scholarly journals How Is COVID-19 Shaping Families’ Relationships With Food and the Food Environment in England? A Qualitative Research Protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692199137
Author(s):  
Anna Isaacs ◽  
Charlotte Gallagher Squires ◽  
Corinna Hawkes

Rates of childhood overweight and obesity continue to rise in England, along with a growing gap in obesity prevalence between children in the most and least deprived areas. To address child obesity, the UK government is increasingly considering how to intervene in the (food) environments that shape people’s purchases, rather than focusing solely on individual health behaviors. With the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns having rapidly reconfigured life in the UK, it is important to understand how these changes may have impacted food practices and engagement with food environments. This remote, longitudinal qualitative study seeks to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts are shaping families relationships with the food and the food environment. A sample of 60–80 parents/carers of school or nursery-aged children will be recruited from across three case study sites in England to take part in semi-structured interviews and set of flexible creative activities at three time points over the course of a year. Findings will provide practical policy insights for England’s obesity prevention strategy as well as methodological insights in terms of conducting research into lived experience remotely.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Harriet Dymond ◽  
Simon Duff

Purpose Research into paedophilia mainly uses offender samples; thus, little is understood about non-offending paedophiles. The limited body of research has been conducted in North America or Europe whose health and legal systems differ from those in the UK. Using semi-structured interviews, the purpose of this study is to explore the experience of three non-offending British paedophilic males. Design/methodology/approach The interview discussed their paedophilia, refraining from offending and perspectives on treatment initiatives. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Three superordinate themes emerged: “paedophilia as more than a sexuality,” “acceptance leads to management” and “barriers to support.” These encapsulated how paedophilia was understood, how accepting one’s sexual attraction is tantamount to well-being and the various obstacles to providing support were discussed. Research limitations/implications Acknowledging the sampling considerations (size and recruitment), the results implicate research into paedophilia. The onset of paedophilia was chronologically associated with typical sexual attraction, and not the result of sexual abuse as some theories suggest. Furthermore, the tenets of attraction to children extending beyond sexual desire were highlighted. Practically, the results influence future research into the area and highlight the dearth in our understanding of diverse behavioural management techniques (i.e. computerised images of children or human-like dolls). Originality/value This paper presents novel insight into the aspects of paedophilia, excluding offensive behaviour and highlights the need for affordable, UK-based services targeted towards people with a paedophilic attraction to manage child sexual abuse preventatively and not reactively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shona Robinson-Edwards ◽  
Craig Pinkney

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of Ibrahim, an ex-offender who has embraced Islam. Ibrahim professes Islam to be the influential element to his desistance process. This study explores Ibrahim’s journey, emphasising and reflecting upon youth; criminality and religiosity. Much of the current research relating to Black men and offending is limited to masculinity, father absence, gangs and criminality. The role of religiosity in the lives of offenders and/or ex-offenders is often overlooked. The authors suggest that identity, religiosity and desistance can raise a host of complexities while highlighting the unique challenges and benefits experienced by Ibrahim, following the practice of religion. Design/methodology/approach This paper took a qualitative, ethnographic approach, in the form of analysing and exploring Ibrahim’s personal lived experience. The analysis of semi-structured interviews, and reflective diaries, utilising grounded theory allowed the formation of the following three core themes: desistance, religion and identity. Findings The findings within this paper identify an interlink between desistance, religion and identity. The role of religiosity is becoming increasingly more important in academic social science research. This paper highlights the complexities of all three above intersections. Research limitations/implications This paper explores the complexities of religiosity in the desistance process of Ibrahim. Research in relation to former gang members in the UK and the role of religiosity in their lives is fairly under-researched. This paper seeks to build on existing research surrounding gang, further exploring religiosity from a UK context. Practical implications Time spent with Ibrahim had to be tightly scheduled, due to the work commitments of both Ibrahim and the researcher. Therefore, planning had to be done ahead in an efficient manner. Social implications Researching the way individuals experience the world is a “growing phenomenon”. This paper aimed to explore the lived experience of religiosity from the perspective of Ibrahim. However, it was important to not stereotype and label all Black males who have embraced Islam and desisted from crime. Therefore, this paper’s intention is not to stereotype Black men, but to raise awareness and encourage further discussion surrounding the role of religiosity in the lives of ex-offenders’. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, studies specifically focusing on the role of Islam in the life of an ex-offender are few and far between. Therefore, findings from this study are important to develop further understanding surrounding religiosity, offending and desistance. This study explores the lived experiences of Ibrahim, an former gang member and ex-offender who professes Islam to be a fundamental source to his desistance process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-129
Author(s):  
Frances Costello

PurposeResearch was undertaken to understand whether taught resilience programmes which highlight the protective factors of resilience would impact individual resilience outcomes. The research focussed on specific resilience dimensions, change agility, physical, emotional and mental resilience, purpose in life and recovery; in an attempt to bridge the gap in understanding whether it is possible through taught programmes to improve resilience through the creation of new habits.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis methods and used semi-structured interviews with 12 participants to understand participants lived experience of a one-day personal resilience programme, conducted within a private global manufacturing organisation.FindingsThe research found that all 12 participants interviewed 12–18 months post-programme made sustainable habits changes increasing personal resilience levels. Participants built new habits into their everyday lives, in the physical dimension exercising more regularly, taking breaks, changes in nutrition and creating better sleep patterns. Through increased understanding of emotional intelligence participants were able to react more favourably to adverse situations and through mental increased resilience focus achieve work and home priorities. In understanding the change journey participants found that they were able to move more quickly through the change cycle. Almost all participants found understanding their life purpose difficult and were not able to give a conclusive answer to what this might be, they found that attending the programme helped reflection in this dimension.Originality/valueThe paper includes an overview of previous resilience research but differs in its examination of the impact of a specific taught resilience programme in a large private sector organisation using IPA methodology.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiko Michimi ◽  
Michael C. Wimberly

This research examines the larger-scale associations between obesity and food environments in metropolitan areas in the United States (US). The US Census County Business Patterns dataset for 2011 was used to construct various indices of food environments for selected metropolitan areas. The numbers of employees engaged in supermarkets, convenience stores, full service restaurants, fast food restaurants, and snack/coffee shops were standardised using the location quotients, and factor analysis was used to produce two uncorrelated factors measuring food environments. Data on obesity were obtained from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Individual level obesity measures were linked to the metropolitan area level food environment factors. Models were fitted using generalised estimating equations to control for metropolitan area level intra-correlation and individual level sociodemographic characteristics. It was found that adults residing in cities with a large share of supermarket and full-service restaurant workers were less likely to be obese, while adults residing in cities with a large share of convenience store and fast food restaurant workers were more likely to be obese. Supermarkets and full-service restaurant workers are concentrated in the Northeast and West of the US, where obesity prevalence is relatively lower, while convenience stores and fast-food restaurant workers are concentrated in the South and Midwest, where obesity prevalence is relatively higher. The food environment landscapes measured at the metropolitan area level explain the continental-scale patterns of obesity prevalence. The types of food that are readily available and widely served may translate into obesity disparities across metropolitan areas.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e025559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhui Dong ◽  
Yinghua Ma ◽  
Bin Dong ◽  
Zhiyong Zou ◽  
Peijin Hu ◽  
...  

PurposeThe urban-rural disparity for childhood overweight and obesity shows different patterns in most countries. This study aimed to examine the recent trend of urban-rural disparity for childhood overweight and obesity at national and subnational levels in Chinese children from 2010 to 2014.DesignTwo successive national cross-sectional studies. Overweight and obesity were classified using Chinese national age-specific and sex-specific body mass index reference. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was compared between urban and rural areas at national and subnational levels.SettingThirty-one provinces in China.ParticipantsData were obtained from the Chinese National Survey on Students’ Constitution and Health in 2010 and 2014 with 215 214 (107 741 in 2010 and 107 473 in 2014) children aged 7–12 years.ResultsThe overweight and obesity prevalence increased from 17.1% in 2010 to 22.5% in 2014. The overweight and obesity prevalence in both urban and rural areas was higher in the eastern provinces but lower in the western provinces. The urban-rural disparity in overweight and obesity decreased steadily from 2010 to 2014 (1.79 to 1.42 for prevalence OR). There was greater urban-rural disparity in western China than eastern China. A reversal occurred in 2014 in several eastern provinces where the overweight and obesity prevalence in rural children surpassed that of their urban peers.ConclusionsA narrowing urban-rural disparity and the reversal signal between urban and rural areas in overweight and obesity would contribute to a growing proportion of obese children in rural areas. Therefore, urgent region-specific policies and interventions with a forward-looking approach should be considered for Chinese children, especially in rural areas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 3075-3083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Keß ◽  
Ulrike Spielau ◽  
Christoph Beger ◽  
Ruth Gausche ◽  
Mandy Vogel ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveRecently several industrialized countries reported a stabilization or even a decrease in childhood overweight and obesity prevalence rates. In Germany, this trend started in 2004. The present study therefore aimed to evaluate whether this trend has continued or even leads in a clear direction.Design/Setting/SubjectsBMI (>90th percentile (overweight), >97th percentile (obesity)) from the CrescNet database was analysed in 326 834 children and adolescents according to three age groups (4–7·99, 8–11·99 and 12–16 years), gender and between time points (2005–2015).ResultsTrend analysis from 2005 to 2010 demonstrated that the prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased significantly in boys and girls in the entire group (4–16 years) and in 4–7·99-year-olds. From 2010 to 2015 there was a significant decrease in boys for overweight and obesity in the entire group and for overweight among 8–11·99-year-olds. Within the cross-sectional analysis, prevalence rates for overweight decreased significantly for both genders in the age groups of 4–7·99 and 8–11·99 years (2005 v. 2015). For obesity, prevalence rates showed a significant decrease for boys (2005 v. 2015) and girls (2005 v. 2010) in 4–7·99-year-olds.ConclusionsWe observed a further stabilization of overweight and obesity prevalence rates for all age groups and even a decrease in the rates for the younger ages (4–7·99 years, 8–11·99 years). As other industrialized countries have also reported similar trends, it seems that the epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity is reaching a turning point in the industrial part of the world.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Stella Nordhagen ◽  
Mohamed Lamine Fofana ◽  
Alpha Oumar Barry ◽  
Sadio Diallo ◽  
Joseph Lamilé Songbono ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a widespread livelihood in low- and middle-income countries, however many in ASM communities face high levels of poverty and malnutrition. The food environments in ASM communities have non-agricultural rural characteristics that differ from those in urban and subsistence rural areas examined in much existing food environment literature. Design: We examine these complex external and personal food environments in ASM communities via a study using qualitative and quantitative methods. Market surveys and a cross-sectional household survey, plus qualitative mining site non-participant observations and in-depth structured interviews, were conducted in three waves. Setting: Eighteen study sites in ASM communities in northern Guinea. Participants: Surveys covered mothers in mining households with young children (n=613); in-depth interviews engaged mothers of young children (n=45), food vendors (n=40), and young single miners (n=15); observations focused on mothers of young children (n=25). Results: The external food environment in these ASM communities combines widespread availability of commercially-processed and staple-heavy foods with lower availability and higher prices for more nutritious, non-staple foods. Within the personal food environment, miners are constrained in their food choices by considerable variability in daily cash income and limited time for acquisition and preparation. Conclusions: We demonstrate that ASM communities have characteristics of both urban and rural populations and argue for greater nuance and appreciation of complexity in food environment research and resultant policy and programming.


2021 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2020-321376
Author(s):  
Lisa Marie Ballard ◽  
Elizabeth Jenkinson ◽  
Christopher D Byrne ◽  
Jenny C Child ◽  
Hazel Inskip ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe psychosocial impact of growing up with Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS), characterised by growth failure and short stature in adulthood, has been explored in adults; however, there are no accounts of contemporary lived experience in adolescents. Such data could inform current healthcare guidance and transition to adult services. We aimed to explore the lived experience of adolescents with SRS.Design/setting/patientsIn-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted between January 2015 and October 2016 with a sample of eight adolescents aged 13–18 (five girls) with genetically confirmed SRS from the UK. Qualitative interviews were transcribed and coded to identify similarities and differences using thematic analysis; codes were then grouped to form overarching themes.ResultsWe identified four themes from the interview data: (1) the psychosocial challenges of feeling and looking different; (2) pain, disability and fatigue; (3) anticipated stigma; and (4) building resilience and acceptance. Despite adolescents accepting SRS in their lives, they described ongoing psychosocial challenges and anticipated greater problems to come, such as stigma from prospective employers.ConclusionsAdolescents with SRS may experience psychosocial difficulties from as young as 10 years old related to feeling and looking different; pain, disability and fatigue; anticipated stigma; and future challenges around employment. We discuss these findings in relation to recommendations for the care of adolescents with SRS to prepare them for adult life.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Humphreys ◽  
Laura Kilby ◽  
Nik Kudiersky ◽  
Robert Copeland

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo explore the lived experience of Long Covid with particular focus on the role of physical activityDesignQualitative study using semi-structured interviewsParticipants18 people living with Long Covid (9 male, 9 female; aged between 18-74; 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 CovidSettingTelephone interviews with 17 participants living in the UK and 1 participant living in the USResultsFour themes were generated. Theme one highlights the physical and social isolation experienced by people with Long Covid, compounded by a lack of support and advice from medical professionals. Theme two describes how participants sought information and validation through online sources and communities. Theme three captures the challenges associated with managing physical and cognitive effects of Long Covid including fatigue and ‘brain fog’ whilst trying to resume and maintain activities of daily living and other forms of exercise. Theme four 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 consensus around physical activity-related advice for people with Long Covid and improved support to resume activities considered important for wellbeing.Article SummaryStrengths and limitations of this studyTo our knowledge, this paper is the first to explore the role of physical activity in the lived experience of Long Covid using a qualitative approachThe study design enabled in-depth inquiry of lived experiences in a diverse sampleInductive thematic analysis ensured descriptions and interpretations of the lived experience were tested and found to be grounded in the dataParticipants were recruited from members of a Long Covid research interest database who registered via an on-line form, meaning study findings might not capture the views of digitally excluded populationsFunding statementThis work was supported by Sheffield Hallam University.Competing interestsAll authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.


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