scholarly journals Project SoL—A Community-Based, Multi-Component Health Promotion Intervention to Improve Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Practices among Danish Families with Young Children Part 2: Evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bent Mikkelsen ◽  
Paul Bloch ◽  
Helene Reinbach ◽  
Tine Buch-Andersen ◽  
Lise Lawaetz Winkler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Future Research

Project SoL is implemented over a period of four years with the aim to promote healthy eating and physical activity among children aged 3–8 years by targeting the families in a Danish municipality based on the multi-component, supersetting strategy. Interventions are implemented in childcare centres, schools and supermarkets in three local communities as well as in local mass media and social media during a 19 months period in the Municipality of Bornholm. The matching Municipality of Odsherred serves as a control site based on its similarity to Bornholm regarding several socio-demographic and health indicators. The present paper gives an account of the design used for the summative and formative evaluation based on a realistic evaluation and a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Summative studies are conducted on changes of health behaviours among the involved families and within the municipalities in general, changes in community awareness of the project, changes in purchase patterns, changes in overweight and obesity among the targeted children and changes in knowledge and preferences among children due to sensory education workshops. The formative research comprises studies on children’s perceptions of health, perceptions of staff at supermarkets and media professionals on their roles in supporting the health promotion agenda, and motivations and barriers of community stakeholders to engage in health promotion at community level. The paper discusses operational issues and lessons learnt related to studying complex community interventions, cross-disciplinarily, interfaces between practice and research and research capacity strengthening; and suggests areas for future research. The development and implementation of the intervention and its theoretical foundation is described in a separate paper.

scholarly journals How perceptions of community environment influence health behaviours: using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity Framework as a mechanism for exploration

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Nieuwendyk ◽  
A. P. Belon ◽  
H. Vallianatos ◽  
K. D. Raine ◽  
D. Schopflocher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Community Partners ◽  
Study Results ◽  
People’S Perceptions

Introduction Overweight and obesity are influenced by a complex interplay of individual and environmental factors that affect physical activity and healthy eating. Nevertheless, little has been reported on people’s perceptions of those factors. Addressing this critical gap and community partner needs, this study explored how people perceived the influence of micro- and macroenvironmental factors on physical activity and healthy eating. Methods Community partners wanted the study results in a format that would be readily and easily used by local decision makers. We used photovoice to engage 35 community members across four municipalities in Alberta, Canada, and to share their narratives about their physical activity and healthy eating. A combination of inductive and deductive analysis categorized data by environmental level (micro vs. macro) and type (physical, political, economic, and sociocultural), guided by the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity Framework. Results Participants conceptualized health-influencing factors more broadly than physical activity and healthy eating to include “community social health.” Participants spoke most often about the influence of the microenvironment (n = 792 ANGELO Framework coding tallies) on their physical activity, healthy eating and community social health in comparison to the macroenvironment (n = 93). Photovoice results provided a visual narrative to community partners and decision makers about how people’s ability to make healthy choices can be limited by macroenvironmental forces beyond their control. Conclusion Focussing future research on macro- and microenvironmental influences and localized community social health can inform practice by providing strategies on how to implement healthy changes within communities, while ensuring that research and interventions echo diverse people’s perceptions.

scholarly journals Eastern North Carolina Head Start Teachers’ personal and professional experiences with healthy eating and physical activity: a qualitative exploration

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Virginia C Stage ◽  
Lorelei Jones ◽  
Jocelyn Bayles ◽  
Archana V Hegde ◽  
Dipti A Dev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Head Start ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Physical Activity Intervention ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Professional Experiences ◽  
Eastern North Carolina

Abstract Objective: Explore the interrelationship between teachers’ personal and professional socio-ecological structures while examining Head Start (HS) teachers’ experiences with (1) trying to eat healthy and engage in physical activity (PA) and (2) promote healthy eating and PA in their classrooms. Design: In-depth semi-structured interviews were collected from March through June 2017. Researchers designed the data collection and analysis methods using a phenomenological approach. All interviews were recorded using digital audio and transcribed verbatim. Setting: Seven HS centres in two rural eastern North Carolina counties. Participants: Teachers (n 15) who had recently participated in a healthy eating and physical activity intervention. Participants were 100 % female, an average age of 43 years (sd 9·6) and primarily Black/African American (93·3 %). Results: Eighteen primary themes were identified providing unique insight into individual, social and environmental determinants that may influence teachers’ personal health behaviours and professional health promotion practices. Findings indicated that teachers want to improve health behaviours personally (individual/family health) and professionally (children/families served); however, barriers exist at all levels impacting their ability to improve their own health and facilitate positive behaviours among the children/families they serve. Many teachers observed connections between their personal and professional experiences, but not beyond the individual level. Conclusions: Study findings highlight the importance of considering and emphasising the potential relationship between personal and professional determinants of health when working with early childhood teachers. Findings from this study may be useful for informing the development, implementation and evaluation of future health promotion interventions using teachers as implementers.

scholarly journals A multifaceted approach increased staff confidence to develop outside of school hours care as a health promoting setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Forde ◽  
Leesa Costello ◽  
Amanda Devine ◽  
Ros Sambell ◽  
Ruth Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Menu Planning ◽  
Training Post ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
High Level

Abstract Background Outside-of-school-hours-care (OSHC) services are well positioned to influence the health behaviours of 489, 800 Australian children, and are an important setting for health promotion given the current rates of childhood overweight and obesity and associated health risks. OSHC Professionals are ideally placed to become positive influencers in this setting, although they may require training and support to confidently perform this role. This study piloted a multifaceted intervention strategy to increase OSHC Professional’s confidence and competencies, to support a health promoting OSHC environment with a nutrition and physical activity focus. Methods A mixed methods approach was used. Nineteen OSHC Professionals participated in the study, including a face-to-face workshop, supported by a closed Facebook group and website. Role adequacy (self-confidence) and legitimacy (professional responsibility) were measured pre and post workshop and evaluated using non-parametric statistics. Facebook interactions were monitored, and four participants undertook qualitative exit interviews to discuss their experiences with the intervention. Results Pre-workshop 68% of participants had not received any OSHC-specific health promotion training. Post-workshop significant improvements in confidence about menu planning, accessing nutrition information, activities and recipes was observed (P < 0.05 for all). A significant improvement was observed in role support and role related training (P < 0.05). A high level of support and interaction was observed between participants on Facebook and the website was reported a useful repository of information. Conclusions Health promotion training, combined with positive social connections, shared learning experiences, and a website improved OSHC Professionals confidence and capacity to provide a health promoting OSHC environment. Health promotion professional development for OSHC professionals should be mandated as a minimum requirement, and such learning opportunities should be scaffolded with support available through social media interactions and website access.

scholarly journals Promoting a Healthy Post-Collegiate Lifestyle: An Evaluation of the Moving On! Transition Program for Student-Athletes

2018 ◽  
pp. 54-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin J Reifsteck ◽  
DeAnne D Brooks ◽  
Jamian D Newton ◽  
Lenka H Shriver
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Program Implementation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Student Athletes ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Autonomous Motivation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Perceptions

Former student-athletes may face challenges in maintaining physical activity and engaging in healthy eating after transitioning out of collegiate athletics. Maladaptive adjustments following athletic transitions can result in detrimental outcomes for former student-athletes, ranging from physical health concerns to negative psychosocial consequences. In contrast, positive transitions can promote optimal health and wellbeing. The Moving On! program was developed in recognition of the unique challenges faced by student-athletes and the importance of making healthy transitions out of college sports. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Moving On! program’s influence on several relevant theoretical constructs that influence health behaviors, including student-athletes’ self-perceptions and self-determined motivation for maintaining physical activity and healthy eating, along with their self-efficacy and intentions for engaging in these health-related behaviors after college. NCAA student-athletes in their final year of competition were recruited from two institutions. Participants (N = 20) completed the Moving On! program along with pre- and post-test surveys and focus group interviews. Survey results revealed positive changes in nutrition-related self-perceptions (t(19) = 2.406; p = 0.026; g = 0.38) and self-efficacy for healthy eating behaviors (t(19) = 3.022; p = 0.007; g = 0.70). No significant changes were observed for exercise identity (p = 0.845), physical activity self-efficacy (p = 0.114), or autonomous motivation for exercise (p = 0.108) and health eating (p = 0.264). Focus group responses indicated that student-athletes’ experiences in the program fostered positive shifts in their self-perceptions, enhanced their self-determined motivation, and reinforced their intentions for engaging in physical activity and healthy eating in the future. Implications for future research and program implementation are discussed.

scholarly journals Men’s Perspectives of a Gender-Sensitized Health Promotion Program Targeting Healthy Eating, Active Living, and Social Connectedness

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2157-2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sharp ◽  
Joan L. Bottorff ◽  
Kate Hunt ◽  
John L. Oliffe ◽  
Steven T. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Ice Hockey ◽  
Health Promotion Program ◽  
Active Living ◽  
Engaging Men

Men in high income countries have poorer dietary habits and higher rates of overweight and obesity than women. A major challenge with engaging men in health promotion is the perception that attention to one’s health runs counter to masculine identities. Contemporary health promotion programs are believed to hold little “manly” appeal and often fail to engage and retain men. The HAT TRICK program was designed to engage men with their health by delivering an intervention in collaboration with a semi-professional ice hockey team. The program included 12 weekly sessions promoting healthy eating, active living, and social connectedness among men. Gender-sensitized elements were reflected in the program design, setting, content, and delivery. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 23 men to explore perspectives of their participation in the gender-sensitized intervention. Participants were white (100%) with a mean age of 53 years ( SD ± 9.9), Body Mass Index (BMI) of 37 kg/m2 ( SD ± 6.8), and waist circumference of 127 centimeters ( SD ± 14.5). Inductive thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes, including: (a) Harnessing nostalgia for past masculinities: “Closet athletes from 30 years ago,” (2) Offsetting resistance to change with sensible health advice: “Don’t give up drinking beer, just have less,” and (3) Gendered social spaces for doing health: “A night out with the guys,” The findings support the value of gender-sensitized approaches to men’s health promotion. Further research is needed to identify which gender-sensitized elements are critical to engaging men in healthy lifestyle changes.

Physical Health Promotion through Modern Technologies

2016 ◽  
pp. 889-907
Author(s):  
Sandul Yasobant
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Interactive Video ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Physical Activity Interventions ◽  
Future Research Directions

Health promotion and the maintenance of the quality of life are realized recently. Advancement in technologies offer new possibilities for both the promotion of positive health behaviors that were unimaginable even a decade ago. Though promoting physical activity has been proven an important component of health promotion by many researchers, still a lot of efforts on how to improve physical activity being provided by group of researchers. Technology such as pedometers, accelerometers, and heart rate monitors have been used to promote physical activity for years. Newer technologies such as global positioning system (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), interactive video games, and persuasive technology, Internet-based physical activity interventions have been used recently to promote and change exercise behavior. This chapter seeks to provide a complete insight of technologies used to changing health behaviors especially physical health promotion and will take a forward to analyses all the issues while using these technologies and future research directions.

scholarly journals Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020)

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (22) ◽  
pp. 1321-1331
Author(s):  
Peijie Chen ◽  
Dengfeng Wang ◽  
Hongbing Shen ◽  
Lijuan Yu ◽  
Qian Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Consensus Statement ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation’s youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China’s more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieve Healthy China 2030 goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6–17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

scholarly journals Objective Church Environment Audits and Attendee Perceptions of Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Supports within the Church Setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3598
Author(s):  
Marilyn E. Wende ◽  
Andrew T. Kaczynski ◽  
John A. Bernhart ◽  
Caroline G. Dunn ◽  
Sara Wilcox
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
The Church

Interventions in faith-based settings are increasingly popular, due to their effectiveness for improving attendee health outcomes and behaviors. Little past research has examined the important role of the church environment in individual-level outcomes using objective environmental audits. This study examined associations between the objectively measured physical church environment and attendees’ perceptions of physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) supports within the church environment, self-efficacy for PA and HE, and self-reported PA and HE behaviors. Data were collected via church audits and church attendee surveys in 54 churches in a rural, medically underserved county in South Carolina. Multi-level regression was used to analyze associations between the church environment and outcomes. Physical elements of churches were positively related to attendees’ perceptions of church environment supports for PA (B = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.05) and HE (B = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.09) and there was a significant interaction between perceptions of HE supports and HE church environment. Self-efficacy and behaviors for PA and HE did not show an association with the church environment. Future research should establish a temporal relationship between the church environment and these important constructs for improving health. Future faith-based interventions should apply infrastructure changes to the church environment to influence important mediating constructs to health behavior.

scholarly journals Associations between Changes in Health Behaviours and Body Weight during the COVID-19 Quarantine in Lithuania: The Lithuanian COVIDiet Study

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 3119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilma Kriaucioniene ◽  
Lina Bagdonaviciene ◽  
Celia Rodríguez-Pérez ◽  
Janina Petkeviciene
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Weight Changes ◽  
Fried Food ◽  
Sugary Drinks

The COVID-19 quarantine has caused significant changes in everyday life. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the quarantine on dietary, physical activity and alcohol consumption habits of Lithuanians and the association between health behaviours and weight changes. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among individuals older than 18 years in April 2020. The self-administered questionnaire included health behaviour and weight change data. Altogether 2447 subjects participated in the survey. Almost half of the respondents (49.4%) ate more than usual, 45.1% increased snacking, and 62.1% cooked at home more often. Intake of carbonated or sugary drinks, fast food and commercial pastries decreased, while consumption of homemade pastries and fried food increased. A decrease in physical activity was reported by 60.6% of respondents. Every third (31.5%) respondent, more often those already with overweight, gained weight. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the higher odds of weight gain were associated with females, older age, increased consumption of sugary drinks, homemade pastries and fried food, eating more than usual, increased snacking, decreased physical activity and increased alcohol consumption. Our data highlighted the need for dietary and physical activity guidelines to prevent weight gain during the period of self-isolation, especially targeting those with overweight and obesity.

Development and piloting of a Checklist for healthy eating And Physical Activity in the Workplace (CEPAW)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanne Freak-Poli ◽  
Margaret Brand ◽  
Tara Boelsen-Robinson ◽  
Oliver Huse ◽  
Maximilian de Courten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Workplace Environment ◽  
Item Checklist

Abstract To develop and pilot a tool that assesses the infrastructure and policy workplace environment characteristics that may influence employee healthy eating and physical activity behaviours. A checklist was developed with reference to prior tools and piloted at eight worksites. Piloting of the tool demonstrated that it was generally feasible to use, took 1–2 hours to complete and appeared sensitive to differences between workplace environment characteristics. Refinement of the tool occurred after piloting. The final 21-item checklist contains sub-scores capturing policy, infrastructure, healthy eating and physical activity characteristics. This new checklist overcomes some limitations of pre-existing tools as it explicitly considers policy and is short, inexpensive and can be used by workplaces for self-assessment and by health promotion professionals in evaluation studies or as an intervention tool.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document