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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous obstacles to psychosocial wellbeing for children. We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate child mental health and social risks during the pandemic., Methods: Participants were 172 caregivers of children aged 6-11 years old who attended well child visits within 6 months before pandemic onset at an urban safety net hospital in the US. Prepandemic data was extracted from the electronic medical record, and surveys were administered at three time points between August 2020 and July 2021. We measured mental health symptoms with the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17, social risks (e.g., food and housing insecurity) with the THRIVE questionnaire, and school modality (in-person, hybrid, remote)., Results: Compared to pre-pandemic, children had significantly higher PSC-17 total scores (overall mental health symptoms) and THRIVE total scores (total burden of social risks) at all three mid-pandemic waves. Using longitudinal mixed models accounting for time, social risks, and school modality, both social risks (B = 0.37, SE = 0.14, p < 0.01) and school modality were significantly associated with PSC-17 scores (B = - 1.95, SE = 0.63, p < 0.01). Children attending in-person school had fewer mental health symptoms than those attending remote or hybrid school., Conclusion: Mental health symptoms and social risks remained significantly higher fifteen months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to prepandemic. In-person attendance at school appeared protective against persistently elevated mental health symptoms., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This scoping review examines peer-reviewed literature of governance and public engagement at the intersection of public health and climate change in South America. The review shows significant gaps in academic publications, particularly because health was mostly a secondary theme examined in the studies. The few studies about governmental interventions (e.g., policies and programs) suggest that these have not been effective. Regarding public engagement, no studies examined social media engagement with health and climate change, and only one examined news coverage. Finally, most articles focused primarily on individual countries, with few comparative or regional analyses of South America. Strategic action addressing climate change and its effects on public health needs to be based on empirical evidence., Competing Interests: We declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: MYG, LBV, MW and MR were supported by the 10.13039/100010269Wellcome Trust (209734/Z/17/Z), NM was supported by the Wellcome Trust’s Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) project (209387/Z/17/Z) and MFS by the Brandt Endowment in Environmental Communication at 10.13039/100007709Michigan State University during the conduct of the study. AGL is sponsored by Emerge, the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Research Training grant D43 TW007393 awarded by the 10.13039/100000061Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health. DB is a staff member of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The author alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of PAHO. FC is a technical assessor of the Ministry of Health of Argentina, and he alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the Ministry of Health. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Background: There is concern about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial functioning among school-age children, who have faced unusual stressors during this time. Our goal was to assess mental health symptoms and social risks during COVID-19, compared to before the pandemic, for urban, racial and ethnic minority school-age children, and investigate the relationship between mental health and social risks., Methods: We conducted a cohort study from September 2019 until January 2021 of children age 5-11 years old recruited from an urban safety net hospital-based pediatric primary care practice. We measured emotional and behavioral symptoms (including attention, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms) before and during the pandemic with the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17). We measured social risks (including food and housing insecurity) before and during the pandemic with the THRIVE screener. We measured additional mid-pandemic COVID-related stressors with items on school participation, screens/media use, illness exposure, and caregiver mental health. We compared pre- and mid-pandemic PSC-17 symptom scores across 4 domains (total, attention, internalizing, and externalizing) and used path analysis to examine the relationship between mental health and social risks pre- and mid-pandemic., Results: Caregivers of 168 children (54% non-Hispanic Black, 29% Hispanic, and 22% non-English speaking) completed the study. Children had significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioral symptoms midpandemic- vs. pre-pandemic in all domains. Significantly more children had a positive PSC-17 total score (18% vs. 8%, p < 0.01) and internalizing (depression and anxiety) score (18% vs. 5%, p < 0.001) during the pandemic vs. before, indicating clinical concerns in these areas. Caregivers reported significantly more social risks during vs. before the pandemic (p < 0.001). Mental health symptoms significantly correlated with number of social risks before the pandemic, but not during the pandemic. Less school assignment completion, increased screen time, and caregiver depression were all significantly associated with worse mid-pandemic mental health in children., Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in depression/anxiety problems and social risks among urban, racial and ethnic minority school-age children compared to before the pandemic. More research is needed to understand if these changes will persist., (© 2021. The Author(s).)