The use of social media to communicate child health information to low-income parents: A formative study

The Internet, and specifically web 2.0 social media applications, offers an innovative method for communicating child health information to low-income parents. The main objective of this study was to use qualitative data to determine the value of using social media to reach low-income parents with child health information. A qualitative formative evaluation employing focus groups was used to determine the value of using social media for dissemination of child health information. Inclusion criteria included: (1) a parent with a child that attends a school in a designated Central Texas school district; and (2) English-speaking. The students who attend these schools are generally economically disadvantaged and are predominately Hispanic. The classic analysis strategy was used for data analysis. Focus group participants (n=19) were female (95%); White (53%), Hispanic (42%) or African American (5%); and received government assistance (63%). Most had access to the Internet (74%) and were likely to have low health literacy (53%). The most preferred source of child health information was the family pediatrician or general practitioner. Many participants were familiar with social media applications and had profiles on popular social networking sites, but used them infrequently. Objections to social media sites as sources of child health information included lack of credibility and parent time. Social media has excellent potential for reaching low-income parents when used as part of a multi-channel communication campaign. Further research should focus on the most effective type and format of messages that can promote behavior change in this population, such as story-telling. ^

Family Preservation: The Parents’ Perceptions

This research documents the perspective of 100 parents who had an open case with the Department of Children and Family Service’s (DCFS) regarding their family’s well-being, reasons for referral and satisfaction with services. Two DCFS services, Family Preservation (FP) and routine Family Maintenance (FM) were examined using standardized instruments. Parents’ responses regarding reasons for involvement with the system differed from DCFS administrative data. FP parents had more children, were more likely to be monolingual Spanish speakers, and perceived greater improvement in discipline and emotional care of children and housing than FM parents. FP parents reported being satisfied with services. Implications include supporting community based culturally competent FP programs.

Parents Too Can Evaluate Family Preservation Services - or –Involving Parents In Evaluation of Family Preservation Services

In line with the long-standing emphasis in the human services on involving clients in program evaluation, in this essay I focus on principles and strategies for involving parents in evaluation of family preservation services. In particular, I delineate the crucial roles that parents can play as partners in the helping process within a family-centered context.

Guardians of Generations: African American Grandparent Caregivers for Children of HIV/AIDS Infected Parents

Grandparents, particularly, grandmothers in the African American community have historically provided needed care for their grandchildren (Crewe, 2003). Before there was a child welfare system that addressed the needs of African American children, there were grandmothers who served as the safety net for their biological, informally adopted grandchildren, and other minor relatives. They cared for grandchildren and others whose birth parents were unable or unwilling to care for them. For families of color, HIV/AIDS is an emerging issue that is contributing to the growing numbers of grandparent-headed households. And once again, many African American grandmothers have accepted the challenge of holding their families together. This article addresses the HIV/AIDS public health challenge in the African American community with specific focus on its impact on older grandparents responsible for raising children of infected biological parents. It advocates for a model that continues to strengthen the Children’s Bureau investment in kinship care through integrating the needs of children and their aging caregivers.

Minors’ Rights as Parents

Many states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. In sharp contrast, states overwhelmingly consider minors who are parents to be capable of making critical decisions affecting the health and welfare of their children without their own parents’ knowledge or consent. Nearly every state permits minor parents to place a child for adoption, although some require an adult to be involved in the process in some capacity. Moreover, most states authorize minor parents to make health decisions for their children, and some allow minor parents to authorize surgery.

Relationship between young women and parents in rural Ethiopia

In rural Ethiopia, parents play an important role in the major life events of their daughters such as education and marriage. However, parents’ roles have been evolving, likely due to the rapid expansion of educational opportunities for girls and the growing need of cash income among rural households. Currently, encouraging their daughters to take up further education and jobs in the formal sector contrasts with rural Ethiopian women’s conventional life course events in the past, which are characterized by early marriage and low educational profiles. An interview analysis with parents of young women indicated that under the continuing de-agrarianization among rural households, women are expected to have their own cash income generating activities to qualify as marriage partners.

Raonament y coloqui nou ahon li referix un Llauró a una valencianeta les moltes gracies que tè, y com descendix de gran chent [sic], los carrecs que han tingut sos parents, el festech que ell tinguè, y com se li volia zampar la señora un rosi castañ, que ell duya quant anaba a festechar : [Texto impreso] y les moltes gracies que tenia eixe animal

Hay un ejemplar encuadernado con: Discret rahonament, quiexa formal que fan contra el Micalet de la Seu, la Torre de Espioca, y la Torre de Paterna, sobre la gran visita que éste tingué en lo dia cinc de Deembre [sic] ... per veure y admirar tan magnífica obra y deliciosa vista ... Carlos Quart (que Deu guart) y el señor Don Fernando de Borbó ... : (XVIII/1105).

NMR studies of muscle glycogen synthesis in insulin-resistant offspring of parents with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus immediately after glycogen-depleting exercise.

To examine the impact of insulin resistance on the insulin-dependent and insulin-independent portions of muscle glycogen synthesis during recovery from exercise, we studied eight young, lean, normoglycemic insulin-resistant (IR) offspring of individuals with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and eight age-weight matched control (CON) subjects after plantar flexion exercise that lowered muscle glycogen to approximately 25% of resting concentration. After approximately 20 min of exercise, intramuscular glucose 6-phosphate and glycogen were simultaneously monitored with 31P and 13C NMR spectroscopies. The postexercise rate of glycogen resynthesis was nonlinear. Glycogen synthesis rates during the initial insulin independent portion (0-1 hr of recovery) were similar in the two groups (IR, 15.5 +/- 1.3 mM/hr and CON, 15.8 +/- 1.7 mM/hr); however, over the next 4 hr, insulin-dependent glycogen synthesis was significantly reduced in the IR group [IR, 0.1 +/- 0.5 mM/hr and CON, 2.9 +/- 0.2 mM/hr; (P < or = 0.001)]. After exercise there was an initial rise in glucose 6-phosphate concentrations that returned to baseline after the first hour of recovery in both groups. In summary, we found that following muscle glycogen-depleting exercise, IR offspring of parents with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus had (i) normal rates of muscle glycogen synthesis during the insulin-independent phase of recovery from exercise and (ii) severely diminished rates of muscle glycogen synthesis during the subsequent recovery period (2-5 hr), which has previously been shown to be insulin-dependent in normal CON subjects. These data provide evidence that exercise and insulin stimulate muscle glycogen synthesis in humans by different mechanisms and that in the IR subjects the early response to stimulation by exercise is normal.