scholarly journals Easier said than done: a qualitative study conducted in the USA exploring Latino family child care home providers as role models for healthy eating and physical activity behaviours

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e018219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
Mary L Greaney ◽  
Sherrie F Wallington ◽  
Julie A Wright

ObjectiveLatinos are the largest and most rapidly growing minority population group in the USA and are disproportionally affected by obesity and related chronic diseases. Child care providers likely influence the eating and physical activity behaviours of children in their care, and therefore are important targets for interventions designed to prevent childhood obesity. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research examining the behaviours of family child care home (FCCH) providers and whether they model healthy eating and physical activity behaviours. Therefore, this study explored Latino FCCH providers’ beliefs and practices related to healthy eating, physical activity and sedentary behaviours, and how they view their ability to serve as role models for these behaviours for young children in their care.MethodsThis is a qualitative study consisting of six focus groups conducted in Spanish with a sample of 44 state-licensed Latino FCCH providers in the state of Massachusetts. Translated transcripts were analysed using thematic analyses to identify meaningful patterns.ResultsAnalyses revealed that Latino FCCH providers have positive beliefs and attitudes about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for children in their care, but personally struggle with these same behaviours and with maintaining a healthy weight status. The ability of Latino FCCH providers to model healthy eating and physical activity may be limited by their low self-efficacy in their ability to be physically active, eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight.ConclusionsInterventions designed to improve healthy eating and physical activity behaviours of children enrolled in FCCHs should address providers’ own health behaviours as well as their modelling of these health behaviours. Future research can build on the findings of this qualitative study by quantifying Latino FCCH providers’ eating and physical activity behaviours, and determining how these behaviours influence behaviours and health outcomes of children in their care.

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-315
Author(s):  
Phillip Dobson ◽  
Regan Burney ◽  
Derek Hales ◽  
Amber Vaughn ◽  
Alison Tovar ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana C Lindsay ◽  
Mary L Greaney ◽  
Sherrie F Wallington ◽  
Faith D Sands ◽  
Julie A Wright ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveResearch indicates that healthful eating and physical activity (PA) practices implemented in child-care settings can have a positive effect on children’s healthful behaviours in this setting, and this effect on healthful behaviours may possibly transfer to the home environment. While more research is needed to examine whether behaviours learned in family child-care homes (FCCH) transfer, the potential for transferability is especially important given that Latino children’s home environment has been characterized by obesogenic parenting practices. We aimed to examine Latino parents’ perceptions of their pre-school children’s eating and PA experiences at home and at FCCH.DesignQualitative study. Six focus groups were conducted in Spanish (n36). Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key concepts and themes.ResultsAnalyses revealed that Latino parents perceive their children have healthier eating and PA experiences at FCCH than at home. Parents attributed this to FCCH providers providing an environment conducive to healthful eating and PA due to providers having more knowledge and skills, time and resources, and being required to follow rules and regulations set by the state that promote healthful eating and PA.ConclusionsUnderstanding parental perceptions, attitudes and practices related to establishing and maintaining an environment conducive to children’s healthful eating and PA at home and at the FCCH is essential for the design of successful interventions to promote children’s healthful behaviours in these two settings. Given that parents perceive their children as having more healthful behaviours while at FCCH, interventions that address both settings jointly may be most effective than those addressing only one environment by itself.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucine Francis ◽  
Lara Shodeinde ◽  
Maureen M. Black ◽  
Jerilyn Allen

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern in the US. More than a third of young children 2–5 years old are placed in nonrelative child care for the majority of the day, making the child care setting an important venue to spearhead obesity prevention. Much of the obesity research in child care has focused on center-based facilities, with emerging research on Family Child Care Homes (FCCHs)—child care operated in a home setting outside the child’s home. The purpose of this review was to assess the obesogenic attributes of the FCCH environment. A search of the PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, and PsycINFO electronic databases identified 3,281 citations; 35 eligible for full-text review, and 18 articles from 17 studies in the analysis. This review found a lack of comprehensive written nutrition and physical activity policies within FCCHs, lack of FCCH providers trained in nutrition and physical activity best practices, lack of adequate equipment and space for indoor and outdoor playtime activities in FCCHs, inaccurate nutrition-related beliefs and perceptions among FCCH providers, poor nutrition-related communication with families, and poor feeding practices. Future research focusing on interventions aimed at addressing these problem areas can contribute to obesity prevention.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 308-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Tovar ◽  
Amber E. Vaughn ◽  
Anna Grummon ◽  
Regan Burney ◽  
Temitope Erinosho ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 584-604
Author(s):  
Eleanor Shonkoff ◽  
Sara C Folta ◽  
Theodore Fitopoulos ◽  
Cynthia N Ramirez ◽  
Ricky Bluthenthal ◽  
...  

Abstract Less than 1% of children in the United States concurrently meet guidelines for fruit/vegetable intake, physical activity, screen time, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Prior evidence suggests that parents of this 1% potentially cope with stress differently. This qualitative study used a positive deviance-based approach to locate mothers whose children avoided negative feeding outcomes despite being ‘high-risk’ for obesity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish for two groups: low-income, Hispanic mothers whose children were normal weight and met recommendations for fruits/vegetables and physical activity (n = 5); and a comparison group whose children had obesity and did not meet guidelines (n = 8). Topics included weight-related parenting practices, attitudes toward health, and stress management. Interviews were transcribed, translated, and coded using NVivo for theoretically driven thematic analysis. Results suggested that mothers viewed stress differently. Mothers of healthy weight children believed stress could be prevented, such as by paying children more attention or directing one’s attention away from stressors; comparison group mothers tended to report stress about managing their child’s eating and about financial worries. Future research is needed to understand the underlying sources of these differences (e.g. personality traits, coping practices) and test whether stress prevention interventions can promote healthy parental feeding practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2333794X2198955
Author(s):  
Lorrene D. Ritchie ◽  
Victoria Keeton ◽  
Danielle L. Lee ◽  
Klara Gurzo ◽  
Elyse Homel Vitale ◽  
...  

The study evaluated an educational intervention with family child care home (FCCH) providers to implement nutrition standards. A convenience sample of licensed California FCCH providers (n = 30) attended a 2-hour, in-person group training in English or Spanish on nutrition standards for infants and children aged 1 to 5 years. Provider surveys and researcher observations during meals/snacks were conducted pre- and 3 months post-intervention. Providers rated the training as excellent (average score of 4.9 on a scale of 1-5). Adherence, assessed by survey and observation and compared over time using paired t-tests, increased from an average of 36% pre-intervention to 44% post-intervention ( P = .06) of providers (n = 12) for infant standards and from 59% to 68% ( P < .001) of providers (n = 30) for child standards. One-third (39%) of providers rated infant standards and 19% of providers rated child standards as difficult to implement. Nutrition standards can be implemented by FCCH providers after an educational intervention; a larger study is warranted with a representative group of providers.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e047632
Author(s):  
Helen Humphreys ◽  
Laura Kilby ◽  
Nik Kudiersky ◽  
Robert Copeland

ObjectivesTo explore the lived experience of long COVID with particular focus on the role of physical activity.DesignQualitative study using semistructured interviews.Participants18 people living with long COVID (9 men, 9 women; aged between 18–74 years; 10 white British, 3 white Other, 3 Asian, 1 black, 1 mixed ethnicity) recruited via a UK-based research interest database for people with long COVID.SettingTelephone interviews with 17 participants living in the UK and 1 participant living in the USA.ResultsFour themes were generated. Theme 1 describes how participants struggled with drastically reduced physical function, compounded by the cognitive and psychological effects of long COVID. Theme 2 highlights challenges associated with finding and interpreting advice about physical activity that was appropriately tailored. Theme 3 describes individual approaches to managing symptoms including fatigue and ‘brain fog’ while trying to resume and maintain activities of daily living and other forms of exercise. Theme 4 illustrates the battle with self-concept to accept reduced function (even temporarily) and the fear of permanent reduction in physical and cognitive ability.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the challenges of managing physical activity alongside the extended symptoms associated with long COVID. Findings highlight the need for greater clarity and tailoring of physical activity-related advice for people with long COVID and improved support to resume activities important to individual well-being.


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