Children displaced by armed conflict are at high risk of experiencing psychological distress. The ongoing war in Gaza has resulted in widespread trauma among Palestinian youth, yet limited data exist on their mental health following displacement. This study assessed the prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depressive symptoms among war-displaced Palestinian refugee children and adolescents resettled in Qatar.

To estimate the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms and to identify psychosocial and trauma-related factors associated with symptom severity in this population.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 Palestinian children (aged 8–17 years) residing in a residential compound in Qatar. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Child Version and the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire-Child Version, respectively. A Resilience and Demographic Questionnaire was devised to assess trauma exposure and psychosocial variables. Multiple linear regression identified factors associated with symptom severity.

Clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms were found in 70.9 and 46.0% of participants, respectively. Separation anxiety was the most common subtype. Female gender, witnessing death, physical injury and disrupted caregiving were significantly associated with worse outcomes.

This study highlights the urgent need for trauma-informed, culturally sensitive mental health services for displaced Palestinian children and young people. While clinical interventions are vital, a sustainable resolution to the conflict is essential to mitigate further psychological harm.

To co-develop a systems map of the UK secondary school food system and to understand what factors contribute to food choice within it.

Participatory methods were used with a range of UK school stakeholders to co-produce a systems map of factors contributing to food choice in the secondary school food system. An online survey with stakeholders (n=26) was used to gather an initial list of factors, and a group model building workshop was conducted with stakeholders (n=13) to establish relationships between these factors. Two school workshops captured views of students (n=17). The map then underwent final refinement by the research team and all stakeholders were provided the opportunity to provide feedback on the final version.

United Kingdom

UK school stakeholders

The systems map contained 24 factors with 43 direct causal relationships between them, each factor falling into one of six themes: catering and procurement; school leadership and governance; the priority of food within schools; social experience, behaviours and attitudes; the food space and experience in school; and financial. The map demonstrates how each of the factors interact with each other, including direction of influence. It also reveals feedback loops that shape and sustain food choice patterns in secondary schools.

The systems map provides a visualisation of the complex secondary school food system and can be used by stakeholders in the design and evaluation of whole-school, multi-component interventions and programmes targeting food choice in secondary schools.

Children are uniquely vulnerable to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events due to anatomical, physiological, and psychological differences. Current decontamination practices are adapted from adult protocols.

To evaluate current practices, challenges, and special considerations in pediatric decontamination during CBRN events.

A scoping review was conducted using six databases in accordance with PRISMA-ScR framework. Studies were eligible if they evaluated decontamination methods involving children (0-18 years) in real or simulated CBRN scenarios. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, and data were thematically analyzed into four domains.

Disrobing is widely recognized as a critical first step in the decontamination process, and 43% of the studies reviewed identified it as such. When done immediately and appropriately, it can remove a significant amount of contaminants. Although its effectiveness varies based on how much of the body is covered and the nature of the exposure. Dry decontamination was discussed in 21% of studies, and wet decontamination was the most commonly reported approach, appearing in 93%. Key pediatric challenges included hypothermia, psychological distress, separation from caregivers, and difficulties managing non-ambulatory or special needs populations. Few studies addressed age-specific protocols or long-term psychological impacts. The results are presented in procedural order to reflect the typical sequence of decontamination in CBRN response.

Current decontamination guidelines inadequately address pediatric-specific needs. There is a critical need for standardized, age-appropriate guidelines that integrate caregiver support and psychosocial considerations. A pediatric decontamination algorithm was developed to consolidate current evidence into a practical framework for CBRN mass casualty incidents.

Children with CHDs are exposed to ionising radiation during diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterisation procedures. Data regarding radiation doses a child is exposed to during these procedures are scarce. We aimed to investigate the radiation dose and other related parameters for paediatric cardiac catheterisation and propose these as local reference levels.

We collected radiation exposure data for all diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterisation cases (excluding electrophysiology procedures) utilising fluoroscopy at “Anonymized for review” between January 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021. Direct measures of radiation usage, i.e. fluoroscopy time, dose-area product value, and air kerma, were reported for each case by the INNOVA 2100 manufactured by Wipro GE Healthcare. The absorbed radiation dose was measured using a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre dosimeter, which was placed directly on the patients’ chests. Differences in measures of radiation exposure across procedural and interventional types were tested using the normality of continuous data by Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was calculated when the data violated normality.

The overall median dose-area product, fluoroscopy time, air kerma, and absorbed dose measured using a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre dosimeter were 300 mg.m2, 10.5 mins, 37 mGy, and 2.4 mSv, respectively. We have further categorised the median exposure parameters into 5 age groups and propose them as local dose reference levels. There was a strong correlation between fluoroscopy time with the absorbed radiation dose (Rho = 0.942). Fluoroscopy time showed fair correlation with air kerma (Rho = 0.65) and dose-area product (Rho = 0.59). Absorbed radiation dose showed fair correlation with dose-area product ( Rho = 0.56).

Fluoroscopy time alone is not a sufficient metric to monitor radiation exposure. Even when fluoroscopy times were comparable, air kerma and dose-area product levels were quite different. Therefore, the local dose reference levels proposed can be used as a benchmark for future studies aimed at process optimisation and further reducing the radiation exposure in paediatric patients.

To date, no research has explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychotropic prescription patterns among young people in Japan, where lockdown measures were relatively less stringent.

This study aimed to investigate changes in the prescription patterns of psychotropic medications for Japanese young people before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, using the DeSC Database.

We conducted an interrupted time-series analysis, with data from February 2016 to November 2022, to assess the pandemic’s effects on psychotropic prescriptions for children, adolescents and young adults. The analysis included subgroups based on age (6–11, 12–17 and 18–22 years) and gender. The number of patients prescribed psychiatric drugs before and after the pandemic was analysed.

Among 93 385 individuals, psychotropic prescriptions – except anxiolytics – increased overall, although not uniformly across age and gender groups. Significant upward trends were observed in the prescription rates of antidepressants (from 2.53 (95% CI 2.21–2.84) to 6.47 (95% CI 5.89–7.05) patients per month), anxiolytics (from −1.83 (95% CI −2.52 to −1.13) to 7.37 (95% CI 6.06–8.67) per month) and hypnotics/sedatives (from −1.48 (95% CI 0.73–2.24) to 6.62 (95% CI 5.21–8.03) per month).

A persistent increase in psychotropic medication prescriptions was observed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the influence of age and gender, clinicians and society must prioritise the mental health needs of the female and adolescent populations. These findings may be generalisable to other countries that implemented less stringent lockdown measures.