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Home-based records are paper or electronic records retained and used by mothers or caregivers to document the health services received for maternal, newborn, and child health. Little has been studied about the roles of these records on newborn and child health outcomes. Hence, we collated and summarized evidence concerning the roles of home-based records in improving newborn and child health. We conducted a systematic search in several databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, CENTRAL, DARE, NHS EED, HTA, J-STAGE, Ichushi, and gray literature. We included original research articles of all study designs published in English or Japanese until January 2020. Owing to heterogeneity across the outcomes of included studies, we conducted a narrative synthesis. We included 55 studies (23 in Japanese) among 14,017 identified articles. We identified the following roles of home-based records on newborn and child health: promoted newborn/childcare seeking, improved knowledge and practices of newborn/childcare, encouraged home care for childhood illnesses, reduced child mortality and morbidity, and facilitated continuum of care. We observed a mixed effect on age-appropriate immunization (e.g., DTP3 completion) and no effect on the practice of immediate breastfeeding and prevention of perinatal mortality and morbidity. The findings highlighted the effectiveness and usefulness of home-based records to improve newborn and child health outcomes. However, only a few studies were available for each outcome category, limiting the certainty of evidence provided in this review. Therefore, we recommend further studies to explore the benefits of home-based records on improving newborn and child health.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the implementation of public health measures globally. The health department of local governments has played a critical role in confronting COVID-19. In Japan, public health centers (PHCs) are focal points for COVID-19 response. Understanding the response to COVID-19 in local areas is critical to ensure adequate preparation for future emergencies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to clarify how the COVID-19 operations by PHCs in Japan were managed and facilitated at the beginning of the infection spread, and their future challenges. We designed a case study that included two PHCs with a population of approximately 400,000 in Japan. Semi-structured focus group interviews with public health nurses from these two PHCs were conducted in September and October 2020. The data were analyzed using chronological time-series analysis. The switch to crisis response was encouraged by the business continuity plan. Their operations for the prevention of COVID-19 in the community were facilitated by the existing network. Further, strengthening the knowledge and skill regarding infectious disease control and management skills during infectious disease-related health emergencies were recommended. It is important to ensure that the environment facilitates emergency response and that people-and-community-centered health promotion activities are conducted, during an emergency situation, with more innovative action and leadership.

Senior volunteers represented a significant, mostly untapped lay resource of informal social care. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the training program on improving senior volunteers&rsquo, competency toward peer counseling, and explored its impact on their well-being after three months of the program implementation. We conducted a pre- and post-intervention analysis among 60 senior volunteers aged 60&ndash, 82 years. They participated in 40 h of training and performed weekly peer counseling home visits for three months. We evaluated the program using survey questionnaires, trainer observation and debriefing, and focus group discussions. After the training, peer counselors showed a significant improvement (p &lt, 0.001) in knowledge (17.1 versus 22.3) and skills (17.0 versus 17.9). All of them met the minimum required passing level of 70% for the knowledge test, and their overall performance was satisfactory as rated by two independent trainers. After three months, peer counselors showed a significant improvement (p &lt, 0.001) in their subjective well-being (d = 0.69) and depressive symptoms (d = &minus, 0.67). Filipino senior volunteers could be trained to serve as peer counselors in their communities. This program improved their competency and well-being. Future research is warranted to determine whether the provision of counseling by them will affect the health outcomes of the target population.