Child health

'I'm always on the lookout for what could be going wrong': mothers' concepts and experiences of health and illness in their young children

by Deborah Lupton

Sydney Health & Society Group Working Paper No. 1

Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a... more Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a great deal of time and effort caring for their children, protecting them from risks and promoting their health, development and wellbeing. This paper draws upon research involving indepth interviews with 60 mothers of infants and young children living in Sydney. The discussion focuses in detail on three major topics discussed in the interviews: how the interviewees conceptualised good health and illness in their children; the role of diet and physical exercise in promoting children’s good health; and space, physical safety and bad influences. The study found that the interviewees reported that they ‘read the signs’ of their children’s bodies and had to ‘know’ their bodies intimately in order to do so. They also interpreted the signals of their own bodies – their ‘gut instincts’ – as part of the process of maintaining careful surveillance of their children’s health state. They represented diet and physical exercise as the most important dimensions of promoting their children’s health, and were very concerned about the risk of obesity in their children. Notions of space and judgements about the bodies within these spaces were also important to some of the women’s concepts of protecting their children’s health and wellbeing.

An evaluation of the educational support for teachers who teach children with life limiting illness in schools

by Dr Sally Robinson

Robinson, S. and Summers, K. (2012) An evaluation of the educational support for teachers who teach children with life limiting illness in schools. Pastoral Care in Education. April, i First article pp.1-17
doi.org/10.1080/02643933.2012.671341

Copyright prevents the published paper from being uploaded. Will send on request.

There are increasing numbers of children living with life limiting illnesses in mainstream schools. The aim of this... more There are increasing numbers of children living with life limiting illnesses in mainstream schools. The aim of this literature-based study was to evaluate the current provision of educational support for teachers who are teaching these children in schools. An international literature search produced 23 papers published between 2005 and July 2010 which concerned children with life limiting illness in relation to education in mainstream schools. The analysis identified that the needs of children with life limiting illnesses are not being well met, and there appears to be little evidence of educational support for teachers. The paper concludes that schools need to work with both the medical and social models of health/disability in order to meet the needs of children with life-limiting illness. There is some consensus that the way forward needs to include multidisciplinary working within an ecological approach that supports home, schools and the health services working together. Only one paper reported an evaluation of such an intervention. There is a need for more research, evaluation and dissemination about the experience of living with a life-limiting illness in mainstream schools and related interventions, and for this to inform professional education and the co-ordination of education, health and home systems.

Key words: life-limiting illness, chronic illness, schools, teachers, children

Kelly, C., Molcho, M., Gavin, A & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Inequalities in Health among School-Aged Children in Ireland. National Institute of Health Sciences Bulletin, 5(1), 67.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Clarke, N., Sixsmith, J., Byrne, M. and Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Investigating promoters and barriers to active travel for primary school children - a mixed methodological approach. National Institute of Health Sciences Bulletin, 5(4), 108-109.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Kelly, C., Nic Gabhainn, S., Molcho, M. & Walsh, K. (2006). Health Behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC): A World Health Organisation collaborative cross-national study. National Institutes for Health Sciences Research Bulletin, 3(3), 75-7

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Molcho, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: What do children want to know? Dublin: Department of Health and Children.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Hanafin, S., Brooks, A-M., Macken, A., Brady, G., McKeever, R., Judge, C., Ryan, B., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Gavin, A. (2008). State of the Nation’s Children: Ireland 2008. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Department of Health and Children.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Kelly, C., Nic Gabhainn, S., Molcho, M. & Walsh, K. (2006). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC): a World Health Organisation collaborative cross-national study. National Institutes for Health Sciences Research Bulletin, 3 (3), 75-76.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Kelly, C., Molcho, M., Gavin, A. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Ireland 2006 Middle Childhood Study: Socio-demographic patterns in health behaviours, risk behaviours, health outcomes and social contexts of young people’s health. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Department of Health and Children, Government of Ireland.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Hanafin, S., Brooks, A-M., Macken, A., Brady, G., McKeever, R., Judge, C., Ryan, B., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Gavin, A. (2008). State of the Nation’s Children: Ireland 2008. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Department of Health and Children.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Nic Gabhainn, S., Kelly, C. & Molcho, M. (2007). HBSC Ireland 2006: National Report of the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children in Ireland. Dublin: Department of Health and Children.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Molcho, M., Kelly, C., Gavin, A. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Inequalities in health among school-aged children in Ireland. Dublin: Department of Health and Children.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Nic Gabhainn, S., Dolan, P., Canavan, J., O’Higgins, S. (2009). Current practice in meeting child health needs in family support services: variation by service type and perspectives on future developments. Child Care in Practice, 15(2), 109-125.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Hanafin, S., Brooks, A-M., Carroll, E., Fitzgerald, E., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2007). Achieving consensus in developing a national set of child well-being indicators. Social Indicators Research, 80(1), 79-104.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Applicazione dei processi di ricerca partecipativa con I bambini [Exploring the application of Participatory Research Processes (PRP) with children]. Health and Territory, 172, 15-19.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Molcho, M., Kelly, C. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Deficits in health and well-being among immigrant children in Ireland: the explanatory role of social capital. Translocations: The Irish Migration, Race and Social Transformation Review, 6(1).

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

O’Higgins, S. Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Adolescents’ perceptions of the words ‘health’ and ‘happy’. Health Education, 110(5), 367-381.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Kelly, C., Clerkin, P., Mulvihill, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Food marketing in Irish schools. Health Education, 110(5), 336-350.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Gaudineau, A., Ehlinger, V., Nic Gabhainn, S., Vayssiere, C., Arnaud, C. & Godeau, E. (2010). Use of emergency contraception pill by 15 years old girls: results from the international health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) study. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 117(10), 1197-1204

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Roberts, C., Freeman, J., Samdal, O., Schnohr, C., Looze, M., Nic Gabhainn, S., Iannotti, R. and the HBSC Methods Development Group. (2009). The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: methodological developments and current tensions. International Journal of Public Health, 54, s140-150.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn