Children and Teens in Charge of their Health (CATCH): A protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial of solution-focused coaching to foster healthy lifestyles in childhood disability

Utilizing an Environmental Framework to Explore the Acceptability of a Health Promotion Program for Youth with Disabilities

This study explored the acceptability of Children and Teens in Charge of their Health (CATCH), a program for children with spina bifida or cerebral palsy to enhance their physical activity and diet. Qualitative interviews were conducted with children (n = 6) and their parents (n = 6) who participated in CATCH. Analysis used an environmental systems framework. Microsystem factors impacting acceptability of the program were: Children's motivations for change, their age, and their physical health. Mesosystem factors were: Use of virtual coaching and the relationship between coach and child. Macrosystem factors (e.g. Covid-19), did not impact acceptability, but affected some goal attainment strategies. CATCH was broadly acceptable to children and parents and shows promise as a health promotion program tailored to children with disabilities. An environmental systems framework can potentially help other health promotion programs enhance their acceptability and success.

Using the capability, opportunity, and motivation model of behaviour to assess provider perception of implementing solution-focused goal-setting in paediatric rehabilitation

Adoption of family and child goal-setting in paediatric rehabilitation is important to positive long-term outcomes. Solution-focused coaching (SFC) has been identified as a promising approach to ensuring this type of goal-setting occurs, while the actual implementation of SFC by health care providers (HCPs) is low. This study utilized the capacity, opportunity, and motivation model of behaviour change (COM-B) to identify which strengths and difficulties health care providers (HCPs) perceived with respect to SFC goal-setting in paediatric rehabilitation. A self-report survey was developed and administered to HCPs at a paediatric rehabilitation hospital. Each survey question was based upon a COM-B sub-component. Demographic information was collected from HCPs, and descriptive statistics were used to rank perceived COM-B components from strongest to weakest. Results indicate HCPs view the provision of SFC goal-setting as an important practice, while they also perceive difficulties to actual delivery due to: lack of adequate individual skill, lack of experience with this type of goal-setting, and insufficient preparation for clients to engage in sharing their goals. HCPs also perceived lack of organizational processes to support the practice within their teams. Recommendations for intervention are provided.

Early Nutritional Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating Habits in Pediatric Oncology: A Feasibility Study

This study aims to describe the feasibility of a nutritional intervention that promotes healthy eating habits early after cancer pediatric diagnosis in patients and their parents. Participants were recruited 4 to 12 weeks after cancer diagnosis as part of the VIE study. The one-year nutritional intervention included an initial evaluation and 6 follow-up visits every 2 months with a registered dietician. The feasibility assessment included rates of retention, participation, attendance, completion of study measures, and participants' engagement. A preliminary evaluation of the intervention's impact on the participants' dietary intakes was conducted. A total of 62 participants were included in the study (51.6% male, mean age = 8.5 years, mean time since diagnosis = 13.2 weeks). The retention and attendance rates were 72.6% and 71.3%, respectively. Attendance to follow-up visits declined over time, from 83.9% to 48.9%. A majority of participants had high participation (50.8%) and high engagement (56.4%). Measures of body-mass-index or weight-for-length ratio and dietary 24-h recalls were the procedures with the highest completion rates. Participants with refractory disease or relapse were less likely to complete the intervention. Post-intervention, participants (n = 21) had a lower sodium intake compared to the initial evaluation. These results suggest that a nutritional intervention that involves patients and parents early after a pediatric cancer diagnosis is feasible.

Physical Activity of Adolescents with and without Disabilities from a Complete Enumeration Study (n = 128,803): School Health Promotion Study 2017

Evidence suggests that adolescent males take part in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than females, and that adolescents with disabilities participate in even less. Public health data are typically based on the international physical activity (PA) recommendations of at least 60 minutes of MVPA daily. However, it appears that data are lost because a person who reports MVPA 0–6 days a week is grouped together and is considered as ‘inactive’. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to report differences among adolescents with and without disabilities who were ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ and to explore differences by sex. A complete enumeration study (2017 School Health Promotion Survey; n = 128,803) of Finnish adolescents aged between 14–19 years old was conducted. The single item self-report MVPA was used with items from the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. Data were grouped into physiological and cognitive disabilities and were split into active and inactive adolescents based on the PA recommendations; subsequently, binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Data from the inactive participants were analyzed with multivariate analysis of covariance and effect sizes were reported. Approximately 10% of males and 17% of females reported disabilities. There were fewer adolescents with disabilities who took part in daily PA (OR = 0.90, CI = 0.85–0.94), especially among those with cognitive disabilities (OR = 0.86, CI = 0.82–0.91). There were more active male than female adolescents (OR = 1.48, CI = 1.43–1.52). Of the inactive adolescents, females reported similar MVPA to males, with and without disabilities after controlling for age, school type, and family financial situation. Inactive adolescents with walking difficulties reported the least amount of MVPA (males; mean = 2.24, CI = 2.03–2.44, females; mean = 2.18, CI = 1.99–2.37). The difference in means with adolescents without disabilities according to Cohen’s d effect size was medium for males (0.56) and females (0.58). The effect sizes from all other groups of disabilities were small. The difference in PA between males and females has diminished among the inactive groups, yet there is still a need to improve the gap between males and females, especially for those who meet the PA recommendations. More strategies are needed to improve MVPA among adolescents with disabilities, especially those with cognitive disabilities.