Award announcement the gimbel child and family scholars award program

Award announcement the gimbel child and family scholars award program     

Community support for adolescent parents and their children: The parent-to-parent program in Vermont

Most adolescent parents now receive good prenatal and neonatal medical care, some receive limited amounts of parenting instruction, and increasing numbers can participate in school completion programs. But few programs address the social isolation and broad developmental disruptions that often accompany adolescent parenthood. This article describes the implementation and short-term effects of one program that does strive to meet adolescents' long-term, broad support needs. The Parent-to-Parent program is a home-based program designed to enhance the ability of adolescent parents to meet their young children's and their own developmental needs. Through long-term home visiting by specially trained local volunteers, parent group meetings, and work with local human service institutions, the program strives to (1) enhance the quality of parent-child interaction; (2) enhance the parents' ability to locate and acquire services that will help them meet basic needs; (3) enhance parent and child involvement in community life; and (4) help the parents become more aware of their own options for the future, and more capable of implementing the plans they make.     

An educational program for immigrant Ethiopian children and their mothers

The paper deals with an enrichment program for new immigrant children to Israel from Ethiopia. We discuss the aims and structure of the program which derive from the cultural reality of the immigrants and the effects of their new environment. The program has been in operation for close to a year, and it has been shown that under the conditions as stated, success is to a great degree a function of flexibility and adaptation in planning and execution. Finally we come to certain conclusions regarding future programs of this sort.     

An educational program for immigrant Ethiopian children and their mothers

The paper deals with an enrichment program for new immigrant children to Israel from Ethiopia. We discuss the aims and structure of the program which derive from the cultural reality of the immigrants and the effects of their new environment. The program has been in operation for close to a year, and it has been shown that under the conditions as stated, success is to a great degree a function of flexibility and adaptation in planning and execution. Finally we come to certain conclusions regarding future programs of this sort.     

A dietary education program for hypercholesterolemic children and their parents.

A parent-child autotutorial dietary education program for 4- to 10-year-old, hypercholesterolemic children and their families was developed and pilot tested. The 10-lesson program, designed for weekly use at home, uses a "talking-book" approach (audiotapes with accompanying picture booklet) for the child. Parents are provided with information on ways to make recommended dietary changes, along with hands-on activities to do with the children. To help match the instructional approach to the wide developmental range within the children's age span, materials are divided into three program levels that use different story characters and concept presentations. During program development, evaluation by two children (and their parents) for each of the program levels guided the design and refinement of the lessons. A pilot test among 22 hypercholesterolemic children (whose treatment was limited to diet modification) revealed that children within the 4- to 10-year age range liked the "talking-book" approach and identified positively with the story characters. Parents indicated that their materials were clear and helpful. Between the baseline and 3-month follow-up visits, the children exhibited a significant increase in knowledge of heart healthy foods, a decrease in total fat consumption that approached significance, and a significant decrease in plasma low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol values.     

A library based literacy program for mothers and their preschool children

The program, “Parents as Teachers” was funded by the Library Services and Construction Act, Title VI, from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant was geared toward promoting the literacy of parents through educating them to teach their children. The target population was mothers and their children ages 0-5 living in the Austin neighborhood, a primarily Black, low income neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. Fifteen mothers and twenty-six children volunteered for the project. Pre and post intervention questionnaires were administered to the parents. Parents stated that they had learned the following from the project: 1] how to play games, read books, and make simple toys for children; 2] how children can learn from everyday things; 3] how to observe what children like rather than give them things preferred by the parent. The parents stated that their children had learned the following through the project: 1] to sing new songs, 2] to pick out favorite books, 3] to make arts and crafts projects, 4] to share with other children, 5] to enjoy listening to stories, 6] to love books.     

School meals, school milk and height of primary school children in England and Scotland in the eighties.

In a nutritional surveillance system of primary school children in England and Scotland we assessed the possible effects on height gain of changes in school meals and school milk policies following the 1980 Education Act (No. 2). Mean height and height gain were estimated separately for English and Scottish samples from 1982 to 1984, and for a selective sample of inner city areas with a high proportion of ethnic minorities from 1983 to 1985 in children from 5.00 to 9.99 years. Children receiving free school meals were smaller than children paying for school meals or receiving a meal prepared elsewhere, while children receiving free school milk were of similar stature to other children in the study. The rate of growth was assessed in children receiving school meals or lunches prepared at home, and in those for whom arrangements changed during the study period; it was also assessed in those children for whom school milk was available, not available, or for whom the provision changed. No consistent association was found between provision of school meals or school milk and the rate of growth in the three samples studied when stratified according to poverty status and ethnic background. We conclude that this observational study does not provide any evidence that the current availability of school meals or school milk increases the rate of growth of primary school children in any social stratum.     

Hospital strategies for the eighties: a mid-decade look

At the beginning of the 1980s, a variety of sources predicted turbulent times for the hospital industry. The past few years have brought many changes in the expectations, structure, and behavior of hospitals, and key questions face this health care industry as it enters the second half of the decade.     

Psychological aspects of pregnancy: Some thoughts for the eighties

Some psychological aspects of pregnancy and childbirth are reviewed. Normal psychological changes during pregnancy as well as some changes of possible significance in the aetiology of pregnancy complications are discussed. Childbirth preparation as a technique of alleviating psychological difficulties during pregnancy and labour is examined and reviewed in the light of cultural variations in obstetric practices. Finally, a model of research into psychological aspects of pregnancy is examined with reference to existing and future research into this subject.