which leaves vulnerable populations even more at risk during the quarantine.

“A lot of people are out of work and out on the street, a lot of them are temporary workers, many of them earn a living day-to-day,” he said.

So far, volunteers have distributed 75,000 food baskets throughout the South Lima area. However, the needs remain great.

“Every day in the parishes there are people out looking, knocking on doors, that haven’t gotten any food, or what they have gotten isn’t enough and has already run out,” he explained.

 

CNA Staff, May 4, 2020 / 03:53 pm (CNA).- When he was just 15 years old, Fr. Geison Gerardo Ortiz Marín had to quit school and find a job to help support his family.

Faced with a difficult economy, Ortiz’s family was struggling financially. He quit school and found a job opportunity at a neighboring family’s bakery, where he worked for five years.

The priest told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, that he learned important life skills from the job, such as “knowing what it is to meet a schedule, getting up at dawn and working overtime. In short, it was an enriching experience.”

He took those life skills with him when he entered seminary at age 21. He has now been a priest for 10 years and serves as pastor of Saint Rose of Lima parish in Ciudad Queseda in northern Costa Rica.

Recently, however, Ortiz has returned to his roots as a baker to raise funds for the needy in his parish during the coronavirus pandemic.

Public Masses were suspended a month ago in Costa Rica due to the pandemic. As the lockdown continued, the priest could see the financial strain mounting on members of the community.

“A lot of people starting knocking on the rectory door asking for help, while the parish and local charitable groups weren’t getting any income from the collection,” he explained.

So Ortiz began baking. He uses around 55 lbs. of flour each workday to bake different kinds of bread, rolls and other items. A bag of baked goods sells for 1500 colones, or about $2.65.

“With 1500 colones here we can buy perhaps a 5-pound package of rice,” he said, adding that he has been able to help about 60 families so far.

From the sale of baked goods, he was able to raise extra funds, he said, which have ensured that anyone who has knocked on the rectory door has left with a package of rice, sugar or beans.

No one has been sent away empty handed, the priest said.

“I work all day long baking bread, selling it, and in the evenings I celebrate the Eucharist. I always tell the Lord, 'Thank you for the true bread that gives eternal life, which is the greatest of riches and is what I want our people to have, receive, taste and feel',” he said.

Ortiz encouraged other priests to find creative ways to help serve those in need during the challenging times presented by the pandemic.

“I believe that this is a special moment,” he said. “God has allowed me to return to my origins. God has allowed me to help meet the needs of our brothers. This is a moment in which the Lord is allowing us to live in solidarity and to reach out in a very special way.”

Faculty from six campuses were awarded a grant from Penn State’s Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence to seek a multi-campus approval as a Certified Family Life Educator program.

The staff of Hershey Medical Center is one of only several academic hospitals in the country with specialized infrastructure and and training geared around offering care during a contagion outbreak. But they have another advantage, too. “We are all a family,” says one doctor. “And we look out for one another.”

The U.S. coronavirus death toll has surpassed 77,000.

Tara Laubenstine comes from a long line of Penn Staters. When she began her college search, she knew exactly where she would apply and eagerly wait to be accepted. This week, she will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in psychology, after which she will pursue a career in human resource management. She made the most of her college experience by becoming involved, and with graduation on the horizon, Laubenstine sat down to speak about her college experience and offer advice to the incoming class.

The Nittany Neighbors program created at Penn State New Kensington in response to the coronavirus pandemic is testament to the fact that, as campus director of student affairs Theresa Bonk said, "we are a family, and like any family, we take care of our own."

The International Crisis Group is honoured to announce the creation of the Giustra Fellowship for Conflict Prevention, made possible by a generous gift of $1 million from Canadian businessman and philanthropic leader Frank Giustra through The Radcliffe Foundation. Mr. Giustra has been a long-time advocate for Crisis Group, providing transformational financial support since joining its Board of Trustees in 2005.

Source: www.thestar.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
The unemployment rate jumped 5.2 points in April to 13 per cent in the first full month of economic restrictions.

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee is backing Scottish Government plans to change the law on deciding parent-child contact in family breakdown cases.

During her three months mission trip to Paris, Madeline realised how precious it is to be a living testimony for the homeless.

UEFA's ground-breaking weekly vlog Press Play has now had over three million views on the Together #WePlayStrong Youtube channel.

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