Africa Knowledge Hub for Children

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex3 Aug 2026

Effect of a Mobile App Based Intervention on Digital Competence among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Bridging the Gap in Information Literacy and Digital Safety

The current study investigated the efficacy of the GrowAble mobile app-based intervention in improving digital competence in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with a focus on information and data literacy and safety. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used with 60 children aged 5 to 12 years from Amritsar district, Punjab, India. The experimental group included 30 children with ASD who received the GrowAble mobile app-based intervention, while the control group consisted of 30 typically developing children who served as a developmental reference group for the comparative analysis. Data were gathered using a researcher-created Digital Competence Scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed significant differences between the groups at the pre-test stage, indicating that children with ASD have lower levels of digital competence. However, no significant differences were found at the post-test stage, indicating significant improvement after the intervention. The study concludes that structured and developmentally appropriate mobile app-based interventions can effectively support digital competence development among children with ASD while also encouraging meaningful participation in digital learning environments. Implications, limitations, and future directions were discussed.

Moomin Ahmad Rather, Deepa Sikand Kauts

Development

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex1 Jan 2018

An Investigation on Cyber Safety Awareness among Teachers and Parents.

The purpose of this mixed-methods investigation was to determine how teachers and parents understood and educated themselves on cyber safety. This research explored how teachers and parents found and used resources available to stay informed of the constant threats and changes for students while online. The amount of time young people spend with media has grown to where it’s even more than a full-time work week . . . When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them for good and bad. (Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, 2010, p. 2). It is now more important than ever for researchers, policymakers, teachers, and parents to stay on top of the impact technology has on students’/children’s lives. Using an online mixed-methods survey and interviews, the researcher sought to determine, compare, and examine the levels of understanding and perspectives of teachers and parents on cyber safety issues and training. This study was used to determine if there was a need for more readily available training on the issues concerning cyber safety for teachers/parents to ensure the safety of students/children in K-12 schools and communities. This research found that many teachers and parents are working to learn about cyber safety and monitor students/children but feel frustrated that technology changes so fast that their efforts sometimes feel inadequate. Adding to the knowledge base of free resources for teachers and parents might help in this endeavor. News channels and some principals are already making efforts to educate their communities about technology changes where possible to keep teachers and parents informed and to help the community make better decisions for students and children.

Teresa M. Lester

ProtectionParticipationRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex8 Apr 2025

Efficacy and safety of epicutaneous immunotherapy in children with peanut allergy with atopic comorbidities

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence rate of atopic comorbidities, including atopic dermatitis (AD), asthma, and concomitant food allergy (CFA), in children with peanut allergy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether concomitant atopic comorbidities affect the safety and efficacy of VIASKIN peanut patch (patch containing 250 µg peanut protein [VP250]). METHODS: EPITOPE was a phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to assess treatment response to VP250, as measured by eliciting dose at 12 months, in children with peanut allergy aged 1 to 3 years. This subgroup analysis assessed response rates for prespecified subgroups, including children with asthma, AD/eczema, and CFA. The safety profile of VP250 was evaluated by atopic condition in all randomized participants who received at least 1 dose. RESULTS: Responder rates were significantly greater with VP250 vs placebo, irrespective of the presence of atopic conditions. There was no significant interaction effect between participants with an atopic comorbidity and those without. The safety profile was generally similar across subgroups without any additional safety signals. There was no clinically meaningful change in severity of AD in those receiving VP250, regardless of baseline AD status. Rates of anaphylaxis were higher in those with AD or CFA receiving VP250 vs those without; however, these imbalances were also observed in the placebo group. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that 12 months of treatment with VP250 was effective in desensitizing children with peanut allergy aged 1 to 3 years, with no difference in efficacy and a favorable safety profile, regardless of the presence of atopic comorbidities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03211247.

Amy M. Scurlock, David Mark Fleischer, George Du Toit et al.

SurvivalExperimentalUSGBNLIERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex18 Nov 2020

Efficacy and safety of abobotulinumtoxinA for upper limb spasticity in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized repeat‐treatment study

AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of repeat abobotulinumtoxinA injections in reducing upper limb spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHOD: This was a double-blind, repeat-cycle study (NCT02106351) in children with CP (2-17y). Children were randomized to receive 2U/kg (control), 8U/kg, or 16U/kg abobotulinumtoxinA injections into the target muscle group (wrist or elbow flexors) and additional muscles alongside occupational therapy via a home-exercise therapy program (HETP; minimum five 15min sessions/wk). Children received 8U/kg or 16U/kg plus HETP in cycles 2 to 4. RESULTS: During cycle 1, 210 children (126 males, 84 females; mean age [SD] 9y [4y 5mo], range 2-17y; n=70/group) had at least one upper limb abobotulinumtoxinA injection and 209 complied with the HETP. At week 6 of cycle 1, children in the 8U/kg or 16U/kg groups had significantly lower Modified Ashworth scale scores versus the 2U/kg group (primary outcome: treatment differences of -0.4 [p=0.012] and -0.7 [p<0.001] respectively). All groups improved on Physician Global Assessment and children in all groups achieved their treatment goals at least as expected. Therapeutic benefits were sustained during cycles 2 to 4; muscular weakness was the only treatment-related adverse event reported in at least one child/group (4.3% and 5.7% vs 1.4% respectively). INTERPRETATION: Treatment with 8U/kg or 16U/kg abobotulinumtoxinA significantly reduced upper limb spasticity versus the 2U/kg control dose. Therapeutic benefits of abobotulinumtoxinA plus HETP were sustained with repeat treatment cycles. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: AbobotulinumtoxinA injections significantly reduced upper limb spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. Children treated with abobotulinumtoxinA and targeted home exercises showed global improvement and goal attainment. Benefits were sustained over 1 year with repeat cycles of abobotulinumtoxinA and home exercises. AbobotulinumtoxinA injections into the upper limb were well tolerated over 1 year.

Mauricio R. Delgado, Ann Henderson Tilton, Jorge Carranza-del Río et al.

DevelopmentExperimentalUSTRPLFRRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex14 Jun 2021

Cyber-safety and COVID-19 in the early years: A research agenda

Young children aged birth to 5 years are known users of the internet, both unsupervised and in collaboration with adults. Adults also use the internet to share details of children’s lives with others, via sharenting and educational apps. During COVID-19 internet use by children and families rose significantly during periods of enforced stay-home. Internet use by children, and by adults on behalf exposes children to conduct, contact and content risks online. These risks mean that cyber-safety in the early years is increasingly necessary, especially concerning increased internet usage during COVID-19. While cyber-safety is well developed for primary and secondary-school aged children this is not the case for young children, their families and educators. This paper proposes a research agenda for cyber-safety in the early years, using critical constructivism and internet studies to define the internet as a non-unitary technology. Three main objects of study concerning cyber-safety in the early years, including the reference to COVID-19 are identified for targeted research, including: technologies, context and policy.

Susan Edwards

ProtectionParticipationAURead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex10 May 2021

Exploring Informal Learning Opportunities via YouTube Kids among Children During COVID-19

Education has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are becoming restless and stressed upon adjusting to emergent learning. An online platform that can regulate informal learning opportunities and entertainment for children during the worldwide crisis is needed. This need points towards the potential use of YouTube Kids (YTK); the app is age-appropriate and it offers popular videos with diverse contents. Studies have focused on the safety of YTK, but none has explored how young users could navigate their informal learning through the app. Fifty respondents aged 11 to 12 from a rural school in Sarawak, Malaysia participated in this study. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study incorporated an online questionnaire and semi-structured group interviews as research instruments. Findings indicated distinctive features concerning the safety and multimodality of YTK. These features make YTK a great informal learning tool for children during present worldwide pandemic. Received: 25 January 2021 / Accepted: 24 March 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

Magdeline M. Temban, Tan Kim Hua, Nur Ehsan Mohd Said

DevelopmentMYRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex5 Mar 2024

Efficacy and Safety of Low-Dose Atropine on Myopia Prevention in Premyopic Children: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Early-onset myopia increases the risk of irreversible high myopia. Methods: This study systematically evaluated the efficacy and safety of low-dose atropine for myopia control in children with premyopia through meta-analysis using random-effects models. Effect sizes were calculated using risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Comprehensive searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were conducted until 20 December 2023, without language restrictions. Results: Four studies involving 644 children with premyopia aged 4–12 years were identified, with atropine concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 0.05%. The analysis focused on myopia incidence and atropine-related adverse events. Lower myopia incidence (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40–0.97 D/y; p = 0.03) and reduction in rapid myopia shift (≥0.5 D/1y) (RR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.26–0.96 D/y; p < 0.01) were observed in the 12–24-month period. Spherical equivalent and axial length exhibited attenuated progression in the atropine group. No major adverse events were detected in either group, whereas the incidence of photophobia and allergic conjunctivitis did not vary in the 12–24-month period. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis supports atropine’s efficacy and safety for delaying myopia incidence and controlling progression in children with premyopia. However, further investigation is warranted due to limited studies.

Ssu‐Hsien Lee, Bor-Yuan Tseng, Jen‐Hung Wang et al.

DevelopmentPractitionerTWRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex1 Oct 2018

Efficacy and safety of recombinant human growth hormone in treating Chinese children with idiopathic short stature

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in the treatment of idiopathic short stature (ISS). METHODS: The data of 200 ISS children, who were treated with rhGH from January 2008 to December 2016, were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The data of height, bone age(BA), chronological age(CA), fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, thyroid function and IGF-1 were collected, and annual growth velocity (GV), height standard deviation score (HtSDS) and related factors that affect GV were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: (1) GV and HtSDS changes: As the time of treatment increased, the GV decreased year by year. The GV in the second year was significantly lower than that in the first year (P < .0001), and the GV in the fourth year was significantly lower than that in the third year (P < .05). HtSDS gradually increased from the first year to the third year, and became significantly higher than that in the year before the treatment (P < .01). The difference in the increase in HtSDS between the fourth year and third year was not statistically significant (P > .05). (2) The influence factors of GV included age at initial treatment, IGF-1SDS during treatment and GV in the year before treatment. (3) The most common side effects during treatment included transient hyperglycemia and temporary hyperinsulinemia, and these returned to normal after the treatment was stopped. Some patients presented with accelerated bone age growth after two years of treatment (annual growth of bone age △BA was >2 years), compared with children without accelerated bone age growth, and the difference between BA and CA (BA-CA) was significantly reduced at the beginning of the treatment (P < .01). CONCLUSION: rhGH has a good growth promoting effect on ISS children. A variety of factors may affect the GV, and related adverse reactions should be monitored during the treatment.

Yanqin Ying, Ling Hou, Yan Liang et al.

SurvivalDevelopmentPractitionerCNRead at source

Project reportOpenAlex20 Apr 2026

Written Evidence: Toward Child-Centred AI Safety: Artificial Intelligence Harms & Children’s Online Safety

This written evidence submission to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children's Online Safety examines the risks and opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) poses for children and young people in the United Kingdom. Authored by Dr. Jaimie Lee Freeman and Prof. Gina Neff of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, the submission draws on original and published research to address three of the inquiry's four questions. AI is now deeply embedded in children's online environments—across social media platforms, search engines, and video games—yet existing safety frameworks were not designed with children's distinct digital practices in mind. This submission identifies key emerging harms, including AI-generated health misinformation, sycophantic and emotionally manipulative chatbot interactions, non-consensual intimate deepfakes, and the psychological risks of parasocial relationships with AI companions. These harms fall unevenly across communities, with girls and young women facing disproportionate risks. Despite these concerns, children themselves recognise real benefits from AI in education, healthcare access, and social support. The evidence strongly cautions against blanket bans, which evidence from Australia suggests can obscure rather than resolve the underlying harms young people experience online. This submission calls for decision makers to consider child-centred AI safety approaches that reflect children's developmental diversity, embed their voices in participatory research and policy design, and go beyond harm mitigation to maximise AI's benefits for future generations. On regulation, the authors identify significant gaps in the UK Online Safety Act's coverage of AI chatbots and deepfakes and argue that meaningful progress requires improved data transparency from industry, expanded researcher access to platform data, and robust auditing frameworks. Media literacy education, regulation, and data transparency are each necessary but individually insufficient; only in combination, and grounded in children's lived experiences, can they deliver the safe digital futures children deserve.

Gina Neff, JL Freeman

ProtectionParticipationGBAURead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex14 Apr 2022

Safety, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines in Adolescents, Children, and Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background As the epidemic progresses, universal vaccination against COVID-19 has been the trend, but there are still some doubts about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents, children, and even infants. Purpose To evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in the population aged 0–17 years. Method A comprehensive search for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception to November 9, 2021. All data were pooled by RevMan 5.3 statistical software, with risk ratio (RR) and its 95% confidence interval as the effect measure. This study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021290205). Results There was a total of six randomized controlled trials included in this systematic review and meta-analysis, enrolling participants in the age range of 3–17 years, and containing three types of COVID-19 vaccines. Compared with mRNA vaccines and adenovirus vector vaccines, inactivated vaccines have a more satisfactory safety profile, both after initial (RR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04–1.90, P = 0.03) and booster (RR 1.84, 95% CI 1.20–2.81, P = 0.005) vaccination. The risk of adverse reactions was significantly increased after the first and second doses, but there was no significant difference between the first two doses (RR 1.00, 95%CI 0.99–1.02, P = 0.60). Nevertheless, the two-dose regimen is obviously superior to the single-dose schedule for immunogenicity and efficacy. After booster vaccination, both neutralizing antibodies (RR 144.80, 95%CI 44.97–466.24, P < 0.00001) and RBD-binding antibodies (RR 101.50, 95%CI 6.44–1,600.76, P = 0.001) reach optimal levels, but the cellular immune response seemed not to be further enhanced. In addition, compared with younger children, older children and adolescents were at significantly increased risk of adverse reactions after vaccination, with either mRNA or inactivated vaccines, accompanied by a stronger immune response. Conclusion The available evidence suggests that the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines are acceptable in people aged 3–17 years. However, there is an urgent need for additional multicenter, large-sample studies, especially in younger children under 3 years of age and even in infants, with long-term follow-up data. Systematic Review Registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021290205 , identifier: CRD42021290205.

Yuxuan Du, Long Chen, Yuan Shi

SurvivalExperimentalCNRead at source

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