Category: Child Health

First 1000 days of life

Health and Social Care Committee, February 2019
This report calls on the Government to produce a long-term, cross-Government strategy for the first 1000 days of life, setting goals to reduce adverse childhood experiences, improve school readiness and reduce infant mortality and child poverty.  The report also calls for the Government’s Healthy Child Programme to be revised, improved and given greater impetus. The Committee recommends that the programme should be expanded to focus on the health of the whole family, begin before conception, deliver a greater continuity of care for children, parents and families during this period and extend visits beyond age 2½ years.
Click here to view the full report.

UK CMO commentary on screen time and social media map of reviews

Department of Health and Social Care, February 2019
This report outlines the UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) commentary on research that was done on screen-based activities and children and young people’s mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.  The report includes their advice for parents and carers, and their recommendations for other stakeholders.
Click here to view the report.
 
 

Impact of social media and screen-use on young people’s health

The House of Commons Select Science and Technology Committee, January 2019
This report provides the findings of an inquiry examining whether the growing use of social media, and screens, among children is healthy or harmful.  It looks at the evidence base for such claims, and whether any new measures or controls are required.  The report highlights the benefits of social media, while also revealing the potential risks children face when accessing social media, and suggests what can be done to protect young users when they are online.
Click here to view the full report.

The next generation: how intergenerational interaction improves life chances of children and young people

United for All Ages, January 2019
This report looks at how intergenerational interaction can have benefits for children and young people who currently face a growing crisis of confidence, loneliness and anxiety, often fearful about the future, fragmented families, segregated by age, with cuts in services and financial support.  The report finds that interaction between older and younger people can help address these issues – starting at an early age with nurseries and care homes linking, through schools, colleges and universities, to mentoring and community projects.

Click here to view the full report.

The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry – February 2019

The February issue of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry has been published.  This issue includes articles on the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, the effects of cesarean delivery and antibiotic use in early childhood on risk of later attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and developmental changes in longitudinal associations between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms from late childhood to middle adolescence.
Click here to view the table of contents.
Click here to request an article from the Library.

State of Child Health: Two Years On

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, January 2019
This report provides and update on progress made against the policy recommendations in the RCPCH State of Child Health 2017 report.  The RCPCH congratulates the Government on its commitment to child health, commending them on bold pledges in areas such as obesity, mental health and the integration of children’s health services.  However, the report also shows that England continues to lag behind other Western European countries on a range of child health outcomes including reducing child poverty and inequality, infant mortality, tobacco and alcohol control, and breastfeeding.
Click here to view the full report.

Overview of the 6 early years and school aged years high impact areas: Health visitors and school nurses leading the Healthy Child Programme

Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England, December 2018
The purpose of this report is to illustrate the contribution of health visitors to the Healthy Child Programme (0-5) and school nurses to the Healthy Child Programme (5-19) and to describe areas where health visitors and school nurses have a significant impact on health and wellbeing and improving outcomes for children, young people, families and communities.
Click here to view the full report.