Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Correlates Of Poor Health Among Orphans And Abandoned Children In Less Wealthy Countries: The Importance Of Caregiver Health, Nathan Thielman, Jan Ostermann, Kathryn Whetten, Rachel Whetten, Karen O’Donnell, Positive Outcomes For Orphans (Pofo) Research Team

Faculty Publications

Background: More than 153 million children worldwide have been orphaned by the loss of one or both parents, and millions more have been abandoned. We investigated relationships between the health of orphaned and abandoned children (OAC) and child, caregiver, and household characteristics among randomly selected OAC in five countries.

Methodology: Using a two-stage random sampling strategy in 6 study areas in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Tanzania, the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) study identified 1,480 community-living OAC ages 6 to 12. Detailed interviews were conducted with 1,305 primary caregivers at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Multivariable logistic …

Acquisition Of Initial Mental Graphemic Representations By Children At Risk For Literacy Development, Kenn Apel, Shurita Thomas-Tate, Elizabeth B. Wilson-Fowler, Danielle Brimo

Faculty Publications

We examined the acquisition of initial mental graphemic representations (MGRs) by 46 kindergarten children (mean age = 5 years, 9 months) at risk for literacy development because of low socioeconomic status. Using a storybook context, we exposed children to novel nonwords that varied in their phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities and then assessed the children's development of initial MGRs through spelling and reading recognition tasks. The children developed some initial MGRs but less than past reports of children from middle socioeconomic backgrounds. Children with more advanced word recognition abilities developed more initial MGRs than their peers with less advanced word recognition …

The Impact Of A 3-Year After-School Obesity Prevention Program In Elementary School Children, Zenong Yin, Justin B. Moore, Maribeth H. Johnson, Marlo M. Vernon, Bernard Gutin

Faculty Publications

Background: Children tend to be sedentary during the after-school hours, and this has deleterious effects on their health. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of a 3-year after-school physical activity (PA) program, without restriction of dietary energy intake, on percent body fat (%BF), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and cardiometabolic markers in children.

Methods: A cluster randomization design was employed. A total of 574 3^rd grade children from 18 elementary schools in the south-eastern United States participated. The intervention consisted of 80 minutes of age-appropriate moderate-to-vigorous PA each school day. The main outcomes of interest were …