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Background: Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)-associated delirium contributes to a decline in postdischarge quality of life, with worse outcomes for individuals with delayed identification. As delirium screening rates remain low within PICUs, caregivers may be able to assist with early detection, for which they need more education, as awareness of pediatric delirium among caregivers remains limited. Objective: This study aimed to develop an educational tool for caregivers to identify potential delirium symptoms during their child's PICU stay, educate them on how to best support their child if they experience delirium, and guide them to relevant family resources. Methods: Web-based focus groups were conducted at a tertiary pediatric hospital with expected end users of the tool (ie, PICU health care professionals and caregivers of children with an expected PICU length of stay of over 48 h) to identify potential educational information for inclusion in a family resource guide and to identify strategies for effective implementation. Data were analyzed thematically to generate requirements to inform prototype development. Participants then provided critical feedback on the initial prototype, which guided the final design. Results: In all, 24 participants (18 health care professionals and 6 caregivers) attended 7 focus groups. Participants identified five informational sections for inclusion: (1) delirium definition, (2) key features of delirium (signs and symptoms), (3) postdischarge outcomes associated with delirium, (4) tips to inform family-centered care, and (5) education or supportive resources. Participants identified seven design requirements: information should (1) be presented in an order that resembles the structure of the clinical discussion around delirium; (2) increase accessibility, recall, and preparedness by providing multiple formats; (3) aim to reduce stress by implementing positive framing; (4) minimize cognitive load to ensure adequate information processing; (5) provide supplemental electronic resources via QR codes; (6) emphasize collaboration between caregivers and the health care team; and (7) use prompting questions to act as a call to action for caregivers. Conclusions: Key design requirements derived from end-user feedback were established and guided the development of a novel pediatric delirium education tool. Implementing this tool into regular practice has the potential to reduce distress and assist in the early recognition and treatment of delirium in the PICU domain. Future evaluation of its clinical utility is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Canada identifies numeracy as a foundational skill for work, learning, and life. Libraries have historically been champions of literacy; however, the role of libraries in developing numeracy skills is understudied. Specifically, there is a critical gap in studying numeracy programs offered by public libraries. This exploratory study examines the state of numeracy programming at five major urban public libraries in Canada (Calgary Public Library, Edmonton Public Library, Bibliothèques de Montréal, Ottawa Public Library, and Toronto Public Library) to understand the types and varieties of numeracy programs that they offer. The frequency of programs, the intended age range, and the program content are the main foci of this paper. The researchers examined 1166 program listings by scraping programming information from the five libraries' websites. The data was collected for the second week of December 2015 and relied on programming descriptions from libraries' websites. Results showed that a total of 65 programs (5.6% of total programs) covered numeracy related skills. Overall, the options to learn about numeracy concepts were very limited at all of the libraries in the sample. Calgary offered the highest number of children-focused numeracy programs, while Toronto offered the greatest number of adult-focused numeracy programs. "Math/mathematics" was the most common term used to describe numeracy-related programs. This exploratory study underscores the need for greater investigation of numeracy programming in public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kindergarten program, Tools of the Mind (Tools), has been shown to improve executive functions (as assessed by laboratory measures) and academic performance. The objective here was to see if Tools can improve executive functions in the real world (in the classroom), academic outcomes not previously investigated, reduce bullying and peer ostracism, and increase teachers’ and students’ joy in being in the classroom. This first randomized controlled trial of Tools in Canada included 351 kindergarten children (mean age 5.2 years at entry; 51% female) in 18 public schools. Stratified randomization resulted in teachers and students in both groups being closely matched. Teachers in both groups received the same number of training hours and same funds for new materials. Outcome measures were pre and post standardized academic skill assessments and teacher online survey responses. This study replicated that Tools improves reading and shows for the first time that it improves writing (far exceeding levels the school districts had seen before), self-control and attention-regulation in the real world (e.g., time on task without supervision), reduces teacher burnout and children being ostracized or excluded, and increases the joy students and teachers experience in school. By Spring, Tools teachers were still enthusiastic about teaching; control teachers were exhausted. These results were not only better than the control group but also better than Tools teachers experienced the year before Tools. Thus, children in a kindergarten curriculum that emphasized play, improving self-regulation, working together and helping one another, and hands-on learning performed better academically, showed less bullying and peer ostracism and more kindness and helping behavior than students in more traditional classes, and teacher enthusiasm for teaching soared. Tools reduced initial disparities separating children, schools, and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined profiles of participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs) in 4th grade children (N = 27,121; Mean age = 9.20 years; SD = .54; 51% male) in British Columbia, Canada. Latent class analyses were used to establish activity profiles and determine class membership; ANCOVA was used to investigate differences in mental wellbeing (optimism, life satisfaction, self-concept) and perceived overall health between groups. Data came from a cross-sectional, population-level child self-report survey (i.e., the Middle Years Development Instrument) implemented with 4th grade children in public schools. We found four distinct ECA profiles: participation in “All Activities”, “No activities”, “Sports” (i.e., individual and team sports), and “Individual activities” (i.e., educational programs, arts/music, individual sports). Wellbeing and health scores were highest for children in the “All Activities” and the “Sports” clusters, and lowest for those in “No Activities” and the cluster reflecting individual activities (i.e., “Individual activities”). Results are discussed in the context of previous research, and with respect to practical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food insecurity is associated with a wide array of negative health outcomes and higher health care costs but there has been no population-based study of the association of food insecurity and mortality in high-income countries. Methods: We use cross-sectional population surveys linked to encoded health administrative data. The sample is 90,368 adults, living in Ontario and respondents in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). The outcome of interest is all-cause mortality at any time after the interview and within four years of the interview. The primary variable of interest is food insecurity status, with individuals classed as “food secure”, “marginally food insecure”, “moderately food insecure”, or “severely food insecure”. We use logistic regression models to determine the association of mortality with food insecurity status, adjusting for other social determinants of health. Results: Using a full set of covariates, in comparison to food secure individuals, the odds of death at any point after the interview are 1.28 (CI = 1.08, 1.52) for marginally food insecure individuals, 1.49 (CI = 1.29, 1.73) for moderately food insecure individuals, and 2.60 (CI = 2.17, 3.12) for severely food insecure individuals. When mortality within four years of the interview is considered, the odds are, respectively, 1.19 (CI = 0.95, 1.50), 1.65 (CI = 1.37, 1.98), and 2.31 (CI = 1.81, 2.93). Interpretation: These findings demonstrate that food insecurity is associated with higher mortality rates and these higher rates are especially large for the most severe food insecurity category. Efforts to reduce food insecurity should be incorporated into broader public health initiatives to reduce mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children do not know everything that adults know, nor do adults know everything that children know. The present research examined the universality of beliefs about child and adult knowledge and their development with 4- and 7-year-old Canadian and Japanese children (N = 96). In both countries, all children were able to identify adult-specific knowledge and only older children displayed beliefs about child-specific knowledge. However, Japanese and Canadian children differed in whether they used their own knowledge in deciding whether a person who knew an item was a child or an adult. In addition, parental and child beliefs were related in Japan but not in Canada. These findings indicate that children growing up in different cultures may take different paths in developing beliefs about age-related knowledge. Implications for theories of socio-cognitive development and learning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses longitudinal microdata from the Statistics Canada National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to study the family income dynamics of Canadian children from the time they are 4 or 5 until they are 14 or 15. Dynamics of family income have been studied less often than dynamics of child poverty. Yet we argue that from the perspective of equity, it is important to know the extent to which some children are always affluent while other children are always poor. Also, since our social safety net is designed to shelter Canadians, including children, from both economic hardship and economic loss, it is also important, from the perspective of policy, to assess risk factors for persistent low income as well as correlates of major economic loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood stress leads to adverse developmental and health outcomes in adulthood, and childhood poverty is perhaps the most significant source of stress that exists today for Canadian children. Previously, three key factors were identified that are important in improving developmental outcomes in children: reducing the stress of poverty; connecting the mother to the child's education; and connecting the mother to social support. The Mom2Mom Child Poverty Initiative was established as a model to improve developmental outcomes for vulnerable children. Mom2Mom combines current evidence regarding the social and biological determinants of child health with direct advocacy. It provides mentorship, and financial and practical support to families, with the goal of improving outcomes for children living in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the enabling and constraining effects of culture on the framing efforts of social movements by examining the use of children in materials produced by opposing sides of the Newfoundland "Confederation debate" of 1948. Cultural perceptions of children as "future citizens" of the nation coincided with a denominational schooling system which Newfoundlanders had long trusted to administer their children's civic education. The state thus had little role to play in the production of Newfoundland nationals, a situation that induced pro- and anti-Confederate frames to diverge from more familiar discourses on children and nation. The analysis shows how the coincidence of culture and structure generates cultural constrictions that shape social-movement initiatives in sometimes unexpected ways. It also contributes to the literature on the place of children in political debate, and on Newfoundland Confederation more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a comparative analysis of practical socio-educational measures in family environments in Canada and Spain. It aims to draw conclusions about what the two regions may learn from each other. This comparative pedagogy study is the result of field research on socio-educational policies designed to prevent situations of disadvantage, risk and negligence in childhood, caused by the failure of parents to carry out their educational role properly. Studies of this type may offer guidelines for the innovation and generation of new programmes, and are of special interest to social and educational institutions, increasingly concerned with the prevention of situations which cause childhood socialisation problems, by means of orientation and parental support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]