A parent-focused pilot intervention to increase parent health literacy and healthy lifestyle choices for young children and families

A qualitative investigation of the impact that therapeutic recreational camps have on the psychological wellbeing of siblings of individuals with health conditions

BACKGROUND

The siblings of individuals with health conditions are often overlooked, despite being at risk of experiencing psychological difficulties. There is a lack of literature investigating interventions which could promote siblings' psychological wellbeing. Therapeutic recreational (TR) camps promote self-perception and self-worth, yet there are currently no UK studies qualitatively investigating siblings' experiences of TR camps.

AIMS

This study aims to understand siblings' lived experiences of attending TR camps, providing a greater depth of understanding of whether these camps have a positive impact on siblings' wellbeing.

METHOD

Due to the paucity of qualitative research regarding individuals' experiences of TR camps, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight individuals who had attended TR sibling camps. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

RESULTS

Analysis revealed three superordinate themes. The first, an environment that facilitates autonomous challenge, demonstrated the importance of siblings having a place where they felt autonomous in a fun, care-free environment. This encouraged participants to engage in challenges, feeling determined to overcome them. The second, an inclusive and supportive environment, highlighted the importance of connectedness. Facing challenges and reflecting on this within a supportive team, encouraged a sense of belonging. The final superordinate theme, a transformational journey, revealed that siblings gained determination and a positive outlook to facing challenges in daily life. Additionally, they gained self-acceptance and a positive self-image, becoming more confident with, and accepting of, their identity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents a novel contribution to the existing literature and highlights the importance of camp providers ensuring their TR model incorporates autonomous challenge, success and reflection. These encourage positive youth development and self-determination in young people. In addition, recommendations include implementing teams, promoting positive volunteer-camper relationships and implementing reflective sessions. These recommendations could potentially enhance the positive impact that TR camps have on siblings' psychological wellbeing.

Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives of Siblings of Children With Cochlear Implants

Purpose The sibling relationship teaches children to navigate social interactions with their peers. However, the presence of an exceptionality, such as hearing loss, in one child can affect the dynamic of this relationship. This article examines quantitative and qualitative effects of having a brother or sister with a cochlear implant (CI) on siblings with typical hearing (TH) to determine how children with TH perceive their sibling with a CI and how having a CI user in the family affects the sibling's activities, emotions, and parental attention. Method Participants include 36 siblings with TH (M _age = 11.6 years) of CI users (M _age = 11.9 years) who completed quantitative measures of their perspectives of their brother/sister with CIs and the effect of hearing loss on themselves. Siblings with TH also could express their opinions via open-ended prompts. Results Overall, siblings with TH express positive perspectives of their brother/sister with CIs and report having a CI user in the family does not affect them much, particularly if the CI user has adequate communication skills. Responses to both quantitative and qualitative items converge on the close relationship between siblings but diverge relative to differential attention from parents (i.e., open-ended responses suggest parents spend more time with the CI user than the sibling with TH). Additionally, siblings acknowledge the presence of social communication deficits of the CI user in real-world situations. Conclusion This nuanced look at relationships among the parent, CI user, and sibling with TH highlights the importance of understanding the family system when working with children with hearing loss.

Health literacy as a determinant of childhood and adult obesity: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether Health Literacy (HL) acts as a determinant of obesity in adults and children by synthesizing the results of recent scientific evidence.

CONTENT

This is a systematic qualitative review following the MOOSE guidelines. A systematic, computer-assisted literature search via PubMed scientific database, between January 1st, 2000, and September 30th 2020, was conducted. Only cross-sectional epidemiologic research studies that were published in the English language, investigating HL's possible role as a determinant of childhood and adult obesity, were included.

SUMMARY

After screening 725 citations from the PubMed database, 39 (n=39) studies in total were included in this literature review; Four (n=4) studies were conducted in the children population, seven (n=7) studies were performed in children-parent/caregiver dyads, and 28 studies (n=28) enrolled adults. There is significant evidence that HL knowledge and skills determine the consequent management of obesity and BMI rates in children and adult populations.

OUTLOOK

Despite policies and action plans put in place by countries globally, overweight and obesity continue to be a pressing public health issue and one of the critical drivers of non-communicable diseases, constituting a health, social and economic burden worldwide. Health Literacy as an essential health policy and promotion agenda item and a critical empowerment strategy could increase children's and adults' control over their overall health and awareness to overcome obesity issues. Initiatives to improve HL levels could be useful tools in managing the obesity epidemic, starting from integrating HL in the school curriculum and further in family and community action plans.

Caregiver's Self-Confidence in Food Resource Management Is Associated with Lower Risk of Household Food Insecurity among SNAP-Ed-Eligible Head Start Families

Food resource management (FRM) behaviors are key components within nutrition education programs designed to help food insecure households maximize their food dollars. However, little is known about the association between FRM self-confidence and financial practices with household food insecurity (HFI) among families with young children. Using a sample of SNAP-Ed-eligible Head Start families, this study examined associations between FRM self-confidence, FRM behaviors and financial practices by HFI. A needs assessment survey was conducted with caregivers of Head Start children (n = 365). HFI was measured using the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine if FRM self-confidence, FRM behaviors, and financial practices differed by HFI. Participants with high FRM self-confidence had lower odds of HFI (OR = 0.54, 95%CI: 0.33, 0.87), yet FRM behaviors, financial practices, and HFI were not related after adjusting for covariates. All FRM self-confidence questions significantly differed by HFI, whereas only one of six FRM behaviors and two of three financial practices differed by HFI (all p-values < 0.05). Promoting caregivers' self-confidence in FRM skills within nutrition education programs may be explored as a potential strategy to assist low-income households to stretch their food dollars in an attempt to address HFI.

School-based interventions for promoting food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) in elementary school children: a systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

Food and nutrition literacy is a newly emerged concept to connect food-related knowledge and skills to healthy diets. Its promotion is important to protect children as they eat too many low-nutrient, high-energy foods. Food and nutrition literacy promotion needs multi-dimensional interventions. In the process of developing an intervention to promote food and nutrition literacy, the present review protocol aims to critically examine the evidence in the area of school-based interventions for promoting food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) in elementary school children.

METHODS

We will search PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and ProQuest (from inception onwards). Additional studies will be identified through manual searching of reference lists. Quantitative studies (e.g., randomized controlled trial, quasi-randomized trials, and cluster randomized trials) evaluating the effect of interventions to promote food and nutrition literacy in elementary school children (5-12 years old) will be included. Main outcomes will be food and nutrition literacy at functional, interactive, and critical levels. Secondary outcomes will be dietary intake indicators (e.g., healthy eating index, DDS) and health outcome measures (e.g., reduction in BMI and less weight gain). Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. Potential conflicts will be resolved through discussion. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using appropriate tools. If feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analysis. The quality of the included studies will separately evaluate using the validated Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies, developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP). Data will be extracted by two reviewers from the identified relevant literature. Standard data synthesis and analysis will be used for the review.

DISCUSSION

This systematic review will summarize the evidence regarding the components, implementation methods, and effectiveness of the interventions of food and nutrition literacy promotion in elementary school children. The results of this review will provide a useful reference for policymakers and curriculum developers to assess education curricula and develop practical learning and teaching strategies to improve students' food and nutrition literacy.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO (CRD42019135118).

Children Food and Nutrition Literacy - a New Challenge in Daily Health and Life, the New Solution: Using Intervention Mapping Model Through a Mixed Methods Protocol

Food and nutrition literacy is a fundamental and new idiom among health policymakers. Improving children's food and nutrition literacy is a fundamental task, and it requires detailed planning. The aim of this study is to design, implement, and evaluate a food and nutrition literacy promotion intervention in elementary school children based on the Intervention Mapping model. This is a sequential study to design, implement, and evaluate a food and nutrition literacy promotion intervention in elementary school children aged 10-12 years old in Baneh city (Kurdistan, Iran). The study has three sequential phases, six steps based on the Intervention Mapping model, and four sub-studies. The questionnaire was transformed and culturally adapted since it was previously built for the city of Tehran; the results of a population-based cross-sectional survey indicated that the score for understanding food and nutrition information of a sample of 390 students aged 10-12 was mostly moderate and low (90.3% of participants). Therefore, a qualitative study on how to fix existing barriers, and extract facilitators and the best methods of interventions for promoting food and nutrition literacy of participants was conducted. Finally, an interventional study within six months for two intervention and control groups of elementary children 10-12 years old was carried out. The findings of this research will be used to design interventions and strategies based on needs assessment for improving students' skills in food and nutrition literacy in all dimensions of food and nutrition literacy.