Practitioners’ and Policymakers’ Successes, Challenges, Innovations, and Learning in Promoting Children’s Well-being During COVID-19: Protocol for a Multinational Smartphone App Survey

Abstract

Background The advent of COVID-19 abruptly thrust the health and safety of children and families into greater risk around the world. As regional and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, communities, families, and children grapple with the immediate public health impact of COVID-19, the rights and well-being of children, especially those who are already marginalized, have been overlooked. Those working with children have likely encountered unprecedented challenges and responded in innovative ways in efforts to address the needs and rights of all children. Objective This paper presents a protocol for a large-scale, multinational study using a new smartphone app to capture the real-time experiences and perspectives of practitioners and policymakers supporting children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe in relation to a children’s human rights 4P framework of protection, provision, prevention, and participation. Methods This protocol describes a mixed methods survey utilizing a custom-built iOS and Android smartphone app called the COVID 4P Log for Children’s Wellbeing, which was developed in close consultation with 17 international key partner organizations. Practitioners and policymakers working with and for children’s well-being across 29 countries and 5 continents were invited to download the app and respond to questions over the course of 8 weeks. The anticipated large amount of qualitative and quantitative response data will be analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and word frequencies. Results Formal data collection took place from October 2020 until March 2021. Data analysis was completed in July 2021. Conclusions The findings will directly inform the understanding of the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted practitioners’, managers’, and policymakers’ efforts to support children’s well-being in their practices, services, and policies, respectively. Innovative and ambitious in its scope and use of smartphone technology, this project also aims to inform and inspire future multinational research using app-based methodologies—the demand for which is likely to continue to dramatically rise in the COVID-19 era. Mitigating the risks of longitudinal remote data collection will help maximize the acceptability of the app, respondents’ sustained engagement, and data quality. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/31013

Effective child well-being practices, barriers and priority actions: survey findings from service providers and policymakers in 22 countries during COVID-19

“…To ensure feasibility and respondent buy-in, 17 international partner organisations with mandates ranging from service delivery and workforce development to child rights advocacy and intergovernmental policy were consulted about app development and testing and the recruitment strategy. A detailed account of the app’s functionality is offered in the study’s protocol paper (Davidson et al , 2021).…”

“You cannot pour from an empty cup!”: child well-being service providers’ and policymakers’ professional supervision, coping and well-being during COVID-19

“…Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Strathclyde Ethics Committee. A detailed account of the project’s methodology – including app and survey development and participant recruitment – has been provided in Davidson et al (2021).…”