Effect of a playful parenting programme on early childhood development and care outcomes of young children in vulnerable communities: findings from a quasi-experimental study.

Background: World Vision launched the Inclusive Playful Parenting for a Brighter Childhood (IPP4BC) project in identified vulnerable communities in Nepal and Uganda to mitigate risk for children at risk of poor development due to COVD 19. The intervention, based on the nurturing care framework, offered a customized parenting curriculum for young children, emphasizing holistic development through behavior change approaches tailored to local contexts.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the IPP4BC project, on early childhood development (ECD) and care outcomes of children under 6 years in vulnerable communities in Nepal and Uganda, particularly those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Is home environment associated with child fluid reasoning abilities in middle childhood in high-risk settings? findings from a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.

Background: Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) suggests that home environment is associated with early childhood development outcomes. However, studies from LMIC that have examined how the home environment during middle childhood is associated with intellectual abilities are scarce. The objective of the study was to explore the association between different aspects of the home environment at 7-8 years and fluid reasoning abilities in a rural, high-risk cohort in Pakistan.

Effect of play-based intervention on children's mental status and caregiver involvement during hospitalization: findings from Pakistan.

Background: The nurturing care framework (NCF) encompasses responsive caregiving, health, nutrition, safety and security by parents and other caregivers. It improves health, development and wellbeing of children. A hospital environment can be detrimental to the developmental and emotional needs of children hence NCF can be applied to hospitalized children.

Raising the issue of quality in implementation science reporting in global health: Implications for health planning and practice.

Implementation outcomes, which focus on the barriers to, and facilitators and processes of healthcare delivery, are critical to translating research evidence to health planning and practice and to improving healthcare delivery. This article summarises key quality issues in reporting of implementation science outcomes within global health and describes the ways in which this presents a challenge for shifting health planning and practice across low-resource health systems. This article also suggests that the wider use of reporting guidelines for implementation outcomes could help address this issue.

Implementation evaluation of a medical student-led intervention to enhance students' engagement with research: Findings and lessons learned.

Introduction: Medical colleges globally have student organizations that serve to enable students' involvement in research. However, details of their approach and activities are seldom published to serve as learning for student organizations in other settings. The Student Research Forum (SRF), a student organization based at a private medical school in Pakistan aims to facilitate students in acquiring research skills.

The benefits of nurturing care interventions on early child development and care: findings from a quasi-experimental study in a humanitarian setting.

Background: The study objective was to determine if a nurturing care parenting intervention delivered in a humanitarian setting in Rwanda would benefit early development, learning, and care outcomes for young children under five years and their caregivers compared to standard care.

Methodology: Rwanda's Mugombwa, Kansi, and Kigeme refugee camps and host communities implemented the parenting program. Via a quasi-experimental research design, the study assessed the effects of intervention delivered as a high dose (HD: 12 group sessions and four home visits) or low dose (LD: 6 group sessions and two home visits) on child and caregiver outcomes compared to the control group from similar settings receiving standard care.

The predictive validity of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III at 2 years for later general abilities: Findings from a rural, disadvantaged cohort in Pakistan.

Using data from a rural cohort in Pakistan (N = 1298), the study examined the predictive validity of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) 3rd edition on later tests of general abilities. The BSID III subscales (cognitive, language and motor) were administered at 2 years; general ability was assessed using the Verbal, Performance and Full-Scale score from the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) III at 4 years, and the Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI) from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) V at 8 years. The combined BSID subscales explained 15% of the variation of the WPPSI III full scale, 16% of the Verbal scale, 7% of the Performance scale and 1% of the FRI.

Funders: The missing link in equitable global health research?

Global health research is mired by inequities, some of which are linked to current approaches to research funding. The role of funders and donors in achieving greater equity in global health research needs to be clearly defined. Imbalances of power and resources between high income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is such that many funding approaches do not centre the role of LMIC researchers in shaping global health research priorities and agenda.

Antiracism in leading public health universities, journals and funders: commitments, accountability and the decision-makers.

Introduction: Two years since the murder of George Floyd, there has been unprecedented attention to racial justice by global public health organisations. Still, there is scepticism that attention alone will lead to real change.

Methods: We identified the highest-ranked 15 public health universities, academic journals and funding agencies, and used a standardised data extraction template to analyse the organisation's governance structures, leadership dynamics and public statements on antiracism since 1 May 2020.

Implementation evaluation of a leadership development intervention for improved family experience in a private paediatric care hospital, Pakistan.

Background: A study from a tertiary care center in Pakistan demonstrated that a leadership development intervention led to improved family experience of care outcomes. The objective of the current paper is to assess the implementation of this intervention and identify barriers and facilitators to inform sustainability and scalability.

Methods: A working group designed the intervention using a theory-of-change model to strengthen leadership development to achieve greater employee engagement.

Scaling Nurturing Care Interventions in the Health Sector: A Theory of Change Perspective.

Nurturing care interventions postulated on strengthening caregiver-child relationships have proven to be effective for improving early childhood development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Hence, a scale-up of the interventions has been recommended with an emphasis on the health sector given the contact with families in the critical first 3 years of life. However, an effective scale-up of an integrated intervention through healthcare requires a theory of change approach elucidating pathways of sustainable change.

Corrigendum: A Nationwide Virtual Research Education Program for Medical Students in Pakistan: Methodological Framework, Feasibility Testing, and Outcomes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.

A Nationwide Virtual Research Education Program for Medical Students in Pakistan: Methodological Framework, Feasibility Testing, and Outcomes.

Equipping young medical trainees with fundamental research skills can be a promising strategy to address the need for professionals who can understand and responsibly communicate evolving scientific evidence during a pandemic. Despite an ardent interest to partake in research, most educational institutions in Pakistan and other low-middle income countries have not yet adopted a comprehensive strategy for research skills education. The authors aimed to design and assess the feasibility of implementing the first nation-wide virtual research workshop for medical students in Pakistan.

Generating Evidence From Contextual Clinical Research in Low- to Middle Income Countries: A Roadmap Based on Theory of Change.

Along with inadequate access to high-quality care, competing health priorities, fragile health systems, and conflicts, there is an associated delay in evidence generation and research from LMICs. Lack of basic epidemiologic understanding of the disease burden in these regions poses a significant knowledge gap as solutions can only be developed and sustained if the scope of the problem is accurately defined. Congenital heart disease (CHD), for example, is the most common birth defect in children.

A Family-Centered Intervention to Monitor Children's Development in a Pediatric Outpatient Setting: Design and Feasibility Testing.

The patient experience team at a private tertiary care hospital used the Theory of Change to design a family-centered developmental monitoring intervention, building on an ongoing initiative. The design entailed (i) a monitoring form: Survey of Well-Being of Young Children (SWYC) being an easy parent-report measure; (ii) family support intervention: the Care for Child Development module to enhance parent-child interactions; (iii) timing: utilizing wait time to also enhance families' experience; (iv) the service providers: psychology trainees as volunteers; and (v) reinforcement: by the pediatrician in the regular consultation health visit capitalizing on the established rapport with families. All families with children under 5 years 5 months 31 days of age in selected acute, complex, and developmental care clinics were eligible.

Development of an on-job mentorship programme to improve nursing experience for enhanced patient experience of compassionate care.

Background: Evidence suggests improvement in nursing staff satisfaction, competence, and retention after implementation of evidence-based mentorship programmes. When guided by a framework of compassion, mentoring as a caring action can not only build healthy, transformative relationships but a similar behavior is reciprocated to patients which subsequently can drive patient experience of care. However, examples of on-job mentorship programs for nurses in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are limited.

Validation of the Infant and Young Child Development (IYCD) Indicators in Three Countries: Brazil, Malawi and Pakistan.

Background: The early childhood years provide an important window of opportunity to build strong foundations for future development. One impediment to global progress is a lack of population-based measurement tools to provide reliable estimates of developmental status. We aimed to field test and validate a newly created tool for this purpose.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Social Media-Based Communication Strategy to Enhance Employee Engagement: Experiences From a Children's Hospital, Pakistan.

Social media can complement organizational communication strategy which is integral to employee engagement. However, successful case studies which can allow replication are limited. The objective of the study is to describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a social media-based communication strategy in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

Development and feasibility testing of a play-based psychosocial intervention for reduced patient stress in a pediatric care setting: experiences from Pakistan.

Background: Hospitalization can be a source of great stress for children and their families. In high-income countries, there are specialized staff to help children cope using different techniques including play. However, it is a major challenge in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) due to financial constraints and untrained human resource.

Use of artificial intelligence on Electroencephalogram (EEG) waveforms to predict failure in early school grades in children from a rural cohort in Pakistan.

Universal primary education is critical for individual academic growth and overall adult productivity of nations. Estimates indicate that 25% of 59 million primary age out of school children drop out and early grade failure is one of the factors. An objective and feasible screening measure to identify at-risk children in the early grades can help to design appropriate interventions.