Aisha K Yousafzai
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 1733804 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Aisha K Yousafzai |
| PRENOMES | Aisha K |
| SOBRENOME | Yousafzai |
| ASSINATURA | YOUSAFZAI A K |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Harvard Global Health Institute |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1592-8923 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 64 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 15 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 64 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2011 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Interventions to promote early child development in the Middle East and North Africa Arab countries
The Middle East and North Africa Arab countries face several economic, political, and social challenges that negatively impact early child physical, cognitive, and emotional development. This scoping review aims to summarize the landscape of interventions designed to promote early child development in children under 5 years of age in the Middle East and North Africa Arab countries, highlighting knowledge gaps and areas for future research. We sea…
The impact of early childhood care and education training programs on educator outcomes
Urban violence
Effects of Engaging Fathers and Bundling Nutrition and Parenting Interventions on Child Nutrition Outcomes and Related Parent Behaviors in Rural Tanzania
Suboptimal diets contribute to child malnutrition globally. The Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania (EFFECTS) study developed interventions that engaged fathers and delivered bundled nutrition and parenting content and tested their individual and combined effects on child dietary diversity and upstream parental behaviors. In a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Mara, Tanzania, 80 villages were randomly a…
Validation of an observational tool for assessing mother–child and father–child interactions in Mara, Tanzania
A strong body of evidence has underscored the cross-cultural importance of nurturing parent-child relationships for promoting early child development outcomes. However, most research on parenting has predominantly relied on self-reported measures collected from mothers. Observational tools for assessing parent-child interactions from not only mothers but also fathers remains limited, especially in Majority World contexts. This study aimed to eval…
Physiological Markers of Early Social Skills in Rural South Africa
Early social skills underlie the development of crucial regulatory and behavioral processes across childhood. EEG frontal alpha asymmetry and heart rate variability are two physiological markers that have been extensively studied in relation to social skills in high‐income country (HIC) samples. The prevalence of adversities in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is linked to pervasive deficits in early social skills, yet little is known abo…
Optimising adolescents and young adults’ utilisation of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in Chad
BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) aged 15-24 years account for nearly half of all new HIV infections globally, with over 80% residing in sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS is a leading cause of death. In Chad, HIV/AIDS significantly impacts AYA, despite a reduction in national prevalence from 1.6% in 2010 to 1.0% in 2022. AYA still contribute to 26.3% of new infections, with young women facing four times the risk compared with young men.…
Bridging the gap
Young key populations—sex workers and men who have sex with men (MSM)—face significant barriers to accessing HIV care in Chad due to stigma, discrimination, and socio-economic challenges. Although legal protections exist, gaps in enforcement continue to undermine care efforts. This study explored care pathways for young key populations in Chad to identify their specific challenges and propose targeted strategies to strengthen the HIV care continu…
Work process of community health workers
In this multicenter, cross-sectional and quantitative study we evaluated the influence of urban violence and COVID-19 on the work process and team rapport of community health workers (CHWs) in eight municipalities of Northeastern Brazil. The collected information covered sociodemographics, work routines, exposure to violence, self-efficacy and coronavirus anxiety. A logistic regression was performed using as outcome variable the answer to the que…
Processo de trabalho do agente comunitário de saúde
Tem-se por objetivo analisar a influência da violência urbana e da COVID-19 no processo de trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde (ACS). Trata-se de um estudo multicêntrico, transversal, quantitativo realizado em oito cidades do Nordeste do Brasil. Abordaram-se dados sociodemográficos, processo de trabalho, exposição à violência, autoeficácia e a ansiedade relacionada à COVID-19. Realizou-se regressão logística, cuja variável de desfecho foi …
Household Food Insecurity, Growth and Development of Preschool Children
Household food insecurity (HFI) remains a challenge globally and is recognized as a risk factor for poor child nutritional outcomes for infants and young children. However, few studies have evaluated the associations of HFI with the growth and development of preschool children. This study assessed the association of HFI with growth and development outcomes among preschool-aged children in rural Pakistan and explored potential differences in the m…
Diet and Care Mediate the Effects of Parenting and Nutrition Interventions on Childhood Infections
The effect of community-based multi-input interventions that promote health, nutrition, and development on childhood infections, and the pathways that explain these effects remain unclear. We conducted a secondary analysis of a factorial-designed clustered randomized controlled trial (N = 1489) conducted in rural Pakistan to estimate the effects of responsive stimulation and enhanced nutrition (responsive feeding and multiple micronutrient powder…
Maternal Trauma history, Maternal Mental health, and Child Behavior
The system's not getting my grandchild
Validity, Reliability, and Relevance of a Measurement Tool for Childcare Providers’ Work-Related Stress and Job Satisfaction
Research Findings: Childcare provider stress and job satisfaction has been found to influence childcare quality in high-income contexts, but this phenomenon has yet to be studied in a low- or middle-income country. In 2019–2020, we tested the reliability and validity of the Child Care Center Work Environment Scale (CCCWES) with 416 childcare providers in Da Nang and Quang Nam provinces, Vietnam. We assessed content and face validity and utilized …
Reliability and validity of the responsive care tool for children 0–3 years old in a rural, South Asian setting
Research has shown the importance of responsive caregiving for fostering positive development early in life; however, tools measuring these interactions are often impractical for larger scale intervention trials and in settings with resource constraints. The present study provides reliability and validity evidence from Sindh, Pakistan for a tool developed to quantify responsive caregiving. Data were collected from 200 randomly selected households…
Gender similarities and differences in early childhood development in low- and middle-income countries
Gender differences in early childhood development are under-researched in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where almost 90% of the world’s young children live. This study examines the direction, magnitude, and variation of gender similarities and differences in 3- and 4-year-olds’ early childhood development in 71 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Moreover, we explore whether country-level gender inequality correlates with gender …
Effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting and nutrition interventions on early child development and maternal and paternal parenting in Mara, Tanzania
BACKGROUND: Multicomponent interventions are needed to address the various co-occurring risks that compromise early child nutrition and development. We compared the independent and combined effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting components into a nutrition intervention on early child development (ECD) and parenting outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a 2×2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial across 80 villages in Mara Region, Ta…
Perinatal depression and adverse child growth outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs)
Perinatal depression (PND), which encompasses the antepartum and postpartum depression (APD and PPD), is a neglected crisis in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to systematically search and meta-analyze existing evidence to determine whether a mother’s PND affects adverse growth outcomes in children in LMICs (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42021246803). We conducted searches, including nine databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science,…
The development and validity of the Early Learning Tool for children 0–3-year-old in rural Pakistan
Background: Research has demonstrated the critical role that early learning experiences play in shaping children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Nevertheless, tools for assessing children's exposure to early learning experiences remain scarce. This paper describes the initial validation of the Early Learning (EL) tool, which captures the levels of stimulation with playthings and people available to children 0-3-year-old in low-res…
Predictors of early child development for screening pregnant women most in need of support in Brazil
Background: Home visiting programmes can support child development and reduce inequalities, but failure to identify the most vulnerable families can undermine such efforts. We examined whether there are strong predictors of poor child development that could be used to screen pregnant women in primary health care settings to target early interventions in a Brazilian population. Considering selected predictors, we assessed coverage and focus of a l…
The effects of a large-scale home visiting programme for child development on use of health services in Brazil
Partnership between early childhood development interventions and primary health care services can help catalyse health care uptake by socially vulnerable families. This study aimed to assess the real-life effects of a large-scale home visiting programme [Primeira Infância Melhor (PIM)] in Brazil on the use of preventive (prenatal visits, well child visits, dentist visits and vaccination) and recovery (emergency room visits and hospitalization) h…
A qualitative study of maternal and paternal parenting knowledge and practices in rural Mozambique
These findings highlight the importance of adopting a holistic approach involving caregivers and their context and reveal potential strategies to promote caregiving and ECD in rural Mozambique and similar contexts
When I hold my daughter, she quiets, no need [for]any verbal conversation”
Responsive caregiving is associated with secure attachment and positive child developmental outcomes. However, there is some debate on whether responsive caregiving is a universal construct. Few studies have researched responsive caregiving in diverse cultural settings, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries. In this study, we explore if and how responsive caregiving is conceptualized among mothers of children under 3‐years‐old in rural…
Informal settlements and the care of children 0–3 years of age
Background: There is a rapid increase in urbanization with a high percentage of people living in poverty in urban informal settlements. These families, including single parents, are requiring accessible and affordable childcare. In Mlolongo, an informal settlement in Machakos County in Nairobi metropolitan area, Kenya, childcare centres, referred to as 'babycares' are increasing in number. They are being provided by local community members withou…
Maternal scaffolding and home stimulation
This study contributes to the understanding of how early parenting interventions implemented in low- and middle-income countries during the first 2 years of children's lives are sustained longitudinally to promote cognitive skills in preschoolers. We employed path analytic procedures to examine 2 family processes-the quality of home stimulation and maternal scaffolding behaviors-as underlying mechanisms through which a responsive stimulation inte…
Best and worst performing health facilities
Primary care services are on average of low quality in Nepal. However, there is marked variation in performance of basic clinical and managerial functions between primary health care centers. The determinants of variation in primary care performance in low- and middle-income countries have been understudied relative to the prominence of primary care in national health plans. We used the positive deviance approach to identify best and worst perfor…
Effects of engaging fathers and bundling nutrition and parenting interventions on household gender equality and women's empowerment in rural Tanzania
Advancing gender equality and women's empowerment (GE/WE) may contribute to better child nutrition and development in low-resource settings. However, few empirical studies have generated evidence on GE/WE and examined the potential of engaging men to transform gender norms and power relations in the context of nutrition and parenting programs. We tested the independent and combined effects of engaging couples and bundling nutrition and parenting …
Barriers and facilitators to father involvement in early child health services
Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving developmental outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries
Effect of integrated responsive stimulation and nutrition interventions in the Lady Health Worker programme in Pakistan on child development, growth, and health outcomes
Global Health and Development in Early Childhood
Health and nutritional risks co-occur in the lives of children under the age of 2 years who live in developing countries. We review evidence showing how these risks, in addition to inadequate psychosocial stimulation, prevent children from developing expected cognitive and language abilities. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 interventions aimed at enhancing stimulation and 18 interventions that provided better nutrition—all conducted s…
Paternal Stimulation and Early Child Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the relationship between paternal stimulation and children's growth and development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of paternal stimulation and to assess whether paternal stimulation was associated with early child growth and development. METHODS: Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys rounds 4 and 5 were combined a…
Maternal scaffolding and home stimulation
This study contributes to the understanding of how early parenting interventions implemented in low- and middle-income countries during the first 2 years of children's lives are sustained longitudinally to promote cognitive skills in preschoolers. We employed path analytic procedures to examine 2 family processes-the quality of home stimulation and maternal scaffolding behaviors-as underlying mechanisms through which a responsive stimulation inte…
Nurturing care
His mind will work better with both of us”
The original article was not updated
Global research priorities to accelerate programming to improve early childhood development in the sustainable development era
BACKGROUND: Approximately 250 million children under the age of five in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) will not achieve their developmental potential due to poverty and stunting alone. Investments in programming to improve early childhood development (ECD) have the potential to disrupt the cycle of poverty and therefore should be prioritised. Support for ECD has increased in recent years. Nevertheless, donors and policies continue to neg…
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan
Parental stimulation and responsiveness are associated with improved early child development outcomes. However, the majority of studies have relied on maternal-reported measures of only mothers' parenting practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between fathers' and mothers' reports of their own and their partner's engagement in stimulation and assess the degree to which parents' reported stimulation correlated with their …
Chronic Maternal Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Reduced Socio-Emotional Development in Children at 2 Years of Age
Background: Maternal depression affects a high proportion of women during the antenatal and postnatal period in low- and middle-income countries. While maternal depression is recognized as a significant risk for poor early child development that warrants interventions, the effects of chronic maternal depression on children's development are less understood. Objective: To determine the association of chronicity of maternal depressive symptoms and …
Effect of a community health worker delivered health, nutrition and responsive stimulation package and conditional cash transfers on child development and growth in rural Tanzania
ISRCTN10323949 , Retrospectively registered on October 3, 2017
Manifesto for new directions in developmental science
Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation rather than coherent scientific advances. What directions should developmental science pursue to meaningfully address real-world problems that impact human development throughout the lifespan? What conceptual or policy shifts are needed to steer the field in these directions? The p…
Promoting parent-child relationships and preventing violence via home-visiting
ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02510313
Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life
Background Parents are the primary caregivers of young children. Responsive parent–child relationships and parental support for learning during the earliest years of life are crucial for promoting early child development (ECD). We conducted a global systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of parenting interventions on ECD and parenting outcomes. Methods and findings We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of S…
Effect of a home-visiting parenting program to promote early childhood development and prevent violence
INTRODUCTION: Families living in extreme poverty require interventions to support early-childhood development (ECD) due to broad risks. This longitudinal cluster randomised trial examines the effectiveness of Sugira Muryango (SM), a home-visiting intervention linked to Rwanda's social protection system to promote ECD and reduce violence compared with usual care (UC). METHODS: Families with children aged 6-36 months were recruited in 284 geographi…
Effect of a home-based health, nutrition and responsive stimulation intervention and conditional cash transfers on child development and growth
INTRODUCTION: Evidence on the effects of community health worker (CHW) interventions and conditional cash transfers (CCTs) on child growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa remains sparse. METHODS: We conducted a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial of an integrated home-visiting health, nutrition and responsive stimulation intervention alone and in combination with CCTs to promote antenatal and child clinic attendance from 2017 …
Maternal and paternal perspectives on parenting stress in rural Tanzania
Parents across the world are faced with many challenges that can increase their levels of stress. Only a handful of studies have examined parenting stress in sub-Saharan African contexts, and most have focused only on mothers or at-risk populations. There is therefore a significant gap in our understanding of the factors that contribute to parenting stress in mothers and fathers in the general population across sub-Saharan Africa and how parents …
Child diet and mother–child interactions mediate intervention effects on child growth and development
This study examined whether child diet and mother-child interactions mediated the effects of a responsive stimulation and nutrition intervention delivered from 2009 to 2012 to 1324 children aged 0-24 months living in rural Pakistan. Results showed that the intervention improved children's cognitive, language and motor development through child diet and mother-child interactions. Although the intervention did not improve child growth or socio-emot…
Influences on catch-up growth using relative versus absolute metrics
The study children demonstrated improved growth from 24 to 60 months of age, but only a subset had positive changes in HAD and WAD. The same environmental factors were associated with growth from 24 to 60 months regardless of metric used (change in HAZ or HAD, or WAZ and WAD)
Depression and Viral Suppression Among Adults Living with HIV in Tanzania
Effects of a community health worker delivered intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Tanzania
Maternal depression affects one in four women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet evidence on effective and scalable interventions is limited. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of a community health worker (CHW) delivered home visit responsive stimulation, health and nutrition intervention, and conditional cash transfers (CCTs) for antenatal care and child growth monitoring attendance on maternal depressive symptoms. We conducted a cluster-randomiz…
ACT Raising Safe Kids Program improves parenting practices, beliefs about physical punishment, management of anger, and mental health
Early and concurrent home stimulation
Fine motor skills enable children to make precise and coordinated movements with their hands and support their ability to engage in everyday activities and learning experiences. In a longitudinal study of 1,058 4-year-old children in rural Pakistan (n = 488 girls), we examined how prior and concurrent levels of home stimulation relate to change in fine motor skills from ages 2 to 4 while controlling for family wealth, maternal education, number o…
Barriers and facilitators to father involvement in early child health services
Priority setting in early childhood development
BACKGROUND: Early childhood development (ECD) sets the foundation for healthy and successful lives with important ramifications for education, labour market outcomes and other domains of well-being. Even though a large number of interventions that promote ECD have been implemented and evaluated globally, there is currently no standardised framework that allows a comparison of the relative cost-effectiveness of these interventions. METHODS: We fir…
Medicine (45 obras) · Psychology (38 obras) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (26 obras) · Psychological intervention (25 obras) · Developmental psychology (23 obras) · Environmental health (20 obras) · Nursing (18 obras) · Child development (17 obras) · Global Maternal and Child Health (17 obras) · Psychiatry (17 obras)