Biomedical subjects

Julie Meeks Gardner

Publications and source records attributed to Julie Meeks Gardner.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Child development: risk factors for adverse outcomes in developing countries.

Poverty and associated health, nutrition, and social factors prevent at least 200 million children in developing countries from attaining their developmental potential. We review the evidence linking compromised development with modifiable biological and psychosocial risks encountered by children from birth to 5 years of age. We identify four key risk factors where the need for intervention is urgent: stunting, inadequate cognitive stimulation, iodine deficiency, and iron deficiency anaemia. The evidence is also sufficient to warrant interventions for malaria, intrauterine growth restriction, maternal depression, exposure to violence, and exposure to heavy metals. We discuss the research needed to clarify the effect of other potential risk factors on child development. The prevalence of the risk factors and their effect on development and human potential are substantial. Furthermore, risks often occur together or cumulatively, with concomitant increased adverse effects on the development of the world's poorest children.

Child Development↗

PubMed2003

A randomized controlled trial of a home-visiting intervention on cognition and behavior in term low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether early psychosocial intervention with low birth weight term (LBW-T) infants improved cognition and behavior and to compare LBW-T with normal birth weight (NBW) infants. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial was carried out in Kingston, Jamaica, with 140 LBW-T infants (weight<2500 g). The intervention comprised weekly home visits by paraprofessionals for the first 8 weeks of life aimed at improving maternal-child interaction. LBW-T and 94 matched NBW (weight 2500 to 4000 g) infants were recruited from the main maternity hospital. Main outcome measures were problem solving (2 means-end tests: cover and support) and 4 behavior ratings at 7 months. Analyses used were the t test for intervention effects and multiple regression to compare LBW and NBW infants. RESULTS: LBW-T intervened infants had higher scores than LBW-T control infants on the cover test (P<.05) and were more cooperative (P<.01) and happy (P<.05). LBW-T control infants had poorer scores on both the cover (P<.001) and support tests (P<.01), vocalized less (P<.02), and were less cooperative (P<.001), happy (P<.02), and active (P<.02) than NBW infants. LBW-T intervened infants had lower scores than NBW infants only on the support test (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early low-cost intervention can improve cognition and behavior of LBW-T infants in developing countries.

Anthropometry↗

PubMed2003

Perceptions and experiences of violence among secondary school students in urban Jamaica.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information on the perceptions and experiences of violence among secondary school students in Kingston, Jamaica, and its environs. METHODS: Data collection was carried out from September through December 1998. Two researchers administered questionnaires in 11 randomly selected secondary schools, to a total of 1 710 students who were in either grade 7 or grade 9 and who were aged 9-17 years old (mean of 13.2 years). Frequency distributions of the responses were compared by gender, age, grade level, socioeconomic status, and school type. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of the students thought that someone who was reluctant to fight would be "picked on" more, 89% thought it generally wrong to hit other people, and 91% thought it wrong to insult other people. Eighty-four percent knew of students who carried knives or blades from such items as a scalpel or a utility knife to school, and 89% were worried about violence at school. Thirty-three percent had been victims of violence, and 60% had a family member who had been a victim of violence. Eighty-two percent thought that violent television shows could increase aggressive behavior. Factor analysis of selected responses was carried out, yielding five factors: neighborhood violence, school violence, perceptions of acceptable behaviors, level of concern about violence, and general experiences and perceptions of violence. The factors varied with gender, age, grade level, socioeconomic status, and school type. CONCLUSIONS: These results will help focus interventions aimed at reducing violence, provide a baseline for later comparisons of perceptions and experiences of violence, and offer a basis for comparing the experiences of young people in urban Jamaica with those of young persons elsewhere.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Caregiver knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding childhood diarrhea and dehydration in Kingston, Jamaica.

OBJECTIVE: To study the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers in Kingston, Jamaica, regarding childhood diarrhea and dehydration in order to determine if limited caregiver knowledge about the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and dehydration puts children at increased risk of presenting at the hospital for these concerns. METHODS: The study was an observational case-control study conducted between February 1997 and May 1997 at Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston. Convenience sampling was used and data were collected by face-to-face interviews with two groups of caregivers of children under 5 years of age. One group (n = 117) presented with children with acute gastroenteritis, and the other group (n = 98) presented with acute concerns unrelated to gastroenteritis. While 197 of the 215 caregivers interviewed were the mother of a child, there were also 9 guardians, 5 fathers, and 4 grandmothers in the sample. RESULTS: The mean caregiver age, level of education, and socioeconomic status were similar for the two groups. The caregivers in the gastroenteritis group were more likely to present with younger children and to have less convenient access to running water or a refrigerator. Children of caregivers who had never heard of oral rehydration therapy were at increased risk of presenting with gastroenteritis and dehydration (odds ratio [OR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8-11.7), as were children of caregivers with low knowledge scores about the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and dehydration (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.6-8.8). Another independent risk factor was a caregiver's poor sense of self-reliance in managing a child's diarrhea (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.9). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight a need to enhance educational efforts that will empower caregivers to protect their children from diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality.

Adolescent↗