Bouncing back : the wellbeing of children in international child abduction cases

This report contains the results of a three-part research project conducted in the framework of the project Enhancing the Well-being of Children in Cases of International Child Abduction (eWELL). Part I contains an overview of the results of a quantitative survey conducted among parents who have been in a situation of international parental child abduction. The quantitative survey data collection was financed by the European Commission and was undertaken by the University of Antwerp in collaboration with Centrum IKO, CFPE-Enfant Disparus, Child Focus, the French Central Authority and Missing Children Europe (MCE, the European umbrella organization for missing children). Part II provides an overview of the qualitative interview results conducted with children who were taken by to another country by one parent without the consent of the other. The qualitative data collection was co-financed by the European Commission and undertaken by the University of Antwerp, Centrum IKO, Child Focus, CFPE-Enfant Disparus, and in collaboration with the French Central Authority and Missing Children Europe (MCE, the European umbrella organization for missing children). Part III examines international parental child abduction court rulings, jurisdictions and the application of Art. 13 (2) of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It discusses age and maturity attainment and assessment; the involvement of intermediaries; the definition of the child’s objections to return and other relevant matters

Development and validation of the needs of children questionnaire: An instrument to measure children\u27s self-reported needs in hospital

AIM: To develop and psychometrically test the needs of children questionnaire (NCQ), a new instrument to measure school-aged children\u27s self-reported psychosocial physical and emotional needs in paediatric wards. DESIGN: This is an instrument development study based on recommendations for developing a reliable and valid questionnaire. METHOD: The NCQ was developed over three phases between February 2013-April 2017 and included item generation; content adequacy assessment; questionnaire administration; factor analysis; internal consistency assessment and construct validity. Psychometric properties were assessed after 193 school-aged children completed the needs of children\u27s questionnaire in four paediatric areas in Australia and New Zealand. RESULTS: The development and validation of the NCQ over two countries resulted in a 16-item, four-category tool to measure the self-reported importance and fulfilment of school-aged children\u27s needs in hospital. Cronbach\u27s alpha for the combined samples was 0.93. CONCLUSION: The NCQ bridges a gap to measure the level of importance and fulfilment of school-aged children\u27s self-reported needs in hospital. Future testing and validation is needed in other paediatric areas and countries. IMPACT: The 16-item NCQ is a valid measure to evaluate if the quality of care delivered and received in hospital is in line with what children self-report as important and required and to date indicates good usability and utility. Child self-reports are essential to inform healthcare delivery, policy, research and theory development from a child and family-centred care lens that honours the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the best interests of the child

Under the (legal) radar screen: global health initiatives and international human rights obligations

BACKGROUND: Given that many low income countries are heavily reliant on external assistance to fund their health sectors the acceptance of obligations of international assistance and cooperation with regard to the right to health (global health obligations) is insufficiently understood and studied by international health and human rights scholars. Over the past decade Global Health Initiatives, like the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) have adopted novel approaches to engaging with stakeholders in high and low income countries. This article explores how this experience impacted on acceptance of the international obligation to (help) fulfil the right to health beyond borders. METHODS: The authors conducted an extensive review of international human rights law literature, transnational legal process literature, global public health literature and grey literature pertaining to Global Health Initiatives. To complement this desk work and deepen their understanding of how and why different legal norms evolve the authors conducted 19 in-depth key informant interviews with actors engaged with three stakeholders; the European Union, the United States and Belgium. The authors then analysed the interviews through a transnational legal process lens. RESULTS: Through according value to the process of examining how and why different legal norms evolve transnational legal process offers us a tool for engaging with the dynamism of developments in global health suggesting that operationalising global health obligations could advance the right to health for all. CONCLUSIONS: In many low-income countries the health sector is heavily dependent on external assistance to fulfil the right to health of people thus it is vital that policies and tools for delivering reliable, long-term assistance are developed so that the right to health for all becomes more than a dream. Our research suggests that the Global Fund experience offers lessons to build on