The Barriers and Facilitators of Sport and Physical Activity Participation for Aboriginal Children in Rural New South Wales, Australia: A Photovoice Project

A community-embedded approach to increasing the health literacy of Aboriginal children in a regional area: processes of co-design and local implementation

Purpose

This research explores the implementation of a child-centred, co-designed, community-embedded program called 'Young Doctors for Life' (YDFL). YDFL is designed to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal children in the middle childhood years. Focus is given in this paper to the processes of program adaptation of the YDFL to ensure local cultural relevance, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of children, parents, schoolteachers, and the implementation team.

Method

Two focus groups with program stakeholders were convened. The first group consisted of three members from the local Aboriginal implementation team, and the second group comprised two members of the program design team. Children (n = 22) and schoolteachers (n = 2) participated in semi-structured interviews. Parent survey data (n = 16) were also collected and included. The data was analysed, guided by the five elements of implementation as outlined in the Hexagon Implementation framework (Capacity; Fit; Need; Usability; Support; and Evidence), which served as a priori themes.

Results

YDFL provides a promising example of how programs can be adapted with and for Aboriginal communities to support child health. Successful adaptation and implementation of this program required a co-design approach engaging program designers and the local implementation team. Community collaboration was also essential to identifying and addressing local community goals and aligning new programs with local service and cultural contexts.

Conclusion

Health programs to support positive child outcomes are more likely to be successful when they share their focus between the risks and challenges within a community, and the positive, protective factors that can be leveraged to support children to flourish. Stakeholder engagement and community leadership are necessary to achieve meaningful program adaptation and implementation in Aboriginal communities.

Do girls wash dishes and boys play sports? Gender inequalities in physical activity and in the use of screen-based devices among schoolchildren from urban and rural areas in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to analyze gender inequalities in types of physical activity (PA) and in the use of screen-based devices among schoolchildren from both urban and rural areas in Brazil.

METHODS

Data from two population-based surveys conducted in 2019 (urban areas: n = 2,479; 52.6% girls; age = 9.2 ± 1.51 years) and 2022 (rural areas: n = 979; 42.6% girls; age = 9.4 ± 1.52 years) were used. PA (active play, nonactive play, home chores, and structured physical activities) and the use of screen-based devices (TV, cellphone, videogame, and computer) were self-reported in a previous-day-recall online questionnaire (Web-CAAFE). Absolute gender inequalities were evaluated and presented as equiplots. Relative gender inequalities were evaluated by the prevalence ratio (PR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), which were estimated by Poisson regression, with adjustments for age and BMI z scores.

RESULTS

Girls from urban and rural areas presented a lower prevalence of active play and a higher prevalence of home chores. The prevalence of nonactive play among girls from urban areas was also lower; however, their prevalence of structured physical activities was higher, especially among girls aged seven to nine years. Girls in both urban and rural areas presented a higher prevalence of TV viewing and lower use of video games.

CONCLUSION

The gender inequalities observed in the types of physical activities and in the use of screen-based devices could be considered potential correlates of the likelihood of girls' and boys' compliance with the physical activity guidelines.