Motivating or stigmatising? The public health and media messaging surrounding COVID-19 and obesity: a qualitative think aloud study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore how individuals with overweight and obesity living in the UK respond to the public health and media messaging surrounding COVID-19 and obesity.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interview study with a think aloud protocol. A total of 10 participants self-reported to have overweight, obesity or as actively trying to lose weight were recruited through social media and were asked to think aloud whilst exposed to four sets of public health and media materials describing the link between COVID-19 and obesity. Interviews were conducted over zoom, recorded and transcribed verbatim.FindingsThree primary themes were identified through thematic analysis: “flawed messaging”, “COVID-19 as a teachable moment” and “barriers to change”. Transcending these themes was the notion of balance. Whilst the messaging around COVID-19 and obesity was deemed problematic; for some, it was a teachable moment to facilitate change when their future self and physical health was prioritised. Yet, when focussing on their mental health in the present participants felt more overwhelmed by the barriers and were less likely to take the opportunity to change.Practical implicationsFindings hold implications for public health messaging, highlighting the need for balance between being educational and informative but also supportive, so as to achieve maximum efficacy.Originality/valueThis study offers a novel and useful insight into how the public health and media messaging concerning COVID-19 risk and obesity is perceived by those with overweight and obesity.

Exploring stakeholder views on intervening in hospital around childhood secondhand smoke exposure (Precedent): a protocol for a qualitative study

IntroductionSecondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) in childhood is linked with increased morbidity and mortality. Hospital or secondary care contact may present a ‘teachable moment’ to provide parents with support to change their home smoking behaviours to reduce children’s SHSe. There is a lack of robust qualitative evidence around parents and healthcare professionals (HCPs) views on using this teachable moment to successfully initiate behavioural change. We aim to identify and understand what is important to stakeholders with a view to informing the development of a support package to help parents change their home smoking behaviours.Methods and analysisThis qualitative study will be theoretically underpinned by the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model of behavioural change. It will involve semistructured interviews and/or discussion groups with up to 20 parents who smoke and up to 25 HCPs. Stakeholders will be recruited from a single National Health Service children’s hospital in England. Interviews and/or discussion groups will be audio recorded, transcribed and anonymised. The transcripts and any field notes will be analysed using the framework method. Initially, we will apply COM-B to the data deductively and will then code inductively within each domain.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol for this study received a favourable outcome from the East Midlands Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee (19/EM/0171). Results will be written up as part of a PhD thesis, submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentation at conferences.Trial registration numberISRCTN40084089.

531 - Dementia prevention and utilising the “teachable moment” in the New Zealand context

Dementia is a debilitating disease with wide-reaching impacts. Up to 40% of dementias are estimated to be preventable through modifiable risk factors, which is essential as no disease-modifying treatments are currently available. A literature review was performed using the OVID database, Google Scholar, and following references. Dementia as a key word was combined with the following key words: education, prevention, risk reduction, risk perception, family members, adult children, health promotion, behaviour change, Maori Health, health literacy, healthy aging, behavioural intervention, attitudes, teachable moment, psychoeducation.

Eating Behaviors and Dietary Patterns of Women during Pregnancy: Optimizing the Universal ‘Teachable Moment’

Understanding women’s perceptions of eating behaviors and dietary patterns can inform the ‘teachable moment’ model of pregnancy. Our objectives were to describe eating behaviors and dietary patterns in pregnancy. This was a cross-sectional, national electronic survey. Women were ≥18 years of age, living in the United States, currently pregnant or less than two years postpartum, and had internet access. Age, education, race, and marriage were included as covariates in ordinal and binary logistic regressions (significance p < 0.05). Women (n = 587 eligible) made positive or negative changes to their diets, while others maintained pre-existing eating behaviors. The majority of women did not try (84.9 to 95.1% across diets) and were unwilling to try (66.6 to 81%) specific dietary patterns during pregnancy. Concerns included not eating a balanced diet (60.1 to 65.9%), difficulty in implementation without family (63.2 to 64.8%), and expense (58.7 to 60.1%). Helpful strategies included being provided all meals and snacks (88.1 to 90.6%) and periodic consultations with a dietitian or nutritionist (85 to 86.7%). Responses differed across subgroups of parity, body mass index, and trimester, notably in women with obesity who reported healthier changes to their diet (p < 0.05). Our study underscores the importance of tailoring care early to individual needs, characteristics, and circumstances.