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Introduction: Children exposed to parental intimate partner violence and abuse, mental illness, and substance use experience a range of problems which may persist into adulthood. These risks often co-occur and interact with structural factors such as poverty. Despite increasing evidence, it remains unclear how best to improve outcomes for children and families experiencing these adversities and address the complex issues they face. Aims and Methods: Systematic review of systematic reviews. We searched international literature databases for systematic reviews, from inception to 2021, to provide an evidence overview of the range and effectiveness of interventions to support children and families where these parental risk factors had been identified. Results: Sixty-two systematic reviews were included. The majority (n = 59) focused on interventions designed to address single risk factors. Reviews mostly focused on parental mental health (n = 38) and included psychological interventions or parenting-training for mothers. Only two reviews assessed interventions to address all three risk factors in combination and assessed structural interventions. Evidence indicates that families affected by parental mental health problems may be best served by integrated interventions combining therapeutic interventions for parents with parent skills training. Upstream interventions such as income supplementation and welfare reform were demonstrated to reduce the impacts of family adversity. Conclusion: Most intervention approaches focus on mitigating individual psychological harms and seek to address risk factors in isolation, which presents potentially significant gaps in intervention evidence. These interventions may not address the cumulative impacts of co-occurring risks, or social factors that may compound adversities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Today, an estimated 7.3% (50 million) of all children <5 y of age suffer from wasting, with more burden in African countries including Guinea. Investigating inequalities in childhood wasting is essential for designing efficient programs and interventions, but no related evidence exists in Guinea. This study aimed to examine the trends in the prevalence of childhood wasting and the extent of sex, socio-economic and geographic-based disparities in Guinea. Methods Data from the 1999, 2005 and 2012 Guinea Demographic and Health Surveys and the 2016 Guinea Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, with a total of 16 137 children <5 y of age were included for analysis. For inequality analysis, we used the 2019 updated World Health Organization Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) software. Inequality was measured using four summary measures (difference [D], population attributable risk [PAR], ratio [R] and population attributable fraction [PAF]) for five equity stratifiers (economic status, education, place of residence, sex and subnational region). We computed 95% confidence intervals (CIs) around the points estimates to measure statistical significance. Results The findings revealed a pro-rich (R=1.68 [95% CI 1.11 to 2.24]), pro-urban (PAR=−1.04 [95% CI −1.90 to −0.18]) and subnational region (D=8.11 [95% CI 4.85 to 11.36]) inequalities in childhood wasting across all surveys. Except in 2005, education-based disparities (PAF=−18.2 [95% CI −36.10 to −0.26]) were observed across all survey years, but not sex-based disparities. An approximately constant inequality pattern was seen across all dimensions. Conclusions This study showed inequalities in childhood wasting in Guinea with a disproportionately higher risk of wasting among children from disadvantaged subpopulations/mothers, including uneducated, poorest/poor, rural residents and regions. Policies that target disadvantaged populations need to be considered in order to ensure social protection, access to a wholesome diet and universal and quality health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive ability and socioemotional behaviour during childhood have independently been shown to impact educational outcomes. The extent to which their co-development predicts these outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to assess associations between concurrent cognitive and socioemotional development trajectories in childhood and exam results at age 16 years., Data and Method: We analysed longitudinal data on 9084 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Exposure trajectories of cognitive and socioemotional development from age 3 to 14 years were characterised using group-based multi-trajectory models. We used logistic regression to assess associations between these development trajectories and exam attainment, measured by passing five or more GCSE subjects at age 16, adjusting for confounders. Population-attributable fractions were calculated to quantify the contribution of cognitive and socioemotional problems to poor educational outcomes., Results: Compared with the 'no problem' trajectory group, the odds of not achieving a standard pass in GCSE was 2.5 times higher for the 'late socioemotional problems' trajectory group (adjusted OR 2.5, 95% CI 2.1 to 3.1) and four times higher for the 'early cognitive and socioemotional problems' trajectory group (adjusted OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.4 to 5.3). The OR was highest for the trajectory group with persistent cognitive and socioemotional problems (adjusted OR 4.4, 95% CI 3.3 to 5.8). Approximately 17% of poor exam results in adolescence were attributable to cognitive and socioemotional behaviour problems in childhood (adjusted population-attributable fraction 17%, 95% CI 15% to 19%)., Conclusion: In a representative UK cohort, adverse development of cognitive and socioemotional behaviour in childhood was associated with a negative impact on exam results in adolescence, more so when the adverse development co-occurs or clusters early or persistently. Cross sector health and education policy that invests in reducing cognitive and socioemotional behaviour problems in children has the potential to improve educational outcomes in adolescence., Competing Interests: Competing interests: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

Background: Childhood adversities, such as exposure to parental mental illness, domestic violence and abuse, substance use, and family poverty, have been linked to involvement in violence in early adulthood. However, evidence on the cumulative impact of multiple adversities throughout childhood on violence and crime in adolescence remains scarce. This study investigates the associations between trajectories of family adversity and poverty during childhood, and the risk of involvement in violence and contact with police in adolescence., Methods: We used longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 9316 children. Exposure trajectories of family adversities and poverty were characterised (from ages 0-14 years) using group-based multi-trajectory models. The outcomes were weapon involvement, for example, carrying a knife, and police contact measured at age 17 years. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (OR, 95% CI) and population attributable fractions were estimated using logistic regression models, adjusting for confounding factors., Results: The prevalence of weapon involvement and contact with police at age 17 years were 6.1% and 20.0%, respectively. Compared with children who experienced low poverty and family adversity throughout childhood, those exposed to persistent poverty and poor parental mental health were at notably increased risk of carrying weapons (adjusted OR (aOR) 2.2, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.6) and reporting contact with police (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.8). We estimate that about 32% of weapon involvement and 23% of contact with police at age 17 were attributable to persistent poverty and family adversity., Conclusion: Exposure to poverty and poor parental mental health throughout childhood doubles the risk of weapon involvement and police contact in early adulthood. These findings emphasise the importance of lifecourse and anti-poverty approaches to reducing involvement in crime in the UK., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.)

The combination of low uptake of modern contraceptives, high rates of unintended pregnancies, and the pervasive HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) poses a threat to maternal, newborn, and child health in the region. This study examined the prevalence, need, and demand satisfied by modern contraceptive methods for women who tested positive for HIV (both unmarried and married) in 10 countries in SSA. We used the Family Planning Estimation Tool (FPET) to generate national-level trends and projections from 1983 through 2030. Individual-level data from 30 DHS surveys conducted between 2004 and 2018 in 10 sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries were used to produce projections for 1) all women and 2) unmarried and married women who tested positive for HIV. Throughout the period, Ethiopian and Guinean women who tested positive for HIV had a higher %mCPR (utilization of modern family planning methods) vis-à-vis all women. Among women who tested positive for HIV, the highest percentage of family planning demand satisfied by modern methods was observed in Zimbabwe (85.27, CI: 76.32-91.69), Lesotho (82.75, CI: 71.80-89.86), Rwanda (80.17, CI: 70.01-87.62), Malawi (73.11, CI: 61.50-82.63), and Zambia (72.63, CI: 64.49-80.09). The highest unmet need for modern contraceptives was found in Senegal (25.38, CI:18.36-33.72), followed by Cameroon (23.59, CI:19.30-28.59) and Sierra Leone (23.16, CI:16.64-32.05). Zimbabwe had the lowest unmet need (10.61, CI:6.36-16.13) and achieved the highest change in %mCPR (49.28, SE:6.80). Among married women who tested positive for HIV, their unmet need for modern contraception will remain higher in 2030. Continuing existing policies until 2030 would result in significant coverage gain among married vis-à-vis unmarried women who tested positive for HIV. Our projections emphasize the importance of country-specific strengthening initiatives, programs, and services targeting unmarried women., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ambade et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)