Alternative Child Care and Deinstitutionalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings of a Desk Review

This desk review is part of a wider study commissioned to SOS Children’s Villages International by the European Commission. The overall study aims to map the issue of alternative care and deinstitutionalization in countries in Asia, South and Central America, and Africa. It also seeks to increase the evidence on child protection, alternative care and deinstitutionalization and on how this can be addressed, in order to potentially inform future initiatives in these continents, at country or regional level. The study comprises three continental desk reviews and six field-based case studies. This report is the desk review on alternative care and deinstitutionalisation in Africa. It is accompanied by two country case studies: one focussing on Nigeria and one on Uganda. The results of the regional reports and case studies are synthesised in a report entitled Towards the Right Care for Children: Orientations for reforming alternative care systems. Africa, Asia, Latin America (European Union, Brussels, 2017)

Development of Children's Care Services in Scotland : Executive Summary

Professor Andy Kendrick (Emeritus Professor, CELCIS, University of Strathclyde), Erin Lux, Sharon McGregor, and Richard Withington, wrote a report for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry examining the establishment, nature, and development of a wide range of services providing out-of-home care for children and young people in Scotland, from 1900 to the present day. The breadth and nature of services have changed markedly during this time, and the report identifies developments in good practice and systemic weaknesses. The report also considers the changing nature and needs of the child care population, highlighting how the increased focus on children's rights and relationships has impacted service provision. Despite a general improvement in the quality of services, the authors conclude that some looked after children and young people still have poor experiences of the care system, and face stigma and discrimination

Parents in Partnership 2016 Evaluation

Parent and carer engagement, and family learning, are currently areas of high priority within Scottish education. Family learning features within How Good is Our School 4 (Education Scotland, 2015) as a quality indicator, and parental and carer involvement features as a driver within the Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education: A Delivery Plan for Scotland document (Scottish Government, 2016a). ‘Parents in Partnership’ is a model for a parental involvement project, developed in Renfrewshire and undertaken for the first time in one Renfrewshire Council high school in 2015. The model was revised in response to feedback from the 2015 participants, and in 2016 ‘Parents in Partnership’ was expanded into three schools, which were supported by CELCIS to implement this approach. In the 2015 iteration of Parents in Partnership, the project was funded to increase parental and carer involvement and to support them during their child’s transition from primary to high school. The aims remain consistent within the 2016 project, with the additional aim of beginning to explore how an increase in children’s attainment might be related to parental and carer involvement

Encouraging parent and carer involvement at transition to secondary school : exploring a novel school-based programme in three Scottish schools

In policy and practice in Scotland, as elsewhere, there is a drive to encourage the involvement of parents and carers in their children’s education, as a means of improving educational attainment, experiences, and post school destinations (e.g. Education Scotland, 2016; Scottish Government, 2016). An innovative ‘Parents in Partnership’ (PIP) programme took place, supported by CELCIS, in one local authority area. The transition to a new school can be challenging (e.g. Smith, 2006; Brewin & Statham , 2011), and PIP therefore focused on parents/ carers of pupils who had recently entered secondary school. The programme aimed to encourage and support the engagement of parents/ carers with their child’s new school, and to improve knowledge of the school premises, school life, and available support. A total of 37 parents and carers took part

In and Beyond the Care Setting : Relationships Between Young People and Care Workers: A Literature Review

This review seeks to identify and summarise findings from literature about the nature of relationships that develop between older children and young people, and those caring for them within and beyond residential and fostering settings. We make particular efforts to include studies that gather the views of young people themselves. We consider the issues and challenges that young people face in moving on from care, the type of support they receive during this process, and focus on the relational elements of this support. The study as a whole focuses on young people in adolescence as they approach the point where they will leave care and undertake the transition towards more independent living. The review will briefly outline the background and policy context, before discussing some of the key themes found in the literature. • Part 1 explores the issues facing young people leaving care and the need for more targeted, specialist support. • Part 2 discusses the importance of relationships for young people leaving care and the growing interest in relationship-based practice. • Part 3 explores various aspects of relationships valued by care leavers. • Part 4 looks at relationships in different types of care settings

Treatment with corticosteroids of long-standing nerve function impairment in leprosy:A randomized controlled trial (TRIPOD 3)

Some leprosy patients with long-standing nerve function impairment (NFI) appear to have responded favourably to treatment with corticosteroids. This study investigated whether patients with untreated NFI between 6 and 24 months duration and who are given standard regimen corticosteroid therapy, will have a better treatment outcome than a placebo group. A multicentre, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted in Nepal and Bangladesh. Subjects were randomised to either prednisolone treatment starting at 40 mg/day, tapered by 5 mg every 2 weeks, and completed after 16 weeks, or placebo. Outcome assessments were at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months from the start of treatment. 92 MB patients on MDT were recruited, of whom 40 (45%) received prednisolone and 52 (55%) placebo treatment. No demonstrable additional improvement in nerve function, or in preventing further leprosy reaction events was seen in the prednisolone group. Overall, improvement of nerve function at 12 months was seen in about 50% of patients in both groups. Analysis of subgroups according to nerve (ulnar and posterior tibial), duration of NFI, and sensory and motor function, also did not reveal any differences between the treatment and placebo groups. There was however, indication of less deterioration of nerve function in the prednisolone group. Finally, there was no difference in the occurrence of adverse events between both groups. The trial confirms current practice not to treat long-standing NFI with prednisolone. Spontaneous recovery of nerve function appears to be a common phenomenon in leprosy. Leprosy reactions and new NFI occurred in a third of the study group, emphasizing the need to keep patients under regular surveillance during MDT, and, where possible, after completion of MDT.</p

Treatment with corticosteroids of long-standing nerve function impairment in leprosy:A randomized controlled trial (TRIPOD 3)

Some leprosy patients with long-standing nerve function impairment (NFI) appear to have responded favourably to treatment with corticosteroids. This study investigated whether patients with untreated NFI between 6 and 24 months duration and who are given standard regimen corticosteroid therapy, will have a better treatment outcome than a placebo group. A multicentre, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted in Nepal and Bangladesh. Subjects were randomised to either prednisolone treatment starting at 40 mg/day, tapered by 5 mg every 2 weeks, and completed after 16 weeks, or placebo. Outcome assessments were at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months from the start of treatment. 92 MB patients on MDT were recruited, of whom 40 (45%) received prednisolone and 52 (55%) placebo treatment. No demonstrable additional improvement in nerve function, or in preventing further leprosy reaction events was seen in the prednisolone group. Overall, improvement of nerve function at 12 months was seen in about 50% of patients in both groups. Analysis of subgroups according to nerve (ulnar and posterior tibial), duration of NFI, and sensory and motor function, also did not reveal any differences between the treatment and placebo groups. There was however, indication of less deterioration of nerve function in the prednisolone group. Finally, there was no difference in the occurrence of adverse events between both groups. The trial confirms current practice not to treat long-standing NFI with prednisolone. Spontaneous recovery of nerve function appears to be a common phenomenon in leprosy. Leprosy reactions and new NFI occurred in a third of the study group, emphasizing the need to keep patients under regular surveillance during MDT, and, where possible, after completion of MDT.</p

Recent Food Shortage Is Associated with Leprosy Disease in Bangladesh: A Case-Control Study

Although intensive control programs reduced the prevalence of leprosy worldwide, new cases of this infectious disease are still detected in several of the poorest areas of the world. Therefore the disease is known as a disease of poverty. To be able to control the disease it is important to know which aspects of poverty play a role in transmission and acquiring clinical signs of disease. In this study socio-economic circumstances of recently diagnosed leprosy patients were compared with those of a control population in the poverty stricken northwest area of Bangladesh where leprosy is common. A recent period of food shortage was the only socio-economic factor that was found related to leprosy disease in this study and not poverty as such. Food shortage is seasonal and poverty related in northwest Bangladesh, while malnutrition is known to lower immunity and make people more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Therefore it was concluded that malnutrition as an aspect of poverty played an important role in the development of the clinical signs of leprosy. We therefore recommend that nutritional support for high risk groups should be included in leprosy control programmes to reduce risk of disease in areas where leprosy is common

The SAFARI Detector System

We give an overview of the baseline detector system for SAFARI, the prime focal-plane instrument on board the proposed space infrared observatory, SPICA. SAFARI's detectors are based on superconducting Transition Edge Sensors (TES) to provide the extreme sensitivity (dark NEP$\le2\times10^{-19}\rm\ W/\sqrt Hz$) needed to take advantage of SPICA's cold (<8 K) telescope. In order to read out the total of ~3500 detectors we use frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) with baseband feedback. In each multiplexing channel, a two-stage SQUID preamplifier reads out 160 detectors. We describe the detector system and discuss some of the considerations that informed its design.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proc. SPIE 10708, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX, 107080K (9 July 2018); (fixed typo in abstract