From screen time to the digital level of analysis: a scoping review of measures for digital media use in children and adolescents.

2021

e046367

2021 May 19

2044-6055

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>This scoping review aims to facilitate psychometric developments in the field of digital media usage and well-being in young people by (1) identifying core concepts in the area of "screen time" and digital media use in children, adolescents, and young adults, (2) synthesising existing research paradigms and measurement tools that quantify these dimensions, and (3) highlighting important areas of need to guide future measure development.</p>

<p><strong>DESIGN: </strong>A scoping review of 140 sources (126 database, 14 grey literature) published between 2014 and 2019 yielded 162 measurement tools across a range of domains, users, and cultures. Database sources from Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus were extracted, in addition to grey literature obtained from knowledge experts and organisations relevant to digital media use in children. To be included, the source had to: (1) be an empirical investigation or present original research, (2) investigate a sample/target population that included children or young persons between the ages of 0 and 25 years of age, and (3) include at least one assessment method for measuring digital media use. Reviews, editorials, letters, comments and animal model studies were all excluded.</p>

<p><strong>MEASURES: </strong>Basic information, level of risk of bias, study setting, paradigm, data type, digital media type, device, usage characteristics, applications or websites, sample characteristics, recruitment methods, measurement tool information, reliability and validity.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Significant variability in nomenclature surrounding problematic use and criteria for identifying clinical impairment was discovered. Moreover, there was a paucity of measures in key domains, including tools for young children, whole families, disadvantaged groups, and for certain patterns and types of usage.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>This knowledge synthesis exercise highlights the need for the widespread development and implementation of comprehensive, multi-method, multilevel, and multi-informant measurement suites.</p>

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046367

BMJ Open

34011597

From 'screen time' to the digital level of analysis: protocol for a scoping review of digital media use in children and adolescents.

2019

e032184

2019 Nov 25

2044-6055

<p><strong>INTRODUCTION: </strong>Research on the relationship between digital media exposure and child development is complex, inconsistent and fraught with debate. A highlighted area of inadequacy surrounds the methodological limitations of measuring digital media use for both researchers and clinicians, alike. This protocol aims to (1) identify core concepts in the area of screen time and digital media use in children and adolescents (2) map existing research paradigms and screening/measurement tools that serve to underpin and operationalise core concepts and (3) provide an initial step in integrating these findings into a consolidated screening toolkit. It is expected this enterprise will help advance research and clinical evaluation in fields concerned with digital media use, namely medicine, child development and the social sciences.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS AND ANALYSIS: </strong>The planned scoping review will search relevant electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus, in addition to grey literature. All empirical investigations and presentation of original research will be considered, and measurement/screening tools for digital media usage in children and adolescents will be identified and reported on. Two reviewers will pilot test the screening criteria, and data extraction forms prior to independently screening all relevant literature and extracting the data. A three-stage synthesis process will be used to map the existent measurement and screening tools for digital media usage in children and adolescents.</p>

<p><strong>ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: </strong>There are no ethical considerations for this scoping review. Plans for dissemination include publication in a top-tier, open-access journal, public presentations and conference proceedings. Presentation of the full scoping review has been accepted to the American Academy of Child &amp; Adolescent Psychiatry 66th Annual Meeting.</p>

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032184

BMJ Open

31772098

Pediatric deaths attributable to complex chronic conditions: a population-based study of Washington State, 1980-1997.

2000

205-9

07/2000

0031-4005

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>Advances in medical technology and public health are changing the causes and patterns of pediatric mortality. To better inform health care planning for dying children, we sought to determine if an increasing proportion of pediatric deaths were attributable to an underlying complex chronic condition (CCC), what the typical age of CCC-associated deaths was, and whether this age was increasing.</p>

<p><strong>DESIGN: </strong>Population-based retrospective cohort from 1980 to 1997, compiled from Washington State annual censuses and death certificates of children 0 to 18 years old.</p>

<p><strong>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: </strong>For each of 9 categories of CCCs, the counts of death, mortality rates, and ages of death.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Nearly one-quarter of the 21 617 child deaths during this period were attributable to a CCC. Death rates for the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), CCCs, and all other causes each declined, but less so for CCCs. Among infants who died because of causes other than injury or SIDS, 31% of the remaining deaths were attributable to a CCC in 1980 and 41% by 1997; for deaths in children 1 year of age and older, CCCs were cited in 53% in 1980, versus 58% in 1997. The median age of death for all CCCs was 4 months 9 days, with substantial differences among CCCs. No overall change in the age of death between 1980 to 1997 was found (nonparametric trend test).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>CCCs account for an increasing proportion of child deaths. The majority of these deaths occur during infancy, but the typical age varies by cause. These findings should help shape the design of support care services offered to children dying with chronic conditions and their families.</p>

Pediatrics

10888693