Suchergebnisse

Background Child maltreatment is a major public health problem affecting one quarter of children in England and Wales. Good epidemiological data are needed to establish how many and which children are most at risk, and to evaluate the impact of policies and interventions. However, a comprehensive data source on child maltreatment is currently lacking.
Aim We aimed to create a rich data source on the incidence of Child maltreatment over Time (iCoverT) in England and Wales.
Methods We developed systematic methods to search and identify administrative data sources that regularly measured child maltreatment. Data sources were investigated and assessed against pre-specified eligibility criteria and a bespoke quality assessment tool. Relevant data were extracted, digitalised, and harmonised over time. All data and their accompanying documentation were prepared to form an open access data source: the iCoverT (osf.io/cf7mv).
Results We identified 13 unique sources of administrative data, six of which met our eligibility criteria: Child protection statistics, Children in care, Criminal statistics, Homicide index, Mortality statistics and NSPCC statistics. Data and documentation were prepared and combined to form the iCoverT, including 272 variables, over 43,500 data points, and spanning over 150 years. A subsequent time series analysis demonstrated the utility of the iCoverT; identifying large overall decreases in child maltreatment from 1858 to 2016 (e.g. 90% decrease in child homicides (2.7 per fewer per 100,000 children)) but worrying recent increases from 2000 to 2016.
Conclusion We systematically developed a rich data source on child maltreatment in England and Wales. Our methodology overcomes practical obstacles and offers a new approach for harnessing administrative data for research. Our resulting data source is a valuable public health surveillance tool, which can be used to monitor national levels of child maltreatment and to evaluate the effectiveness of child protection initiatives.

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> The younger individuals quit smoking, the greater the health benefits. We studied the role of adolescent and concurrent psychological, social and familial factors in successful tobacco cessation in a general population sample of French young adults. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Our data came from participants of the TEMPO cohort study and their parents (members of the GAZEL cohort study) in France. Among regular smokers (n = 678), Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios of self-reported tobacco cessation of at least 12 months in relation to individual and socioenvironmental variables. <b><i>Results:</i></b> On average, participants (mean: 28.9 years) smoked for 10.51 years (SD = 5.9); the majority had attempted to quit smoking at least once (59.5%). In multiple regression analyses, cannabis use in the preceding year and recent financial difficulties were both negatively associated with successful smoking cessation. Conversely, living with a partner and, for women only, recent pregnancy or childbirth were associated with an increased likelihood of tobacco cessation. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This study highlights the importance of young adults' cannabis use, family situation and socioeconomic context with regard to their smoking behavior. Physicians and public health decision makers aiming to decrease the burden of tobacco smoking should take into consideration these social and behavioral factors.

Abstract
The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on care-experienced people has been the subject of research, but important gaps remain in our understanding of how care-experienced people felt their mental health and well-being were affected by the pandemic. Care-experienced adults from across the UK were invited to complete a survey and submit a diary during the first lockdown. Responses were received from 140 people, aged eighteen to sixty-nine years. Most respondents reported that their mental health deteriorated due to the pandemic and lockdown. However, a substantial minority thought that either there had been no change or the lockdown had helped them make positive improvements. Improvements were attributed to stable housing and employment, support from services and transferable skills they had learnt in care. A minority of respondents referred to their care status in their diaries. Most diarists presented their experiences as being common to other, non-care-experienced, people. This article showcases the resilience of many care-experienced people, including some who made explicit reference to the benefits of coping strategies developed while in care. The findings of this study reveal that when provided with the right support, the care system can assist people to develop important life skills.

Purpose: Forced displacement may increase the risk of child maltreatment and mental health problems among children and caregivers. This study assessed the acceptability and preliminary outcomes of a parenting intervention to prevent child maltreatment and improve parental and child mental health among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Method: 292 parents and 88 children participated in a structured assessment before and after a group-based parenting intervention implemented by an international nongovernmental organization serving refugee and vulnerable Lebanese communities. Results: Paired sample t tests showed significant reductions in harsh punishment and rejecting parenting behavior and significant improvements in measures of parental and child mental health from pre- to postintervention. On average, parents completed 7.7 of 10 sessions. Discussion: Preliminary results suggest that the parenting intervention was acceptable to refugee parents and may show promise in reducing child maltreatment and improving parental and child mental health in a humanitarian setting.