Multimedia Featured Resource: Child Trends recently added new resources on positive indicators of child development to its website, including the recording and slides from the July 19, 2012, webinar Measuring Flourishing Among Youth. More information and resources on national indicators of flourishing among children, adolescents, and young adults for inclusion in national surveys, research studies, and program evaluations is available from the website at http://www.childtrends.org/_docdisp_page.cfm?LID=0D4A5339-82B7-4F9A-87334D04ED13E922
1. MCH Library Compiles Resources in Support of LGBTQ Youth
The Maternal and Child Health Library (MCH Library) at Georgetown University has developed a new set of resource briefs to help professionals, families, and schools promote health in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The briefs, developed with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, point to a summary of definitions and word usage; support services; federal agency and national organization websites; electronic documents and videos; and related MCH Library resources. The briefs are available as follows:
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth: Resource Brief
http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/LGBTQ.html
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth: Resource Brief for Families
http://www.mchlibrary.info/families/frb_LGBTQ.html
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth: Resource Brief for Schools
http://www.mchlibrary.info/schools/srb_LGBTQ.html
MCH Library resource briefs on other topics are available at http://mchlibrary.info/guidestopic.html. The MCH Library welcomes feedback on the usefulness and value of the resource briefs. A feedback form is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/feedback/index.html
2. Brief Examines State Trends in Building or Enhancing Early-Learning Data Systems
Developing Coordinated Longitudinal Early Childhood Data Systems: Trends and Opportunities in Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Applications presents an analysis of state plans to build or enhance early-learning data systems. The issue brief was developed by the Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC), a partnership of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley; the Council of Chief State School Officers; the Data Quality Campaign; the National Conference of State Legislatures; the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and the Pew Home Visiting Campaign. Child Trends serves as ECDC's central hub. The brief does not reflect what has been or will be implemented but rather is a window into what states are thinking about and a guide for future trends in the development of integrated state early childhood education (ECE) data systems. Topics include making data accessible to improve and inform ECE practice and policy, linking existing ECE data systems, filling ECE data gaps to include work force and child-development data, strengthening the connection between ECE data and data from other systems, and developing interagency data-governance structures. The brief is available at http://www.ecedata.org/files/ecdc-rttt.pdf
3. Authors Explore the Availability of Child-Only Policies in the Individual Market
Child-Only Coverage and the Affordable Care Act: Lessons for Policymakers examines actions taken by states to promote the availability of coverage to children under age 19 in need of individual health insurance policies. The issue brief, published by the Commonwealth Fund, is based on a review of new actions taken by all 50 states and the District of Columbia between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2012, to promote the availability of child-only policies for health insurance plans or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, in the individual health insurance market. The review included new state laws, regulations, and subregulatory guidance. The resulting assessments of state actions were confirmed by state regulators. The brief contains background, information about the study, findings, state spotlights, and policy implications. The brief is available online.
4. Article Explores Risk Factors for Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among 2-Year-Olds
"The identification of significant risk factors for soda and other SSB [sugar-sweetened beverages] consumption by young children may act as an impetus for policy recommendations, future research and interventions targeting parents of young children," write the authors of an article published in Public Health Nutrition online on October 4, 2012. SSB consumption has been implicated as a significant cause of obesity. The percentage of obese preschool children in the United States doubled from 5 percent in 1970 to an estimated 9.5 percent in 2008. Overweight children are at least twice as likely to become overweight adults compared with their healthy-weight peers. To help fill gaps in research and current knowledge about risk factors associated with early childhood consumption of SSB, the study described in this article provides evidence from a large population-based sample using three linked data sets to explore risk factors for consumption of soda and other SSB.
To perform their analysis, the authors used the 2004-2005 Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey (PRAMS) and its longitudinal follow-up, the 2006-2007 Oregon PRAMS-2, as well as 2004-2005 birth certificates. The main outcome measure in the present analysis was SSB consumption on at least 1 day per week when the child was approximately 25 months old.
The authors found that
"Parents, physicians and teachers should be educated about the dangers of SSB and mobilized to change patterns of SSB use by children," the authors conclude.
Garnett BR, Rosenberg KD, Morris DS. 2012. Consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages by 2-year-olds: Findings from a population-based survey. Public Health Nutrition [published online on October 4, 2012]. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980012004399
Readers: More information is available from the following MCH Library resource:
- Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Knowledge Path at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_overweight.html
5. Study Identifies Effective Predischarge Newborn Screening Assessment
"Our study provides a prospective assessment of jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia in a US population of newborn infants that was approximately one-quarter nonwhite race and more than one-half of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity," state the authors of an article published in the Journal of Pediatrics online on October 8, 2012. The 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Clinical Practice Guideline recommends that all infants born at 35 weeks' gestation or later be assessed before discharge for the risk of developing severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia using clinical risk factors, bilirubin measurements, or both. An expert panel recently suggested combining universal bilirubin measurements with clinical risk factors for predischarge assessment. However, which risk factors are most meaningful when applied to a diverse population is uncertain. The article describes a study to identify the most effective predischarge assessment for the risk of developing subsequent hyperbilirubinemia.
The prospective observational multicenter cohort study sample included infants who were managed exclusively in the newborn nursery and were born at 35 weeks' gestation or later. All participating centers had implemented the AAP guideline, and routine clinical care included universal predischarge total plasma-serum bilirubin (TSB) screening. The analysis evaluated the predictive value of bilirubin measurements [TSB or transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB)] and clinical factors for hyperbilirubinemia, with phototherapy use as the outcome.
The authors found that
The authors conclude that the predictability of this combination "provides evidence that supports the recommendations made by the AAP Expert Panel." "Importantly," they add, "the predictive role of GA as a preeminent clinical risk factor for subsequent phototherapy highlights the need for close monitoring of infants [born at 38 weeks' gestation or earlier] during the first week after birth."
Bhutani VK, Stark AR, Lazzeroni LC, et al. 2012. Predischarge screening for severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia identifies infants who need phototherapy. The Journal of Pediatrics [published online on October 8, 2012]. Abstract available at http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(12)00939-0/abstract
Readers: More information is available from the following MCH Library resource:
- Newborn Screening: A Bibliography of Materials from MCHLine at
http://www.mchlibrary.info/databases/bibliography.php?target=auto_search_neoscrn
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