THE EFFECTS OF HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN PRESCHOOLER PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Background: Several studies have accumulated evidence for the impact of home environment in the preschooler psychomotor development. We wanted to evaluate how the percentages and the relationships of these variables in our country are. Aim of the study: To evaluate how the preschooler’s psychomotor development can be influenced by home learning. Material and methods: This study was conducted in a sample of preschool children in Vlora, Albania. After measuring their psychometric parameters with Age and Stage Questionnaires-3, we evaluated two crucial elements of home learning environment: the quality of child’s room and the book-reading with the parents. In the end of the study we evaluated the associations within these variables. Results: Only 31% of children in this study have a separate well-designed room and 66% of them have shared book-reading with their parents. The odds rate of relationship between room design quality and the level of child psychomotor development is OR=5.2 (P<0.05). The odds rate of relationship between book-reading and the level of child psychomotor development is OR=3 (P<0.05). Conclusions: The level of child psychomotor development is higher when he is raised in a rich stimulating home learning environment. It was children with well-designed rooms (lots of colours and play toys, suitable for their development stage) who have significantly better parameters comparing with other two groups. We found also that children who are stimulated through book-reading are more likely to take high psychomotor scores too

Mental Health Services for Underserved Communities in Bulloch County: A Service-Learning Project with the Hearts and Hands Clinic.

The increasing demand for mental health services during the COVID-19 global pandemic was the driving force behind our collaboration with the Hearts and Hands Clinic in a service-learning project. The project aimed to prepare a grant application at Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation. Our objective was to secure funding for the clinic, enabling it to expand its staff and offer free mental health services for underserved communities in Bulloch County. This project helped us apply the knowledge gained from the Public Health Funding and Grants course to real-life challenges amid COVID-19, enhanced our critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and, most importantly, increased a strong belief in the importance of partnership and collaboration with the community. Despite facing occasional technical issues typical for remote communication between partners, we prepared a grant application intended to help raise mental health awareness and address mental health issues in underserved communities. Key words: service-learning, community, mental health service

Association Between Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Offspring Overweight in U.S.-Born Children

Background The criticism of the literature on smoking during pregnancy and offspring overweight was the confounding from postnatal factors. Interaction between gestational age and prenatal maternal smoking has not yet assessed. Methods We used the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994), linked with natality files of US-born singletons aged 2 to 6 years. A body mass index in the 85th percentile or higher were considered overweight, including obesity. Gestational age was dichotomized as preterm (\u3c37 weeks, n = 240) or full-term (n = 2125). Smoking status during pregnancy was ascertained by a questionnaire-based interview during National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results The prevalence of offspring overweight and obesity combined was 17.3% (SE = 1.3%). And 24.0% (1.3%) of mothers smoked while pregnant. A significant interaction was observed between maternal smoking and gestational age. In preterm children, a higher prevalence of overweight (34.3% [6.7%]) was found among the offspring of smoking mothers compared to non-smoking mothers (15.8% [3.6%]). After adjustment for socio-demographics, prenatal and postnatal factors, in preterm born offspring, the odds ratio of being born to smoking mothers was 2.46 (95% confidence intervals: 1.13-5.37) among children with overweight/obesity compared to children with healthy weight born to non-smoking mothers. In full-term children, the OR of being born to smoking mothers was 0.72 (0.50-1.03) among offspring with overweight/obesity relative to offspring with healthy weight born to non-smoking mothers. Conclusions Maternal smoking during pregnancy was strongly associated with offspring overweight and obesity in preterm births after control for postnatal factors. Preterm children of smoking mothers should be prioritized for obesity prevention