The interaction of adverse childhood experiences, sex, and transgender identity as risk factors for depression: disparities in transgender adults.

Introduction: The intersectionality of sexism, transphobia, and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on the mental health of transgender adults is poorly understood. We assessed whether the known association between ACE and depression was modified (or differed) by adult transgender identity and by assigned sex at birth, which we used as a proxy for adults' biological (e.g.

Harmonizing measurements: establishing a common metric via shared items across instruments.

Background: The proliferation of instruments that define instrument-specific metrics impedes progress in comparative assessment across populations. This paper explores a method to extract a common metric from related but different instruments and transform the original measurements into scores with a standard unit of measurement.

Methods: Existing data from four assessment instruments of child development, collected from three different samples of children, were used to create "equate clusters" of items that measure the same behaviour in (slightly) different ways.

Sleepless nights, troubled futures: The association between insufficient sleep and child flourishing.

Objective: To examine associations between sleep and flourishing among children ages 0-5 years in the United States and whether these differ by age, developmental needs, and family resilience.

Study Design And Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2020-2021 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 31,095) were used with survey-weighted logistic regression to explore associations between insufficient sleep (defined as not meeting age-recommended daily sleep guidelines: 12-16 h for 4- to 12-month-olds, 11-14 h for 1- to 2-year-olds, and 10-13 h for 3- to 5-year-olds) and flourishing (using four markers combined and categorized into two groups). Tests of effect measure modification (EMM) were performed on the multiplicative and additive scales.

In-Hospital Formula Feeding Hindered Exclusive Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy as a Mediating Factor.

Breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE), defined as a mother's confidence in her ability to breastfeed, has been confirmed to predict the uptake of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Early experiences during the birth hospital stay, especially in-hospital formula feeding (IHFF), can impact both EBF and maternal breastfeeding confidence. Therefore, our objective was to examine the association between IHFF and EBF outcomes and investigate whether this association is influenced by BSE.

Maternal obesity and childhood asthma risk: Exploring mediating pathways.

Background: Growing evidence for the effect of maternal obesity on childhood asthma motivates investigation of mediating pathways.

Objective: To investigate if childhood body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG) and preterm birth mediate the association of maternal obesity on childhood asthma risk.

Methods: We used electronic medical records from mother-child pairs enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Northern California integrated healthcare system.

Psychometrics of psychosocial behavior items under age 6 years: Evidence from Nebraska, USA.

Because healthy psychosocial development in the first years of life is critical to lifelong well-being, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations are increasingly interested in monitoring psychosocial behaviors among populations of children. In response, the World Health Organization is developing the Global Scales of Early Development Psychosocial Form (GSED PF) to facilitate population-level psychosocial monitoring. Once validated, the GSED PF will be an open-access, caregiver-reported measure of children's psychosocial behaviors that is appropriate for infants and young children.

Associations of in-hospital postpartum feeding experiences with exclusive breastfeeding practices among infants in rural Sichuan, China.

Background: In rural China, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) prevalence is low and hospitals often fail to attain baby-friendly feeding objectives, such as ≥ 75% of newborns exclusively breastfed from birth to discharge. Empirical evidence for the impact of increased hospital compliance with recommended feeding guidelines on continued EBF in rural China is lacking. We sought to measure and model the association of newborns' in-hospital feeding experiences with EBF practice in infancy to inform policies for EBF promotion.

Protocol for validation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children under 3 years of age in seven countries.

Introduction: Children's early development is affected by caregiving experiences, with lifelong health and well-being implications. Governments and civil societies need population-based measures to monitor children's early development and ensure that children receive the care needed to thrive. To this end, the WHO developed the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) to measure children's early development up to 3 years of age.

Effect of the mHealth-supported Healthy Future programme delivered by community health workers on maternal and child health in rural China: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Millions of young rural children in China still suffer from poor health and malnutrition, partly due to a lack of knowledge about optimal perinatal and child care among rural mothers and caregivers. Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to improve maternal mental health in rural communities. Comprehensive home visiting programmes delivered by community health workers (CHWs) can bridge the caregiver knowledge gap and improve child health and maternal well-being in low-resource settings, but the effectiveness of this approach is unknown in rural China.

The creation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children aged 0-3 years: combining subject matter expert judgements with big data.

Introduction: With the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increased emphasis on early childhood development (ECD) and well-being. The WHO led Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) project aims to provide population and programmatic level measures of ECD for 0-3 years that are valid, reliable and have psychometrically stable performance across geographical, cultural and language contexts. This paper reports on the creation of two measures: (1) the GSED Short Form (GSED-SF)-a caregiver reported measure for population-evaluation-self-administered with no training required and (2) the GSED Long Form (GSED-LF)-a directly administered/observed measure for programmatic evaluation-administered by a trained professional.

Social normative origins of the taboo gap and implications for adolescent risk for HIV infection in Zambia.

Zambian Demographic and Health Survey data reveal that increased discordance between professed attitudes and measures of behaviour regarding premarital sex among adults is strongly associated with increased risk of HIV in adolescents, particularly girls. We hypothesised that this was due to the reluctance to talk about premarital sex, resulting in a situation we call the "taboo gap" where sexual behaviour is a forbidden topic and adolescents feel unable to seek advice or sexual and reproductive health services. Our analysis revealed that the taboo gap is rooted in harmful gender norms that are perpetuated by schools, churches, cultural influences, development programmes and health systems.

Preventive small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements reduce severe wasting and severe stunting among young children: an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Meta-analyses show that small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNSs) reduce child wasting and stunting. There is little information regarding effects on severe wasting or stunting.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the effect of SQ-LNSs on prevalence of severe wasting (weight-for-length z score < -3) and severe stunting (length-for-age z score < -3).

Effect of imbalanced sampling and missing data on associations between gender norms and risk of adolescent HIV.

Background: Despite strides towards gender equality, inequalities persist or remain unstudied, due potentially to data gaps. Although mapped, the effects of key data gaps remain unknown. This study provides a framework to measure effects of gender- and age-imbalanced and missing covariate data on gender-health research.

Gender Norms and Gender Equality in Full-Time Employment and Health: A 97-Country Analysis of the World Values Survey.

Background: Almost nowhere in the world do women participate as much as men in the labor force. Despite differences in countries' economic, social and cultural contexts, gender norms-unwritten rules of acceptable actions for men and women-have been found to affect women's labor participation across contexts. Gender norms include those regulating who takes care of children, who is expected to earn more, and in which sectors men and women should work.

The role of state breastfeeding laws and programs on exclusive breastfeeding practice among mothers in the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Background: It is unclear if state laws supporting breastfeeding are associated with exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice among low-income mothers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The main objectives of our study were to assess the relationship between such laws and EBF among WIC-participating mothers and to assess whether this association varied by employment status. We also assessed how mother's exposure to WIC breastfeeding consultation was associated with EBF.

Integrating early stimulation and play at scale: study protocol for "MAHAY Mikolo", a multi-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Hundreds of millions of children living in poverty worldwide are not reaching their full, developmental potential. Programs to promote nurturing and responsive caregiving, such as those in which community health workers (CHWs) conduct home visits to support optimal early childhood development (ECD), have been effective in small trials, but have not achieved similar success at scale. This study will explore two approaches to scale-up: converting a home-visiting model to a group-based model; and integrating the ECD curriculum into an existing government program.

Quantification of Gender Bias and Sentiment Toward Political Leaders Over 20 Years of Kenyan News Using Natural Language Processing.

Despite a 2010 Kenyan constitutional amendment limiting members of elected public bodies to < two-thirds of the same gender, only 22 percent of the 12th Parliament members inaugurated in 2017 were women. Investigating gender bias in the media is a useful tool for understanding socio-cultural barriers to implementing legislation for gender equality. Natural language processing (NLP) methods, such as word embedding and sentiment analysis, can efficiently quantify media biases at a scope previously unavailable in the social sciences.

Innovative methods to analyse the impact of gender norms on adolescent health using global health survey data.

Background: Understanding how gender norms affect health is an important entry point into designing programs and policies to change norms and improve gender equality and health. However, it is rare for global health datasets to include questions on gender norms, especially questions that go beyond measuring gender-related attitudes, thus limiting gender analysis.

Methods: We developed five case studies using health survey data from six countries to demonstrate approaches to defining and operationalising proxy measures and analytic approaches to investigating how gender norms can affect health.

Gender-related data missingness, imbalance and bias in global health surveys.

Global surveys have built-in gender-related biases associated with data missingness across the gender dimensions of people's lives, imbalanced or incomplete representation of population groups, and biased ways in which gender information is elicited and used. While increasing focus is being placed on the integration of sex-disaggregated statistics into national programmes and on understanding effects of gender-based disparities on the health of all people, the data necessary for elucidating underlying causes of gender disparities and designing effective intervention programmes continue to be lacking. Approaches exist, however, that can reasonably address some shortcomings, such as separating questions of gender identification from biological sex.

Characteristics that modify the effect of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation on child growth: an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Meta-analyses show that small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNSs) reduce child stunting and wasting. Identification of subgroups who benefit most from SQ-LNSs may facilitate program design.

Objectives: We aimed to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of the effect of SQ-LNSs on child growth outcomes.

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers.

Background: Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development.

Objectives: We aimed to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNSs on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects.

Methods: We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention against control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNSs provided to children age 6-24 mo (total n = 30,024).