Heilsa, velferð, börn og ungmenni
Málstofustjóri: Hervör Árnadóttir
Sjá ágrip erindanna hér fyrir neðan.
Cigarette smoking and usage of waterpipe among school-attending adolescents in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
The world is in the midst of a tobacco epidemic. While the prevalence rates are currently lower in sub-Saharan Africa compared to other parts of the world, the usage of tobacco products is on the rise, with tobacco companies targeting this emerging market. The study aimed to describe and analyse tobacco and water pipes usage in the capital Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. In June 2017, a survey with a locally adapted ‘Planet Youth’ questionnaire was conducted in Bissau. In total, 2,039 students aged 14-19 years completed the questionnaire (52% girls). The Chi-square test was used (p<0.05), and odds ratios (OR) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate statistical significance. Out of 1845 adolescents who responded, 1573 (85%) had never smoked cigarettes during their lifetime; girls were less likely to have smoked cigarettes than boys (p=0.0001; OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.39-0.66). Nine girls reported daily smoking (1%) compared to 35 boys (4%) (p=0.0001; OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.12-0.50). Out of 1832 adolescents, 1511 (83%) had never used waterpipe during their lifetime, with no gender difference (p=0.6754) in usage.
The low prevalence of daily smoking gives a unique opportunity to initiate preventive activities among adolescents in Bissau, with particular attention to gender differences. Usage of waterpipes, increasingly seen in the setting, might be the gateway drug to creased cigarette smoking among adolescents.
Geir Gunnlaugsson, Thomas Andrew Whitehead og Aladje Baldé
Lykilorð: Africa, sub-Sahara, surveys and questionnaires, substance abuse
Viðhorf barnaverndarstarfsmanna til þátttöku barna í ákvarðanatöku
Á síðustu áratugum hafa lagaleg réttindi barna til þátttöku í málefnum sem þau varða aukist umtalsvert. Niðurstöður rannsókna benda til þess að almennt hafi þátttaka barna aukist en ekki hafi tekist jafnvel að ná til þeirra barna sem búa við félagslega flóknar aðstæður og þau fái því síður tækifæri til að láta rödd sína heyrast. Barnaverndarstarfsmenn sinna því mikilvæga hlutverki að styðja börn sem til þeirra leita til virkrar þátttöku í eigin málum. Markmið erindisins er að kanna hvort viðhorf starfsmanna samræmist samtíma hugmyndum um bernskuna og hæfni barna til þátttöku. Því er spurt: Hvert er viðhorf þeirra til barna og hvað einkennir viðhorf þeirra til þátttöku barna í málefnum um eigið líf? Helstu niðurstöður benda til þess að viðhorf barnaverndarstarfsmanna samræmast oft ekki samtíma hugmyndum um bernskuna og niðurstöðum rannsóknum um hæfni barna til þátttöku.
Mikilvægt er að fagmenn sem starfa með börnum séu meðvitaðir um hvað raunveruleg þátttaka felur í sér og að börn komi að ákvörðunum sem teknar eru í málum þeirra.
Lykilorð: matsrannsóknir, velferðarþjónusta, náttúrumeðferð
Tónagull po polsku — researching the impact of family music classes on the wellbeing of Polish immigrant families of young children in Iceland
Family music programs involving parents in music making with their infants and toddlers are popular around the world. The purpose of this project is to investigate how such programs could help immigrant families strengthen parenting skills and bonding through participation in musical activities. The Polish minority is the largest immigrant population in Iceland. Still, there have been very few consistent programs for Polish families of young children under school age. Tónagull is a popular family music method developed in Iceland designed to fit the needs of families with children 0-3 years old. A Polish language version was launched in the fall of 2019. A nearly identical methodical framework of the Polish and Icelandic version presents an opportunity to create mixed language groups within which all participants feel comfortable regardless of their mother tongue. The research seeks to understand what motivates participants to join the program and in what ways the classes benefit immigrant families. The study uses mixed methods including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Preliminary results indicate that the program provides a unique resource and support to immigrant parents in their endeavour to raise their children in a new home country while preserving their original language and culture.
Helga Rut Gudmundsdottir og Adam Switala
Lykilorð: immigrants, childhood, culture
The provider role and perspective in the denial of family planning services to women in Malawi
Family planning (FP) has been a development priority for decades, yet barriers to access persist, including prospective clients being turned away from facilities without a method. The aim of the study was to assess the provider role and perspective in client turnaway in three districts of Malawi. In 2019, data collectors surveyed 57 FP providers from 30 health facilities in three districts in Malawi. They conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) with eight of the 57 providers. All 57 surveyed providers reported being comfortable providing FP to married women with children and married adolescents under 18 years old with children. Conversely, 12% of providers expressed discomfort providing FP to married adolescents under 18 without children. The most frequently mentioned reason for turnaway by providers during IDIs was due to client pregnancy, or suspicion of client pregnancy. Heavy workload was noted, as well as the need for training on all methods. Providers were generally supportive of FP for anyone desiring to use it and who was medically eligible, but their support waned for nulliparous clients, regardless of age or marital status, based on fears of future infertility. Further education and sensitization of the community on how contraceptive methods work, including that they are not abortifacients and training on all methods could all help to reduce client turnaways.
Lykilorð: family planning, Malawi, provider
Exploring the impact of Covid-19 on Icelandic adolescents with participatory research
Adolescence is an important time where our personalities grow and our sense of self becomes more established. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government interventions have impacted children and young people’s daily routines, such as with closing of schools, limiting activities of after-school programmes, sporting events, and other types of social gatherings. Due to this adolescents have been obliged to adjust to a new reality whilst negotiating important elements such as peer-relationships, their own individuality, and personhood. This presentation is a part of a larger PhD project which aims to give insight into the experiences of adolescents in Iceland with participatory research in hope of impacting future government policy-making against global health threats. It will report on an ongoing collaboration with two focus groups; one comprising eight adolescents aged 14-17 who identify as queer, and another with a wider age-range in a social centre in the capital area. By creating a space for them to express themselves both as individuals and as a group, together we explore the ongoing impact of the pandemic by using creative outlets of singing, dancing, and poster-making in order to materialise and visualise their experiences, which have been shown to be both positive and negative.
Lykilorð: children and youth, Covid-19, health understanding