Why invest in early childhood?

Going home after a child's cardiac surgery: education for safe care

OBJECTIVES

to validate the content and appearance of the booklet "Going home after a child's cardiac surgery" and assess family members' cognitive learning regarding its use.

METHODS

a methodological and quasi-experimental study of before and after type, with semi-structured interview, pre-test and reading of the booklet in a hospital; post-test and validation occurred after hospital discharge. Wilcoxon non-parametric statistics were used.

RESULTS

nineteen family members of children with heart disease participated. The average of correct answers increased 14 percentage points from pre- to post-test; most were medication errors. There was a significant difference (p <0.0001) in the comparison between cognitive knowledge prior to using the booklet and learning acquired from its use. All items received a positive rating, except font size.

CONCLUSIONS

the booklet helps family members to understand a child's needs after cardiac surgery, and can be used to prevent unwanted occurrences and enable safe care at home.

Follow-up care for premature children: the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE

to analyze elements of the follow-up care provided to premature children amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

qualitative study from the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics, interpreting experiences with childcare provided at home. Twelve mothers and 14 children aged two years old were interviewed online via a text messaging application. Data were analyzed by interpreting meanings.

RESULTS

weaknesses stood out in the follow-up care provided to children such as gaps of communication, lack of guidance and delayed immunizations, while care intended to meet health demands was interrupted. Vulnerability aspects affecting child development included: social isolation measures that impeded the children from socializing with their peers, increased screen time, the manifestation of demanding behaviors and irritation and the mothers experiencing an overload of responsibilities. The elements that strengthened maternal care included the mothers being attentive to contagion, enjoying greater experience and satisfaction with the maternal role, spending more time with their children, and recognizing respiratory signs and symptoms, especially fever.

CONCLUSION

follow-up care provided to children in stressful situations implies implementing practices that support the wellbeing of children and families, decreasing the likelihood of children being exposed to development deficits, and detecting signs and symptoms timely. The use of nursing call centers can break the invisibility of longitudinal needs and promote health education actions at home.

Cultural adaptation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire for use in Brazil

ABSTRACT Objective A methodological study aimed at performing the cultural adaptation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire for its use in Brazil. Methods We collected data in a city in the northeastern region of the state of São Paulo, between March and September 2018; seven judges assessed its language standardization, and 85 parents of preschool children performed the cultural adaptation. Results The judges’ agreement level was above 80% for 54 of the 55 statements in the questionnaire. For the parents, the questionnaire is very good, they had no difficulties in using it; most of them understood the affirmative sentences and all parents considered the questionnaire important for the knowledge of child´s healthy eating. We estimated the internal consistency by considering the Kuder-Richardson coefficient for dichotomous variables, and the correlation of each item with the total score was also sought. The results showed values between 0.72 and 0.76, indicating a good consistency, which confirms the reliability of the Brazilian version of the questionnaire. Conclusions The Child Feeding Questionnaire was culturally adapted, aided by the parents. Future studies must be conducted in other Brazilian realities to allow the questionnaire to be widely used. It contributes to promoting the implementation of better practices in child feeding that favor healthy growth and development, as well as to encourage healthy habits in Brazilian families, and to reduce overweight and childhood obesity in the country.

Parents' Perspectives on the Health Education Provided by Clinicians in Portuguese Pediatric Hospitals and Primary Care for Children Aged 1 to 10 Years

This study aimed to analyze parents’ perspectives of the health education practice provided by health professionals to children and parents. This is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach, based on the conceptual framework of health education provided by health professionals to children/young people and families. The selection took place by non-probabilistic sampling of convenience, and was developed with parents/users of health units for pediatric hospitalization and primary health care in northern Portugal. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 20 parents from March to April 2019, and were analyzed using the content analysis technique. Health education was understood to enhance health, and the evaluation was carried out according to planning and partnership. The most frequent topics were food, the national vaccination plan, and accident prevention. The evaluation shown is very positive, pointing to the nurse as the professional of choice for this practice and thus contributing to the visibility of nursing. We can state that the perspectives of parents about the health education carried out by health professionals show a practice that values health; is adaptable to the complexity of the binomial child and parents; is capable of influencing health determinants with sustainability, efficacy, and effectiveness; and gives visibility to nurses’ positions as health educators.

Early access to biological neonatal screening: coordination among child care action programs

Objective:

To verify factors associated with early newborn access to biological neonatal screening.

Method:

A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out with all newborns who underwent tests in healthcare units, hospitals, and laboratories of a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with programs linking healthcare information. The following variables were investigated: child’s age at collection (dependent); place of collection; date of collection; and type of user (independent). Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied.

Results:

Records of 15,652 screenings were found in the two years analyzed. In the first year analyzed, 7,955 births and 7,640 (96.0%) tests were recorded, of which 5,586 (73.1%) were undertaken with newborns between three and five days old. In the next year analyzed, 8,316 births and 8,012 (96.3%) screenings were recorded, of which 7,025 (87.6%) were undertaken with newborns in the same age group. A statistically significant association was found between the variables “child’s age” and “type of user” in one year, and between the variables “child’s age” and “place of collection” in both years.

Conclusion:

Early access to these tests enables the screening of diseases and referral for treatment. The present study contributes to the management of child care programs by presenting strategies linking data and actions to improve access to biological neonatal screening.