Research that Benefits Children and Families

I became interested in the topic of severe headaches and migraines after my two daughters experienced severe headaches but were not diagnoised as having migraines until they were teenagers. This weeks assignment gave me reason to revisit migraines and the severity of pain that children experience.

 According to research at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, it has been identified that migraines affect more than 6 million children and adolescents in the United States adn causes them to miss nearly 130,000 days of school every two weeks. I do not recall my children experiencing this type of affect during their years in school, however I do remember that they were often told by phyisicians to wear reading glasses to reduce the pressure on thier eyes,(they did not or do not now where prescribed glasses). The study did reveal that pediatric migraines are one of the five most prevalent childhood disorders in the United States. The negative impact of migraines on overall quality of life is similar to childhood cancer, heart disease and rheumatic disease.

 Since the research has been establishiment nearly 6,000 children with the complaint of headaches have been seen. A standardized diagnosis using the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Second Editon, was established using a detailed questionnaire about the child's headache, and a computer-based database to accumulate medical information as well as response rate was designed and is continually updated. Treatment strategies include acute therapy for individual headache episodes and psychological intervention including feedback assisted relaxation training as wellas behavior adjustments. The multidisplinary approach has been demonstrated to be highly effective, not ony in the standard methods of measuring outcome, but also in using tools developed and validated at Cincinnati Children's to characterize disability and quality of life. Upon obtaining this information, I am going to communicate this to my children so that they can have information for reference if their children ever experience severe headaches.

Reference
 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Center, 2014.  www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/h/headache-center/about/

Pat's Personal Research Journey

       This week I am sharing the topic of "Bullying" for my research simulation project in the ECE 6163 Course.  The reason I chose bullying, comes from my experience of working with youth who have displayed aggression towards others and other youth have shown signs of depression and withdrawal due to being bullied.  Even though there are resources available for youth, families and staff to reduce bullying, not everyone is willing to be open for assistance.  

          Based on research, even when programs have an impact, the improvement seems to be more of a change in the child's knowledge and perceptions and not the behavior of bullying. I want to provide more avenues that are effective to support and stimulate those who are in need to be more proactive to gain assistance in preventing being bullied or being a bully.  The related issues or subtopics that I have chosen but not limited to are the following:

 1. Promote awareness of being considerate of others.

 2. Train teachers and parents how to recognize signs of being bullied and providing effective support.

 3. How to effectively communicate concerns about being bullied without fear.

          In constructing the research chart in week 1, I was able to find that research must be creditable and provides acceptable information that identifies why bullying takes place and what has worked so far to develop prevention.  People will be more inclined to be more receptive to what is true and provides concrete evidence and not random thoughts. 

          I look forward to suggestions and to be able to learn from others who have gone through this experience of working with youth who have faced the ordeal of being bullied and/or who have been the aggressor that led to bullying others.  First hand knowledge provides factual content and gives others opportunity to see that they are not alone.