Position, professional expertise and functions of an educator of child care homes in Lithuania

Speaking about professionals, working with children at child care homes in Lithuania, first of all we encounter a problem of terminology. This problem rises, because in various countries and languages we call these professionals differently. In Lithuania we call them ”aukletojai”. We also use the word ”aukletojas” when speaking about both professionals, working directly with children at kindergartens, and parents, as all parents are educators of their children. We suppose, that the word ”aukletojas” corresponds to the German “erzieher”, and “aukleti” to “erziehen”. Every “aukletojas” in Lithuania clearly realizes, that he is a pedagogue, because in this country every professional, involved in educational work with children – an ”aukletojas”, a teacher, a social pedagogue and a special pedagogue – is called a pedagogue. In this context it is essential to conceive that in Lithuania an ”educator” and a ”social pedagogue” are different pedagogical professions and that none of the ”aukletojas” identify himself as a social pedagogue.

Skin and mucosa care in systemic sclerosis - patients' and family caregivers' experiences and expectations of a specific education programme: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND Skin and mucosal manifestations such as skin thickening, pruritus, reduced microvascular circulation, digital lesions, appearance-related changes, and dryness of the eyes and mucosa are common in systemic sclerosis (SSc). A specific skin and mucosa care education programme for patients and their family caregivers should increase their self-efficacy and improve coping strategies. AIMS The aims of this qualitative study were to explore the participants' experiences of both everyday life with skin and mucosal manifestations and the programme itself, while identifying unmet needs for programme development. METHODS Narrative interviews were conducted with eight SSc patients and two family caregivers of individuals with SSc. Using qualitative content analysis techniques, the transcribed interviews were systematically summarized and categories inductively developed. RESULTS The findings illustrated participants' experiences of skin and mucosal symptoms and revealed them to be experts in finding the right therapy mix alone (before diagnosis) and also in collaboration with health professionals (after diagnosis). Participants emphasized that the programme gave them useful education on skin and mucosa care. They described how they had to cope alone with the lack of information on pathophysiology, people's reactions, and the impact on their family and working lives. Nevertheless, participants said that they maintained a positive attitude by not dwelling on future disabilities. CONCLUSIONS Patients and family caregivers benefited from the individualized and SSc-specific education on skin and mucosa care. Future improvements to the programme should focus on imparting understandable information on SSc pathophysiology, dealing with disfigurement and seeking reliable disease information, as well as facilitating peer support.

Effects of systematic patient education in skin care and protection in a hand eczema clinic.

BACKGROUND Hand eczema has a high impact on patients' quality of life. The treatment focuses on improving skin barrier function. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects and acceptance of a novel educational program for patients with hand eczema. METHODS Retrospectively, the records of 36 patients who attended the prevention program and follow-up visits were analyzed. Physician global assessment (PGA) scores, acceptance and behavioral changes were assessed. RESULTS In 67% of patients, an improvement of the hand eczema could be attributed to the effects of our educational program. The mean PGA score significantly decreased from 3 before education to 2.2 during follow-up. Behavioral changes in both skin care and protection were reported in 81 and 86%, respectively. CONCLUSIONs: Our educational program had a positive effect on clinical outcome as well as adherence to skin care and protection measures. Its integration in a hand eczema clinic was feasible and well accepted by the patients.

Strategies for obesity prevention in child care settings: A literature review

Background. Children in the age group of 2-5 years spend substantial amount of time during the day in some kind of childcare setting. These settings are an excellent environmental infrastructure to enhance their nutrition and physical activity behavior and to promote healthy eating and physical activity habits. Due to the steep rise in overweight and obesity among children in the past three decades, it becomes essential to intervene early. There exists a need for literature on a comprehensive and sustainable approach to obesity prevention for younger children in these settings. ^ Methods. Systematic literature search was undertaken using databases like Medline Ovid, Pubmed, Medline Ebsco, and Cochrane Library. Articles published in English as well as English language abstracts of foreign articles were included. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) Studies conducted in any part of the world exploring relevant themes and a child care or preschool setting would be included. (2) The interventions promoted physical activity, nutrition/healthy eating/improved diet, reduced television viewing, reduced BMI, changed knowledge and behavior of children and or staff or affected policy/standards/regulations. (3) The population was children in the age group of at least 2 years to 5 years. (4) Articles published in English and English language abstracts for foreign articles would be included. ^ Results. 16 articles were included in the review that consisted of primary interventions in the form of randomized control trials or pre-post interventions were conducted in a preschool or child care or day care setting only. The outcomes pertaining to healthy weight in children were increased vegetable intake, reduced BMI and increased knowledge among others. ^ Conclusion. There is a dearth of data on strong intervention trials in the child care setting. Preschool research studies in the young children that have been conducted are not strong enough. There is a need for more randomized control trials and a well planned evaluation in the preschool age children. There is a need to develop outcome measures that can accurately assess the changes in diet and physical activity in this age group. Child care nutrition and physical activity standards need to be made stringent. ^

Infectious diseases, immune status, and health insurance among child care providers in Houston, Texas

The objectives of this study were to compare female child-care providers with female university workers and with mothers of children in child-care centers for: (1) frequency of illness and work loss days due to infectious diseases, (2) prevalence of antibodies against measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, chickenpox and cytomegalovirus (CMV), and (3) status regarding health insurance and job benefits.^ Subjects from twenty child-care centers and twenty randomly selected departments of a university in Houston, Texas were studied in a cross-sectional fashion.^ A cluster sample of 281 female child-care providers from randomly selected child-care centers, a cluster sample of 286 university workers from randomly selected departments and a systematic sample of 198 mothers of children from randomly selected child-care centers.^ Main outcome measures were: (1) self-reported frequency of infectious diseases and number of work-days lost due to infectious diseases; (2) presence of antibodies in blood; and (3) self-reported health insurance and job benefits.^ In comparison to university workers, child-care providers reported a higher prevalence of infectious diseases in the past 30 days; lost three times more work-days due to infectious diseases; and were more likely to have anti-core antibodies against hepatitis B (odds ratio = 3.16 95% CI 1.27-7.85) and rubella (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.02-3.45). Child-care providers had less health insurance and job-related benefits than mothers of children attending child-care centers.^ Regulations designed to reduce transmission of vaccine and non-vaccine preventable diseases in child-care centers should be strictly enforced. In addition policies to improve health insurance and job benefits of child-care providers are urgently needed. ^

Better together: Addressing maternal and child health outcomes through community health worker continuing education curricula

Background. The incidence of birth defects is a significant public health issue in the United States, adversely affecting the quality of life for parents as well as children born with these defects. Minority populations face a greater burden of birth defects and associated health problems. Prenatal practices can have a large impact on infant health outcomes. Several behaviors during pregnancy, including the intake of folic acid, can greatly influence the likelihood of a child being born with a birth defect. Community Health Workers have been shown to be effective agents at improving prenatal practices, especially when they facilitate support groups that feature pregnant women. ^ Methods. A continuing education curriculum has been created for Community Health Workers that provides content in the area of Maternal and Child Health. Content was selected after conducting a review of relevant literature and theory. Materials for conducting a training for Community Health Workers have been created in addition to materials that were designed for the population with whom the CHWs work. ^ Results. A description of each "key point" of the curriculum and a justification how it relates to the literature of the prevention of birth defects is given here. Additionally, the process of creating the curriculum using the platform delineated in the methods is described. ^ Discussion. Insights for future curriculum development are discussed along with next steps in the process of certifying the curriculum at the state level. A framework for future evaluation of the curriculum is given.^

Packages of interventions for family planning, safe abortion care, maternal, newborn and child health

The evidence shows that high maternal, perinatal, neonatal and child mortality rates are associated with inadequate and poor quality health services. Evidence also suggests that explicit, evidence-based, cost effective packages of interventions can improve the processes and outcomes of health care when appropriately implemented. This document describes the key effective interventions organized in packages across the continuum of care through pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, newborn care and care of the child. The packages are defined for community and/or facility levels in developing countries and provide guidance on the essential components needed to assure adequacy and quality of care

Successful Navigation of the Conflict between Doctoral Education and Cultural Expectations of Child Rearing in Hispanic Culture

While the numbers are slowly rising, Hispanic students continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in all levels of higher education, including doctoral education. There are many factors that may contribute to the low numbers of Hispanic doctoral students; for Hispanic women, one of these factors may be the perceived conflict between cultural expectations of childrearing and doctoral education. For Hispanic students who hold strong cultural values, this conflict may prevent enrollment in, or result in attrition from, doctoral education. As the number of Hispanic college enrollment increases, we will see more students trying to navigate between the collectivistic value of childrearing and the individualistic value of pursuing higher education. Thus, it is important to understand the needs of these students to aid in recruitment and retention of student-parents in all levels of higher education. This paper explores the barriers and supportive factors for current Hispanic doctoral student-parents. Suggestions are made to increase support which will allow these individuals to successfully complete a doctoral education, while attending to the responsibilities of parenting.

Recent Changes in European Welfare State Services: A Comparison of Child Care Politics in the U.K., Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 07.6, 1997

This paper examines recent policies and politics of services, in particular child care services in European welfare states. It is argued that social (care) services are becoming an increasingly political issue in postindustrial societies and are at the very center of welfare-state restructuring. Some countries have recently developed new policy pro­ grams for child care-but there are important differences among these programs. To understand these differences as well as some common features, the paper argues that it is necessary to examine the institutional organization of child care and short-term political factors as well as the rationales articulated in political debates to support or im­ pede various policies. The paper concludes that a comprehensive system of child care provisions is still far off in most countries, despite a rhetoric of choice and postindustrial care and labor-market patterns.

Special education and the Hispanic child : proceedings from the second annual Colloquium on Hispanic Issues /

"August 1981."

Home health care benefits under Medicare and Medicaid, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare : report to the Congress /

Publication date stamped on cover.

Supplemental security income overpayments to Medicaid nursing home residents can be reduced, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Health Care Financing Administration : report to the Congress /

Supt. of Docs. no. : GA 1.13:HRD-77-131

On the importance of an early correct education of children : embracing the mutual obligations and duties of parent and child ; and also the qualifications and discipline of teachers, with their emolument ; and a plan suggested whereby all our common schools can advantageously be made free ; the whole interspersed with several amusing, chaste anecdotes growing out of the domestic and scolastic circle ; to which is subjoined by way of appendix, the Declaration of Independence ... ; the Constitution of the United States ; with that of the state of New York as lately adopted /

Bound in green cloth; stamped in gold and blind.

The future of health care in America [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, One Hundredth Congress, second session.

"June 14, 16, 21, and 23, 1988"--Pt. 2.