The impact of social determinants of health on early childhood development: a qualitative context analysis in Iran

The Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Child and Maternal Malnutrition: 1990-2019

OBJECTIVE

With this study, we aimed to estimate the disease burden attributable to child and maternal malnutrition (CMM) throughout the world between 1990 and 2019.

METHODS

The number, age-standardized rate, population attributable fraction of deaths, disability-adjusted life-years, years of life lost, and years lived with disability associated with CMM were estimated using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 by age, sex, year, location, and sociodemographic index at the global level. The slope index of inequality and concentration index were employed to measure socioeconomic-related health inequalities across countries.

RESULTS

The number (million) of global deaths, disability-adjusted life-years, and years of life lost related to CMM were 2.9, 294.8, and 250.5 in 2019, showing decreases of 60.8, 57.4, and 60.7% since 1990. However, the number of years lived with CMM-related disability increased from 36.0 in 1990 to 44.3 in 2019. Additionally, the age-standardized rates of these 4 indicators showed varying degrees of decline. The global burden of CMM-related conditions differed with age and sex. The burden was the heaviest in western sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Chad. In terms of diseases, neonatal disorders represented the most significant burden attributed to CMM. Additionally, the CMM burden was more concentrated in regions with low sociodemographic indices, shown by the slope index of inequality and concentration index.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study highlight the ongoing global burden of CMM, particularly in terms of years lived with disability. Population-wide actions targeting the effective treatment and relief of CMM may reduce the CMM-related disease burden.

The Work, Play, and Worship Environments as Social Determinants of Health

Consideration of the definition of the social determinants of health (SDOHs) requires health care to include work, play, and worship environments because they are important to the health of patients and communities. This article attempts to discuss the issues with limited focus on these areas and the importance of using multidisciplinary health-care teams during primary care visits. The expectation from this information is to advance the ability for primary care providers to support patients and the communities they work in to effect change toward decreasing health disparities and enhancing overall health outcomes.

Child mortality inequalities and socioeconomic determinants of health in Iran, 2016-2018

Measuring health inequalities is essential to inform policy making and for monitoring implementation to reduce avoidable and unfair differences in health status. We conducted a geospatial analysis of child mortality in Iran using death records from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education from 2016 to 2018 stratified by sex, age, province, and district, and household expenditure and income survey data from the Statistical Center of Iran collected in 2017. We applied multilevel mixed-effect models and detected significant inequality in child mortality and the impact of socioeconomic factors, especially household income. We advocate for using mortality rate for young children (< 5 years old) as an indicator for assessing the impact of interventions to reduce inequalities among various socioeconomic groups. We also recommend to design and implement comprehensive and longitudinal data collection systems for accurate, regular, and specific monitoring of health inequalities.

Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) reporting tool: developing a checklist for policymakers

INTRODUCTION

Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) is a decision support tool that shows users how a new program, policy, or innovation affects health equity in different population groups. Various HEIA reporting and dissemination tools are available, nevertheless, a practical standard tool to present the results of HEIA in an appropriate period to policymakers is lacking. This work reports the development of a tool (a checklist) for HEIA reporting at the decision-making level, aiming to promote the application of HEIA evidence for improving health equity.

METHODS

This is a mixed-method study that was carried out over four stages in 2022-2023: 1) identifying HEIA models, checklists, and reporting instruments; 2) development of the initial HEIA reporting checklist; 3) checklist validation; and 4) piloting the checklist. We also analyzed the Face, CVR, and CVI validity of the tool.

RESULTS

We developed the initial checklist through analysis of 53 included studies and the opinions of experts. The final checklist comprised five sections: policy introduction (eight subsections), managing the HEIA of policy (seven subsections), scope of the affected population (three subsections), HEIA results (seven subsections), and recommendations (three subsections).

CONCLUSION

Needs assessment, monitoring during implementation, health impact assessment, and other tools such as monitoring outcome reports, appraisals, and checklists are all methods for assessing health equity impact. Other equity-focused indicators, such as the equity lens and equity appraisal, may have slightly different goals than the HEIA. Similarly, the formats for presenting and publishing HEIA reports might vary, depending on the target population and the importance of the report.

Clinical validation of the nursing diagnosis "Risk for delayed child development"

OBJECTIVE

To validate clinically the risk factors of the nursing diagnosis "Risk for delayed child development".

METHOD

Cross-sectional quantitative study carried out in a specialty outpatient clinic and in family health units with 124 children. The data was collected through interviews with the children's guardians to investigate the risk factors for delay in child development.

RESULTS

The tested risk factors affected 108 of the evaluated children (87.1%). In the accuracy tests, most specificity values were above 80% and sensitivity values were lower than 30%. Most risk factors had odds ratio >1, three of which were noteworthy: genetic disorder (OR = 38, p < 0.05) and congenital disorder (OR = 4.4, p < 0.05), among child-related aspects, and impaired cognitive development in parents (OR = 27, p < 0.05), among caregiver-related aspects.

CONCLUSION

The study contributed to a refined diagnostic accuracy, identifying potential associated factors of the evaluated diagnosis.

The relationship model among parent-child relationship, coping responses and behavioral problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) constitutes a prevalent behavioral problem. The present study examined the parent-child relationship model and investigated strategies to cope with behavioral problems in children with ADHD.

METHODS

This descriptive study selected 300 children with ADHD using convenience sampling. The data collected using the child behavior checklist, the parent-child relationship scale (PCRS), the Billings and Moos Coping Checklist, the socioeconomic status questionnaire, the general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and a demographic checklist were analyzed in SPSS-25 and LISREL 8.8.

RESULTS

According to the results of the path analysis on the relationship model among parent-child relationship domains, coping responses and children's behavioral problems, parent-child dependency domain (B = 0.22) in the direct path, disease duration (B = 0.085) in the indirect path, and conflicts in the domain of parent-child relationship (B = 0.366) in both direct and indirect paths had the most positive causal effect on behavioral problems. Furthermore, intimacy in the said domain (B = -0.42) had the most negative causal effect in both direct and indirect paths. The extent to which parents used coping responses via the direct path had a positive causal effect on behavioral problems (B = 0.12). Based on the path analysis test findings in the relationship model among positive parent-child relationship, coping responses and children's behavioral problems, the positive parent-child relationship score had the most negative causal effect via the direct path (B = -0.56). Conversely, the child's age had the highest positive causal effect via the indirect path (B = 0.1) on behavioral problems in children.

CONCLUSION

Based on findings, there is a causal and significant relationship between the parent-child relationship and the extent to which coping responses are used. It is recommended that training programs be developed to strengthen communication skills, coping responses and problem-solving techniques in parents.

Validação clínica do diagnóstico de enfermagem “Risco de atraso no desenvolvimento infantil”

RESUMO Objetivo: Realizar a validação clínica dos fatores de risco do diagnóstico de Enfermagem “Risco de atraso no desenvolvimento infantil”. Método: Estudo transversal, de abordagem quantitativa, realizado em um ambulatório de especialidades e em unidades de saúde da família, com 124 crianças. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de entrevistas com os responsáveis pelas crianças e investigou os fatores de risco para atraso no desenvolvimento infantil. Resultados: Os fatores de risco sob teste estiveram presentes em 108 crianças avaliadas (87,1%). Nos testes de acurácia, a maioria dos valores de especificidade foi acima de 80%, e os de sensibilidade, inferiores a 30%. A maioria dos fatores de risco teve odds ratio >1, com destaque para três: distúrbio genético (OR = 38, p < 0,05) e distúrbio congênito (OR = 4,4, p < 0,05), entre os aspectos relativos à criança, e o desenvolvimento cognitivo dos pais prejudicado (OR = 27, p < 0,05), entre os aspectos dos cuidadores. Conclusão O estudo contribuiu para o refinamento da acurácia diagnóstica, identificando fatores potencialmente associados ao diagnóstico avaliado.