Changing risk behaviours for non-communicable disease in New Zealand working men - is workplace intervention effective?

Aims. To evaluate the effectiveness of a health promotionprogramme targeting dietary behaviours and physicalactivity among male hourly-paid workers and to exploredemographic and attitudinal influences on dietary patternsat baseline.Methods. A controlled field trial compared workers at oneintervention and one control worksite. The interventioncomprised nutrition displays in the cafeteria and monthly30-minute workshops for six months. Key outcomemeasures at six and twelve-months were self-reporteddietary and lifestyle behaviours, nutrition knowledge, bodymass index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure.Results. 132 men at the intervention site and 121 men at thecontrol site participated in the study and a high retention rate(94% at 6-months and 89% at 12-months) was achieved. Atbaseline, 40% of the total sample (253) were obese, 30% hadelevated blood pressure, 59% indicated an excessive fat intakeand 92% did not meet the recommended vegetable and fruitintake. The intervention reduced fat intake, increasedvegetable intake and physical activity, improved nutritionknowledge and reduced systolic blood pressure whencompared to the control site. There was no difference inchange in mean BMI or waist circumference. Reduction inBMI was associated with reduction in fat intake.Discussion. Low intensity workplace intervention cansignificantly improve reported health behaviours andnutrition knowledge although the impact on moreobjective measures of risk was variable. A longer durationor more intensive intervention may be required to achievefurther reduction in risk factors.<br /

AdHealth:A feasibility study to measure digital food marketing to adolescents through Facebook

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of a browser extension to estimate the exposure of adolescents to (un)healthy food and beverage advertisements on Facebook and the persuasive techniques used to market these foods and&nbsp;beverages. DESIGN: A Chrome browser extension (AdHealth) was developed to automatically collect advertisements seen by participants on their personal Facebook accounts. Information was extracted and sent to a web server by parsing the Document Object Model tree representation of Facebook web pages. Key information retrieved included the advertisement type seen and duration of each ad sighting. The WHO-Europe Nutrient Profile Model was used to classify the healthiness of products advertised as permitted (healthy) or not permitted (unhealthy) to be advertised to&nbsp;children. SETTING: Auckland, New&nbsp;Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-four Facebook users aged 16-18&nbsp;years. RESULTS: The browser extension retrieved 4973 advertisements from thirty-four participants, of which 204 (4 %) were food-related, accounting for 1·1 % of the exposure duration. Of those food advertisements, 98 % were classified as not permitted, and 33·7 and 31·9 %, respectively, of those featured promotional characters or premium offers. The mean rate of exposure to not permitted food was 4·8 (sd = 2·5) advertisements per hour spent on&nbsp;Facebook. CONCLUSIONS: Using a Chrome extension to monitor exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertisements showed that the vast majority of advertisements were for unhealthy products, despite numerous challenges to implementation. Further efforts are needed to develop tools for use across other social media platforms and mobile devices, and policies to protect young people from digital food&nbsp;advertising.</p

Evolution of the concepts and methods associated with exploring and measuring the impact of aphasia - Volume 1

This thesis investigates healthcare measurement for people who live with the language disability, aphasia. It describes how a tool was developed to investigate the impact of living with aphasia. The first chapter describes why healthcare measures are necessary. It describes some of the complexities associated with measurement when working with people who have traditionally been excluded from health care measurement. It discusses different types of measures currently available and why they are often inadequate for investigating the impact of aphasia. The second chapter details the initial stages of development of a new tool, undertaken from a professional viewpoint. This chapter describes the rationale behind the items and methods used in the instrument. It details the changes that were made to the tool as a result of pilot and field testing. The third chapter describes the conceptual and methodological issues that informed the next stages of the development process. There is a discussion of the current issues in healthcare that are seen as pertinent to the development of a tool to explore the impact of aphasia. There is consideration of the relative strengths of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the tension that can exist between ensuring a tool is psychometrically robust whilst still being accessible and acceptable to the client group for whom it is intended. Chapters four and five detail how conceptual considerations led to changes in the methodology employed in the next stage of development. They describe two methods of collaborative working; individual in-depth interviews and working with an advisory group of people with aphasia. They detail the changes made to the tool as a result of the consultation processes. Chapter six explores how these inclusive methods led to examination of the social relations of research practice. It discusses the challenges and benefits presented by this way of working, and the personal effects of inclusive research practices. It investigates these in the light of what has been learnt through the development of the instrument described. This thesis therefore presents the CDP, a new way of exploring and measuring the impact of aphasia on someone’s life. It considers the purpose of healthcare measurement. It exemplifies participatory research with people who have aphasia, including a reflection on the tension that can exist between qualitative and quantitative methodologies when developing a new tool. By doing so, it offers guidance on research practice for those wishing to conduct inclusive research with people traditionally excluded from health care measurement including people with aphasia

Evolution of the concepts and methods associated with exploring and measuring the impact of aphasia - Volume 2

This thesis investigates healthcare measurement for people who live with the language disability, aphasia. It describes how a tool was developed to investigate the impact of living with aphasia. The first chapter describes why healthcare measures are necessary. It describes some of the complexities associated with measurement when working with people who have traditionally been excluded from health care measurement. It discusses different types of measures currently available and why they are often inadequate for investigating the impact of aphasia. The second chapter details the initial stages of development of a new tool, undertaken from a professional viewpoint. This chapter describes the rationale behind the items and methods used in the instrument. It details the changes that were made to the tool as a result of pilot and field testing. The third chapter describes the conceptual and methodological issues that informed the next stages of the development process. There is a discussion of the current issues in healthcare that are seen as pertinent to the development of a tool to explore the impact of aphasia. There is consideration of the relative strengths of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the tension that can exist between ensuring a tool is psychometrically robust whilst still being accessible and acceptable to the client group for whom it is intended. Chapters four and five detail how conceptual considerations led to changes in the methodology employed in the next stage of development. They describe two methods of collaborative working; individual in-depth interviews and working with an advisory group of people with aphasia. They detail the changes made to the tool as a result of the consultation processes. Chapter six explores how these inclusive methods led to examination of the social relations of research practice. It discusses the challenges and benefits presented by this way of working, and the personal effects of inclusive research practices. It investigates these in the light of what has been learnt through the development of the instrument described. This thesis therefore presents the CDP, a new way of exploring and measuring the impact of aphasia on someone’s life. It considers the purpose of healthcare measurement. It exemplifies participatory research with people who have aphasia, including a reflection on the tension that can exist between qualitative and quantitative methodologies when developing a new tool. By doing so, it offers guidance on research practice for those wishing to conduct inclusive research with people traditionally excluded from health care measurement including people with aphasia