Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing:introduction

In the last decades we have seen a growing interest in research into children's own experiences and understandings of health and illness. This development, we would argue, is much stimulated by the sociology of childhood which has drawn our attention to how children as a social group are placed and perceived within the structure of society, and within inter-generational relations, as well as how children are social agents and co-constructors of their social world. Drawing on this tradition, we here address some cross-cutting themes that we think are important to further the study of child health: situating children within health policy, drawing attention to practices around children's health and well-being and a focus on children as health actors. The paper contributes to a critical analysis of child health policy and notions of child health and normality, pointing to theoretical and empirical research potential for the sociology of children's health and illness.

Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing:introduction

This chapter focuses on concepts and theoretical points of departure found in child health and wellbeing studies. Firstly, seeing children as a social group draws attention to the ways this group is placed and perceived in the structures of societies. Children as a social group need to be understood in relation to other social groups. Secondly, understanding children as social agents and as co-constructors of their social worlds is fundamental to studying their experiences and ways of dealing with health and wellbeing in everyday life. Thirdly, in recent years, there has been a turn towards seeing children as beings. The chapter discusses the child health issues and concerns in contemporary society. Children are diagnosed with an increasing range of conditions and are subject to more and more elaborate child health and welfare interventions, reflecting a medical perspective on the changing panorama of illness and health risks in the 21st century.

Advocating alcohol abstinence to pregnant women: some observations about British policy

In 2007, the English Department of Health (DH) issued advice stating 'pregnant woman' and 'those trying to conceive' should abstain from drinking alcohol. As others have noted, this advice was issued despite their being no new evidence about the deleterious effects of low levels of alcohol consumption. In this paper, we argue this development is significant for the social construction of 'risk', since in advocating abstinence without an evidence base for this advice, policy makers formalise a connection between uncertainty and danger. We suggest this development has important implications, most obviously for pregnant women, certainly impacting on the nature of the advice they will now receive and likely more generally on their experience of the transition to motherhood. We suggest it has wider implications for individuals' experience also, as policy makers appear to be advocating the same approach to risk to non-pregnant people. Further, it suggests a noteworthy formalisation of a new definition of risk, which should be debated far more extensively, as it matters for the future development of health policy.

Developing user involvement in a UK cancer network:professionals’ and users’ perspectives

This paper explores the results of a consensus development exercise that explored diverse perspectives and sought to identify key principles for the development of user involvement in a cancer network. The exercise took place within one of 34 UK cancer networks and was a collaboration between the NHS, two universities and two voluntary sector organizations. The paper explores professionals’ and users’ perspectives on user involvement with reference to the current sociopolitical context of user participation. British policy documents have placed increasing emphasis on issues of patient and public participation in the evaluation and development of health services, and the issue of lay participation represents an important aspect of a critical public health agenda. The project presented here shows that developing user involvement may be a complex task, with lack of consensus on key issues representing a significant barrier. Further, the data suggest that professional responses can partly be understood in relation to specific occupational standpoints and strategies that potentially allow professionals to define and limit users’ involvement. The implications of these findings and the impact of the consensus development process itself are discussed.

Work disability and depressive disorders:impact on the European population

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the impact of depressive disorders on work disability to discover the determinants of depression for work disability in the European countries. DESIGN: The sample was composed of 31,126 individuals from 29 countries included in the 2002 World Health Survey of the World Health Organization. National representative samples of countries from all regions of Europe and with different levels of economic development and health coverage were selected. RESULTS: Estimates of people not working because of ill health did not differ among European countries in relation to levels of economic development or health coverage. Significant determinants of people with diagnosis of depression not working because of ill health (reference category) versus working were age (odds ratio = 0.97), female sex (odds ratio = 1.71), education (odds ratio = 1.11), marital status (being unmarried indicating less probability), lowest income level, and comorbidity with angina pectoris (odds ratio = 0.51). Moreover, according to previous studies, we found some determinants (comorbidity with other diseases, young age, and unemployment) impacting on health status. CONCLUSIONS: Depression is a substantial cause of work disability and it is a complex phenomenon that involves many variables. Investigation into this relationship should improve, focusing on the role of determinants.

Biologising parenting:neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child

In recent years, claims about children's developing brains have become central to the formation of child health and welfare policies in England. While these policies assert that they are based on neuro-scientific discoveries, their relationship to neuroscience itself has been debated. However, what is clear is that they portray a particular understanding of children and childhood, one that is marked by a lack of acknowledgment of child personhood. Using an analysis of key government-commissioned reports and additional advocacy documents, this article illustrates the ways that the mind of the child is reduced to the brain, and this brain comes to represent the child. It is argued that a highly reductionist and limiting construction of the child is produced, alongside the idea that parenting is the main factor in child development. It is concluded that this focus on children's brains, with its accompanying deterministic perspective on parenting, overlooks children's embodied lives and this has implications for the design of children's health and welfare services.

Biologising parenting:neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child

In recent years, claims about children's developing brains have become central to the formation of child health and welfare policies in England. While these policies assert that they are based on neuro-scientific discoveries, their relationship to neuroscience itself has been debated. However what is clear is that they portray a particular understanding of children and childhood, one that is marked by a lack of acknowledgment of child personhood. Using an analysis of key government-commissioned reports and additional advocacy documents, this chapter illustrates the ways that the mind of the child is reduced to the brain, and this brain comes to represent the child. It is argued that a highly reductionist and limiting construction of the child is produced, alongside the idea that parenting is the main factor in child development. It is concluded that this focus on children's brains, with its accompanying deterministic perspective on parenting, overlooks children's embodied lives and this has implications for the design of children's health and welfare services.

Maternal mind-mindedness during infancy, general parenting sensitivity and observed child feeding behavior:a longitudinal study

Maternal mind-mindedness, or the tendency to view the child as a mental agent, has been shown to predict sensitive and responsive parenting behavior. As yet the role of mind-mindedness has not been explored in the context of feeding interactions. This study evaluates the relations between maternal mind-mindedness at 6 months of infant age and subsequently observed maternal sensitivity and feeding behaviors with children at age 1 year. Maternal mind-mindedness was greater in mothers who had breast-fed compared to formula-fed. Controlling for breast-feeding, mind-mindedness at 6 months was correlated with observations of more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors at 1 year of age. Mind-mindedness was also associated with greater general maternal sensitivity in play and this general parenting sensitivity mediated the effect of mind-mindedness on more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors. Interventions to promote maternal tendency to consider their child's mental states may encourage more adaptive parental feeding behaviors. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Parenting a child with chronic illness as they transition into adulthood:a systematic review and thematic synthesis of parents’ experiences

Objective - To understand how parents view and experience their role as their child with a long-term physical health condition transitions to adulthood and adult healthcare services. Methods - Five databases were systematically searched for qualitative articles examining parents’ views and experiences of their child’s healthcare transition. Papers were quality assessed and thematically synthesised. Results - Thirty-two papers from six countries, spanning a 17-year period were included. Long-term conditions were diverse. Findings indicated that parents view their child’s progression toward self-care as an incremental process which they seek to facilitate through up-skilling them in self-management practices. Parental perceptions of their child’s readiness, wellness, competence and long-term condition impacted on the child’ progression to healthcare autonomy. A lack of transitional healthcare and differences between paediatric and adult services served as barriers to effective transition. Parents were required to adjust their role, responsibilities and behaviour to support their child’s growing independence. Conclusion - Parents can be key facilitators of their child’s healthcare transition, supporting them to become experts in their own condition and care. To do so, they require clarification on their role and support from service providers. Practice Implications - Interventions are needed which address the transitional care needs of parents as well as young people.