scholarly journals Immersive Reality Experiences (IRE) Technology for Reducing Social Isolation and Improving the Social Connectedness and Well-Being of Hospitalized Children and Young People: Open Trial (Preprint)

10.2196/29164 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Laura Ann Chubb ◽  
Harshali Kumar ◽  
Christa Fouché
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Open Trial ◽  
Hospitalized Children ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Social

An Open Trial of Immersive Reality Experiences (IRE) Technology for Reducing Social Isolation and Improving the Social Connectedness and Well-Being of Hospitalized Children and Young People (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Christa Fouché ◽  
Laura Ann Chubb ◽  
Stacey Yates ◽  
Harshali Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hospitalized Children ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Social

BACKGROUND Hospitalized children and young people can feel disconnected from their peers and families, which can in turn predispose them to psychological problems including anxiety and depression. Immersive Reality Experiences (IRE) technology, recently developed by the New Zealand Patience Project Charitable Trust may help to overcome these issues. IRE technology uses immersive 360-degree live-streaming and a virtual reality (VR) headset to enable hospitalized children and young people to connect with cameras located in either their school or home environment. OBJECTIVE This trial was undertaken to 1) quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of IRE technology in reducing social isolation and improving social connectedness and wellbeing using validated outcome measures and 2) expand qualitative findings from a previous smaller ‘proof of concept’ trial to ascertain the views of hospitalized New Zealand children and young people, their caregivers and teachers regarding IRE technology. METHODS An open trial of IRE technology was conducted between December 2019 and December 2020 and included 19 New Zealand children and young people aged 13-18, who had been hospitalized at Starship Hospital, a specialist pediatric hospital in Auckland, for at least 2-weeks. All participants completed the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), an abbreviated version of the Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) and the Social Inclusion Scale (SIS) and at baseline. Ten participants used IRE technology as often as they wished over a 6-week period and completed post-intervention measures. Semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants, caregivers and teachers were conducted immediately post-intervention. RESULTS Participants reported improvements in social inclusion (mean change 3.9, SD 2.8, p 0.057), social connectedness (mean change 14.2, SD 10.0, p 0.002) and well-being (mean change 5.7, SD 4.0, p 0.003). Key themes from interviews with participants, caregivers and teachers were: the importance of support for using IRE technology, connecting vs connectedness, choice and connection, and the value of setting it up and getting it right. A number of recommendations for improving connectedness via IRE and related technology were also provided. CONCLUSIONS IRE technology can improve the social inclusion, social connectedness and well-being of hospitalized New Zealand children and young people. With some technological modifications and simplified implementation, IRE technology could become part of standard care and support hospitalized children and young people in New Zealand and elsewhere to sustain family and peer cohesion, experience fewer psychological problems and more easily return to normal life following completion of treatment. CLINICALTRIAL This study has been registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry: ACTRN12619000252112p

scholarly journals Leisure and youth clubs’ work with young people of ethnic minority background living in socially deprived housing areas: creating processes of hope and empowerment through social pedagogical work

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Elisa Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
After School ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
The Social

This article gives an analysis of social pedagogical work in leisure and youth clubs, physically located in so-called socially deprived housing areas in Denmark. The pedagogical work is especially aimed at young boys of ethnic minority background. The article draws on empirical research from a project exploring leisure and youth clubs’ impact on children and young people’s well-being and opportunities for development when growing up in socially deprived housing areas. The social pedagogical work seems very closely related to societal issues moving into the pedagogical everyday life of the leisure and youth clubs. These clubs, besides embracing the children and young people’s active leisure life in communities with other children and young people, are thus also instrumental in helping and supporting the children and young people to cope with an everyday life that features experiences of stigmatising and inequality-shaped living conditions. The social pedagogical work is analysed from the perspectives of the pedagogues and young people, taking their point of view to what seems particularly significant to the well-being and development of the young people based on Scandinavian-German critical psychology. This is integrated with Paulo Freire’s notion of hope and empowerment, which is the analytical framework within the context of social pedagogical work concerned with how the young men develop belief in themselves for them to complete their education, get a job in after-school hours and refrain from involvement in crime and gang-related communities.

scholarly journals The 'named person': surveillance and the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland.

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Stoddart
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Social

The Scottish Parliament’s ‘Children and Young People’ Bill has extended statutory responsibilities for the welfare of children to include their well-being. This article focuses on the ‘named person’ service, arguing that an attenuated understanding of surveillance by politicians and other stakeholders has contributed to a failure to adequately consider the social control dimensions of this new universal provision.

scholarly journals Capturing the impact of adolescent inpatient admissions: The Social Connectedness Scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 631-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Phillips ◽  
Bridie Lawler Whatson ◽  
Emma Wells ◽  
Gordon Milson ◽  
Samantha Hartley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Outcome Measurement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Background: Outcome measurement is central to health service provision. In child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), there are established tools used to assess symptoms and track progress. However, there is a relative dearth of assessments of subjective well-being or recovery. Social connectedness is a concept linked with well-being and risk in young people. We sought to evaluate the utility and acceptability of a measure of social connectedness in inpatient CAMHS. Method: As part of routine clinical practice, we asked 92 young people (mean age 16 years old) on two inpatient CAMHS wards to complete the Social Connectedness Scale, alongside other assessments, and also comment on its acceptability. We repeated the measure on discharge from the unit. Results: The findings showed that the measure was internally consistent (α = .910) and sensitive to change in this population. Scores also correlated with another self-report measure focusing on well-being and mental distress, but not with clinician-rated measures. Ratings of relevance and ease of understanding were reasonable and young people value social connection. Conclusion: The Social Connectedness Scale might offer an appropriate method of exploring this element of young peoples’ experience and progress, as part of inpatient mental health admissions.

Young Citizens or Policy Objects? Children in the ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ Debate

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELIZABETH SUCH ◽  
ROBERT WALKER
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Conflicting Messages

Rights and responsibilities lie at the heart of New Labour's social policies. Children and young people present a challenge to the social contractual model of responsibility evident in policy spheres. Government is torn between the notion that children are dependent on parents for well-being, and the idea that individuals should take responsibility for their own actions. The article examines the problem of childhood in social policy through an examination of the conflicting messages emerging out of family policy and anti-social behaviour policies. Policy discourses are then critically evaluated with reference to a qualitative study of children's ideas about responsibility. The authors suggest that policies relating to children can learn from children's private experience of responsibility in the home, and from the complex and rich ways in which children understand the moral and relational components of responsibility.

The impact of algorithmic decision-making processes on young people’s well-being (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvira Perez Vallejos ◽  
Liz Dowthwaite ◽  
Helen Creswich ◽  
Virginia Portillo ◽  
Ansgar Koene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Algorithms rule the online environments and are essential for performing data processing, filtering, personalisation and other tasks. Research has shown that children and young people make up a significant proportion of Internet users, however little attention has been given to their experiences of algorithmically-mediated online platforms, or the impact of them on their mental health and well-being. The algorithms that govern online platforms are often obfuscated by a lack of transparency in their online Terms and Conditions and user agreements. This lack of transparency speaks to the need for protecting the most vulnerable users from potential online harms. OBJECTIVE To capture young people's experiences when being online and perceived impact on their well-being. METHODS In this paper, we draw on qualitative and quantitative data from a total of 260 children and young people who took part in a ‘Youth Jury’ to bring their opinions to the forefront, elicit discussion of their experiences of using online platforms, and perceived psychosocial impact on users. RESULTS The results of the study revealed the young people’s positive as well as negative experiences of using online platforms. Benefits such as being convenient and providing entertainment and personalised search results were identified. However, the data also reveals participants’ concerns for their privacy, safety and trust when online, which can have a significant impact on their well-being. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by making recommendations that online platforms acknowledge and enact on their responsibility to protect the privacy of their young users, recognising the significant developmental milestones that this group experience during these early years, and the impact that technology may have on them. We argue that governments need to incorporate policies that require technologists and others to embed the safeguarding of users’ well-being within the core of the design of Internet products and services to improve the user experiences and psychological well-being of all, but especially those of children and young people. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

scholarly journals Digital Technologies To Enhance Social Connectedness in Long-Term Care Facilities During COVID-19: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 942-943
Author(s):  
Shannon Freeman ◽  
Aderonke Abgoji ◽  
Alanna Koopmans ◽  
Christopher Ross
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Facilities

Abstract A consequence of the strict visitor restrictions implemented by many Long-term Care Facilities (LTCFs), during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the exacerbation of loneliness and social isolation felt by older adult residents. While there had been a shift by some persons to utilize digital solutions to mitigate the effects of the imposed social isolation, many facilities did not have sufficient information regarding available solutions to implement institutional strategies to support social connectedness through digital solutions. To support our partners in evidence-based policy-making we conducted a scoping review to identify existing virtual technology solutions, apps, and platforms feasible to promote social connectedness among persons residing in a long-term care facility context during times of lockdown such as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial identification of relevant literature involved a combination of keywords and subject headings searches within 5 databases (PubMed, CINAHL EBSCO, PsychINFO EBSCO, Embase OVIDSP, and Web of Science ISI). DistillerSR was used to screen, chart and summarize the data. There is growth in the availability of technologies focused on promoting health and well-being in later life for persons in long-term care facilities however a gap remains in widespread uptake. We will describe the breadth of technologies identified in this review and discuss how they vary in utility in smaller scale facilities common in rural areas. Of the technologies that can be used to mitigate the impacts of social isolation felt by long-term care residents, many “solutions” depend on stable highspeed internet, which remains a challenge in rural and northern areas.

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