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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Online Healthy Lifestyle Support In The Perinatal Period: What Do Women Want And Do They Use It?, Lydia A. Hearn, Margaret R. Miller, Anna Fletcher Jul 2013

Online Healthy Lifestyle Support In The Perinatal Period: What Do Women Want And Do They Use It?, Lydia A. Hearn, Margaret R. Miller, Anna Fletcher

Research outputs 2013

Unhealthy weight gain and retention during pregnancy and postpartum is detrimental to mother and child. Although various barriers limit the capacity for perinatal health care providers (PHCPs) to offer healthy lifestyle counselling, they could guide women to appropriate online resources. This paper presents a project designed to provide online information to promote healthy lifestyles in the perinatal period. Focus groups or interviews were held with 116 perinatal women and 76 PHCPs to determine what online information perinatal women and PHCPs want, in what form, and how best it should be presented. The results indicated that women wanted smartphone applications (apps) …


Preventing Paediatric Obesity; Recommendations From A Community-Based Qualitative Investigation, Patricia Tucker, Jennifer Irwin, L. Sangster Bouck, Meizi He, G. Pollett May 2013

Preventing Paediatric Obesity; Recommendations From A Community-Based Qualitative Investigation, Patricia Tucker, Jennifer Irwin, L. Sangster Bouck, Meizi He, G. Pollett

Trish Tucker

Childhood obesity is on the rise, and interventions targeted at pre-school-aged children are essential for the primary prevention of this disease. Physical activity programming and decreasing screen viewing may be advantageous ways to reduce the early onset of obesity. Parents' perceptions regarding effective tools and programmes to target obesity are needed to develop an efficacious programme. Ten semi-structured focus groups were conducted for this qualitative study. Two experienced moderators facilitated all focus groups which were conducted in local day cares, workplaces and play groups, frequented by parents. All focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness of …


Preschoolers' Physical Activity Behaviours: Parents' Perspectives, Jennifer Irwin, Meizi He, L. Sangster Bouck, Patricia Tucker, Graham Pollett May 2013

Preschoolers' Physical Activity Behaviours: Parents' Perspectives, Jennifer Irwin, Meizi He, L. Sangster Bouck, Patricia Tucker, Graham Pollett

Trish Tucker

OBJECTIVES: To understand parents' perspectives of their preschoolers' physical activity behaviours. METHODS: A maximum variation sample of 71 parents explored their preschoolers' physical activity behaviours through 10 semi-structured focus group discussions. RESULTS: Parents perceived Canada's Physical Activity Guidelines for Children as inadequate; that their preschoolers get and need more than 30-90 minutes of activity daily; and that physical activity habits must be established during the preschool years. Nine barriers against and facilitators toward adequate physical activity were proposed: child's age, weather, daycare, siblings, finances, time, society and safety, parents' impact, and child's activity preferences. DISCUSSION: The need for education and …


Screen-Viewing Behaviors Among Preschoolers Parents' Perceptions, Meizi He, Jennifer Irwin, L. Sangster Bouck, Patricia Tucker, Graham Pollett May 2013

Screen-Viewing Behaviors Among Preschoolers Parents' Perceptions, Meizi He, Jennifer Irwin, L. Sangster Bouck, Patricia Tucker, Graham Pollett

Trish Tucker

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity has emerged as a public health concern in Canada. It has been suggested that excessive screen viewing (i.e., television, computer, video) is a major factor contributing to the increased risk of obesity in children. Exploring young children's experiences with this modifiable behavior may be beneficial to the creation of a multifaceted program aimed at the primary prevention of obesity. OBJECTIVES: To seek parents' perceptions and insights pertaining to their preschoolers' screen-viewing behaviors. METHODS: This qualitative study targeted a heterogeneous sample of parents with children aged 2.5 to 5 years. Two experienced moderators using a semistructured interview guide …


Dehydration Reduction In The Community Dwelling Older Adult: Perspectives Of Community Health Care Providers, Lisa Abdallah, Ruth Remington, S Houde, L Zhan, Karen Melillo Feb 2013

Dehydration Reduction In The Community Dwelling Older Adult: Perspectives Of Community Health Care Providers, Lisa Abdallah, Ruth Remington, S Houde, L Zhan, Karen Melillo

Ruth Remington

Dehydration is a common problem among older adults and can negatively affect their health. This crosssectional descriptive study used survey findings and focus group interviews to investigate dehydration problems among community-dwelling older adults and to identify strategies perceived to be helpful in preventing dehydration in this population. The survey sample (n = 18) and four focus groups (n = 36) included health care providers in the northeast United States from provider agencies representing emergency care, home care, primary care, and community health care. Survey findings indicated that 89% of participantsidentify dehydration as a problem affecting older adults, and 94% noted …


Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Programs Among Community-Based Organizations Tackling Health Disparities: A Qualitative Study, Shoba Ramanadhan, Josephine Crisostomo, Jaclyn Alexander-Molloy, Ediss Gandelman, Milagro Grullon, Vilma Lora, Chrasandra Reeves, Clara Savage, Kasisomayajula Viswanatha, Chyke Doubeni Jan 2013

Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Programs Among Community-Based Organizations Tackling Health Disparities: A Qualitative Study, Shoba Ramanadhan, Josephine Crisostomo, Jaclyn Alexander-Molloy, Ediss Gandelman, Milagro Grullon, Vilma Lora, Chrasandra Reeves, Clara Savage, Kasisomayajula Viswanatha, Chyke Doubeni

Chyke A. Doubeni

Dissemination of prevention-focused evidence-based programs (EBPs) from research to community settings may improve population health and reduce health disparities, but such flow has been limited. Academic-community partnerships using community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles may support increased dissemination of EBPs to community-based organizations (CBOs). This qualitative study examined the EBP-related perceptions and needs of CBOs targeting underserved populations. As part of PLANET MassCONECT, a CBPR study, we conducted six key informant interviews with community leaders and four focus groups with CBO staff members in Boston, Worcester and Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 2008. Working definitions of EBPs among CBO staff members varied greatly …