Early Care and Education Teacher’s Role in Obesity Prevention and Healthy Development of Young American Indian Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Kracht ◽  
Susan B. Sisson ◽  
Devon Walker ◽  
Kelly Kerr ◽  
Lancer Stephens ◽  
...  

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how stakeholders, specifically early care and education (ECE) teachers, perceive their role in the development of young American Indian children, and envision working with health care providers and parents in order to enhance children’s health. Methodology: Twenty tribally affiliated ECE teachers from Oklahoma participated in interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted, and three main themes, each with two to three subthemes, emerged. Results: Teachers felt that nutrition and physical activity were important to children’s health. Teachers had little professional interaction with health care providers but desired more. Parental empowerment was conveyed as essential to actualize positive changes in their child’s behavior. Discussion: Teachers of tribally affiliated ECE centers are important stakeholders in promoting the health and well-being of young American Indian children. Additional efforts are needed to more effectively integrate teachers and nurses in order to create effective interventions. We propose a stakeholder partnership to guide the development of future interventions.

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-241
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Kracht ◽  
Susan B. Sisson ◽  
Kelly Kerr ◽  
Devon Walker ◽  
Lancer Stephens ◽  
...  

Introduction: Health care providers (HCPs) serving American Indian (AI) populations are critical stakeholders in promoting healthy weight-related behaviors of young AI children. The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of how HCP perceive their role in the healthy development of young AI children, and how they envision working with early care and education teachers and parents to enhance children’s health. Method: Twenty HCP that serve young AI children in Oklahoma participated in individual interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted on coded transcripts and three main themes, each with two to four subthemes were identified. Results: HCP had limited contact with teachers, felt family health was equal or more important than child health, and parental empowerment and gradual change was essential for success. Conclusion: Creating ways to involve HCP, early care and education teachers, and parents together in multilevel and multisector interventions has the potential to improve the health of young AI children.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 2333794X1561633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K. Brunson

While health care providers are often cited as parents’ most trusted source for information and advice about vaccination, parents differ in their level of receptiveness to pro-vaccination conversations. The purpose of this research was to identify points in individual parents’ decision-making processes when parents are particularly open to receiving information and advice from their children’s health care providers. Interview data were collected from 20 mothers and 5 couples. Analysis of these data suggested 3 primary circumstances when parents were particularly open to receiving information and advice: during parents’ initial decision-making, as parents continued to assess vaccination options, and during particular circumstances that prompted parents to reconsider previously made vaccination choices. These results provide a mechanism for providers to identify parents who may be particularly receptive to pro-vaccination conversations. By prioritizing conversations with parents at one of these points, health care providers’ efforts at promoting vaccination may be more effective.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Lee ◽  
John L. Oliffe ◽  
Mary T. Kelly ◽  
Olivier Ferlatte

Gay men are a subgroup vulnerable to depression and suicidality. The prevalence of depression among gay men is three times higher than the general adult population. Because depression is a known risk factor for suicide, gay men are also at high risk for suicidality. Despite the high prevalence of depression and suicidality, health researchers and health care providers have tended to focus on sexual health issues, most often human immunodeficiency virus in gay men. Related to this, gay men’s health has often been defined by sexual practices, and poorly understood are the intersections of gay men’s physical and mental health with social determinants of health including ethnicity, locale, education level, and socioeconomic status. In the current article summated is literature addressing risk factors for depression and suicidality among gay men including family acceptance of their sexual identities, social cohesion and belonging, internalized stigma, and victimization. Barriers to gay men’s help seeking are also discussed in detailing how health care providers might advance the well-being of this underserved subgroup by effectively addressing depression and suicidality.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110654
Author(s):  
Kathryn West ◽  
Karen R. Jackson ◽  
Tobias L. Spears ◽  
Brian Callender

In this descriptive case series, we detail the theoretical basis, methodology, and impact of a small-scale pilot implementation of graphic medicine workshops as an innovative approach to well-being and resilience in the age of COVID-19 and increasing awareness of racial injustice. The data provided in this article are anecdotal and based on participation in the workshops. Images created during the workshops are also shared as examples of the types of reflection that graphic medicine can enable. The workshops themselves were designed collaboratively and are based on the theoretical principles of graphic medicine, narrative medicine, and racial and social justice. They were conducted as part of a larger wellness initiative and were offered to health care-focused faculty at our academic medical institution. Our findings suggest that this was a beneficial activity which helped participants to reflect and reconsider their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and surging awareness of racial injustice. Reflections also showed that drawings were correlated with ProQOL scores and may, in larger numbers, also help to mitigate or bring attention to issues of burnout in frontline providers. Drawings shared show the tremendous impact of COVID-19 and the simultaneous chaos and emptiness of practicing during dual pandemics. Our workshops engaged about 20 frontline health care providers and other health care faculty and highlight the utility of graphic medicine as a tool for building resilience and encouraging self-reflection. Further study is necessary, as is more rigorous analysis of the relationship between the graphics created and the ability to recognize and mitigate burnout.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 233372141985545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Williams Agyemang-Duah ◽  
Charles Peprah ◽  
Francis Arthur-Holmes

In spite of the growing literature on prevalence and patterns of health care use in later life globally, studies have generally overlooked subjective standpoints of vulnerable Ghanaian older people obstructing the achievement of the United Nations’ health-related Sustainable Development Goals. We examined the prevalence and patterns of health care use among poor older people in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana. Cross-sectional data were obtained from an Aging, Health, Lifestyle and Health Services Survey conducted between June 1 and 20, 2018 ( N = 200). Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were carried out to estimate the differences between gender and health care utilization with significant level of less than or equal to 0.05. Whereas, 85% of the respondents utilized health care, females were higher utilizers (88% vs. 75%) but males significantly incurred higher health care expenditure. The majority utilized health services on monthly basis (38%) and consulted public health care providers (77%). While 68% utilized services from hospitals, most sourced health information from family members (54%) and financed their health care through personal income (45%). The study found that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty grant played a little role in reducing health poverty. Stakeholders should review social programs that target poor older people in order to improve their well-being and utilization of health care.


Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 535
Author(s):  
Mariangela Valentina Puci ◽  
Guido Nosari ◽  
Federica Loi ◽  
Giulia Virginia Puci ◽  
Cristina Montomoli ◽  
...  

The ongoing pandemic scenario, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had a considerable impact on public health all over the world. Italy was one of the most affected countries, as the first European full-blown outbreak occurred there. The exposure of the Italian health care workers to COVID-19 may be an important risk factor for psychological distress. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe worries and risk perception of being infected among Italian Health Care Workers (HCWs) during the first wave of the pandemic. In total, 2078 HCWs participated in a web survey (78.8% were females). The highest percentage of respondents were physicians (40.75%) and nurses (32.15%), followed by medical (18.00%), health care support (4.50%) and administrative (4.60%) staff. In a score range between 0 (not worried) and 4 (very worried), our results showed that participants declared that they were worried about the Coronavirus infection with a median score of 3 (IQR 2-3) and for 59.19% the risk perception of being infected was very high. In addition, HCWs reported they suffered from sleep disturbances (63.43%). From the analysis of the psychological aspect, a possible divergence emerged between the perceived need for psychological support (83.85%) and the relative lack of this service among health care providers emerged (9.38%). Our findings highlight the importance of psychological and psychiatric support services not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in other emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) scenarios. These services may be useful for health authorities and policymakers to ensure the psychological well-being of health care professionals and to promote precautionary behaviors among them.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinat Nissim ◽  
Carmine Malfitano ◽  
Mark Coleman ◽  
Gary Rodin ◽  
Mary Elliott

The well-being of health care providers may be challenged by their work, with evidence that oncology health care providers are a high-risk group for burnout. The present qualitative pilot study evaluated a mindfulness-based group intervention, referred to as Compassion, Presence, and Resilience Training (CPR-T), for oncology interprofessional teams. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the subjective experience of oncology health care providers receiving CPR-T and their perceptions of its benefits, risks, or challenges. The CPR-T was delivered to providers from two oncology teams in a large cancer center in Canada. Ten of these providers participated in semistructured interviews 1 to 5 months after completing the CPR-T. The interview transcripts were coded using a thematic analysis strategy. Five benefits of the CPR-T were identified: learning to pause, acquiring a working definition of stress and self-care, becoming fully present, building self-compassion, and receiving organizational acknowledgment and recognition of stress. In addition, two participant-identified challenges were recognized: sharing vulnerability within interprofessional teams and committing to a sitting meditation practice. These findings demonstrate positive transformations as a result of the CPR-T, as well as important challenges, and have important implications for holistic health care practice in oncology. Further research is necessary to validate the findings of this explorative study.


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