Parental Perspectives on Preschool Children’s Lifestyle : quantitative and qualitative aspects

Children’s lifestyle has changed significantly during the recent decades, with an increasing prevalence of obesity as one outcome. Parents are usually the most influential people in young children’s lives. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate parental perspectives on factors associated with 3-6 year-old children’s lifestyle, regarding eating habits and physical activity. Another objective was to compare different approaches to conducting postal questionnaires in terms of response rate, time consumption and cost-efficiency. The samples in the four studies were parents of 6-year-olds (n=158), parents of 3-year-olds (n=873), parents of 4-year-olds (n=30) and parents of 3-year-olds (n=353). In the first study, a questionnaire regarding practices and attitudes towards their child’s lifestyle, perceived obstacles and desired support was used. The second study included the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the CFQ (Child Feeding Questionnaire). Parents also reported their child’s TV-viewing habits. The child’s measured height, weight and BMI were obtained from a register, BASTA. In the third study, focus group interviews were performed. The fourth study investigated three types of consent given for participation in a survey. The results showed that parents’ attitudes towards children’s lifestyle, in general, were “healthier” than their reports of their child’s daily practices. The practices differed depending on the parents’ educational background. Significant and dose-dependant associations were found between perceived maternal stress and children’s overweight, but also underweight. Parents felt that they were mainly responsible for their preschool child’s lifestyle. However, parents described challenges that limited and obstructed them from providing their child with a healthy lifestyle, citing the need to receive professional and peer support, while also requesting support from society. Allowing respondents to actively decline participation yielded a higher response rate and proved to be the most cost-efficient method for conducting a postal questionnaire

Parents' views of including young boys in the Swedish national school-based HPV vaccination programme : a qualitative study

Objective: To explore parents' views of extending the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme to also include boys. Design: Explorative qualitative design using individual, face-to-face, interviews and inductive thematic analysis. Setting: 11 strategically chosen municipalities in central Sweden. Participants: Parents (n= 42) who were offered HPV vaccination for their 11-12 years old daughter in the national school-based vaccination programme. Results: The key themes were: equality from a public health perspective and perception of risk for disease. Parents expressed low knowledge and awareness about the health benefits of male HPV vaccination, and they perceived low risk for boys to get HPV. Some parents could not see any reason for vaccinating boys. However, many parents preferred gender-neutral vaccination, and some of the parents who had not accepted HPV vaccination for their daughter expressed that they would be willing to accept vaccination for their son, if it was offered. It was evident that there was both trust and distrust in authorities' decision to only vaccinate girls. Parents expressed a preference for increased sexual and reproductive health promotion such as more information about condom use. Some parents shared that it was more important to vaccinate girls than boys since they believed girls face a higher risk of deadly diseases associated with HPV, but some also believed girls might be more vulnerable to side effects of the vaccine. Conclusions: A vaccine offered only to girls may cause parents to be hesitant to vaccinate, while also including boys in the national vaccination programme might improve parents' trust in the vaccine. More information about the health benefits of HPV vaccination for males is necessary to increase HPV vaccination among boys. This may eventually lead to increased HPV vaccine coverage among both girls and boys

School nurses' attitudes towards and experiences of the Swedish school-based HPV vaccination programme - A repeated cross sectional study

The aim was to investigate school nurses' attitudes towards, and experiences of vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), and compare the results with a similar study three years earlier. School nurses (n = 736) from all counties in Sweden completed a questionnaire in spring 2016, four years after the implementation of the national HPV vaccination programme, and three years after the previous survey. Overall, the school nurses had more favourable attitudes towards the HPV vaccination programme compared to the study in 2013 (p = 0.015). More than half of the nurses (n = 415, 56%) strongly agreed that boys should also be offered the vaccine (p<0.001). There were no differences in school nurses' perceived knowledge about HPV in order to inform and to answer questions about the vaccine from the girls or from the parents. More than half of the nurses (n = 409, 56%) reported that they needed more education about HPV. Almost all nurses (n = 659, 90%) had been contacted by parents with questions about the vaccine, and most questions were related to vaccine safety. School nurses have a more favourable attitude towards the vaccination programme against HPV compared to three years earlier, although almost all nurses had been contacted by parents with diverse questions and concerns. The nurses believed that they needed more education about HPV. Thus, it is essential to provide ongoing education and training for school nurses who are key healthcare professionals for providing information about HPV and HPV vaccination to parents and to pupils

Psychosocial vulnerability underlying four common unhealthy behaviours in 15–16-year-old Swedish adolescents : a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Factors that influence unhealthy behaviours in adolescents may have different impacts in different sociocultural settings. There is lack of research on the association between psychosocial vulnerability and unhealthy behaviours in adolescents, particularly outside the United States. The aim was to investigate both direct and indirect relationships between psychosocial conditions (subjective well-being, social relationships and self-esteem) and four health-related behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, meal frequency and physical activity) in Swedish adolescents aged 15-16 years. Socio-demographic variables (socio-economic status, gender and age) were also investigated. METHODS: To study these associations, a hypothesised model was tested using structural equation modelling. In the hypothesised model, interrelated psychosocial conditions (low well-being, poor social relationships and low self-esteem) and socio-demographic factors (low self-perceived socio-economic status, being female and higher age) together represented a vulnerability underlying smoking, alcohol consumption, irregular meal frequency and low level of physical activity. In this cross-sectional study, self-report questionnaires were used to collect data from 492 adolescents. RESULTS: Hypothesised pathways between psychosocial conditions, socio-demographic factors and the four unhealthy behaviours were confirmed. Low well-being was strongly associated with unhealthy behaviours, and poor social relationships showed a strong indirect association with the unhealthy behaviours. Low self-esteem, low self-perceived socio-economic status and female gender were also vulnerability factors for the unhealthy behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerability for four common unhealthy behaviours was found in Swedish adolescents. This study presents the interrelationships of psychosocial and socio-demographic factors and how they were related with unhealthy behaviours. The results bring new insight into how psychosocial factors are related to unhealthy behaviours in adolescents living in northern Europe

Vulnerability to unhealthy behaviours across different age groups in Swedish Adolescents : A cross-sectional study

Purpose: There is lack of evidence on the effects of health-promoting programmes among adolescents. Health behaviour models and studies seldom compare the underlying factors of unhealthy behaviours between different adolescent age groups. The main objective of this study was to investigate factors including sociodemographic parameters that were associated with vulnerability to health-damaging behaviours and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours in different adolescent age groups. Methods: A survey was conducted among 10,590 pupils in the age groups of 13–14, 15–16 and 17–18 years. Structural equation modelling was performed to determine whether health-damaging behaviours (smoking and alcohol consumption) and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours (regular meal habits and physical activity) shared an underlying vulnerability. This method was also used to determine whether gender and socio-economic status were associated with an underlying vulnerability to unhealthy behaviours. Results: The findings gave rise to three models, which may reflect the underlying vulnerability to health-damaging behaviours and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours at different ages during adolescence. The four behaviours shared what was interpreted as an underlying vulnerability in the 15–16-year-old age group. In the youngest group, all behaviours except for non-participation in physical activity shared an underlying vulnerability. Similarly, alcohol consumption did not form part of the underlying vulnerability in the oldest group. Lower socio-economic status was associated with an underlying vulnerability in all the age groups; female gender was associated with vulnerability in the youngest adolescents and male gender among the oldest adolescents. Conclusions: These results suggest that intervention studies should investigate the benefits of health-promoting programmes designed to prevent health-damaging behaviours and promote health-enhancing behaviours in adolescents of different ages. Future studies should examine other factors that may contribute to the underlying vulnerability in different age groups

Health communication with parents and teachers and unhealthy behaviours in 15- to 16-year-old Swedes

Background: Unhealthy behaviours during adolescence constitute a major risk for numerous diseases in adulthood. Aim: To explore the associations between multiple unhealthy behaviours in adolescents and health behaviour information communicated by their parents and teachers, how much the adolescents cared about this information and whether adolescents went to schools with an annual health-themed week or not. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a self-reported questionnaire was delivered to pupils aged 15 and 16 (n = 492). The results were analysed using Poisson regression. Results: The number of unhealthy behaviours was lower in adolescents whose parents encouraged them to adopt healthy behaviours. Adolescents at schools with an annual health-themed week reported more unhealthy behaviours than other adolescents. In addition, attendance at such schools did not compensate for a lack of health behaviour information communicated by parents. Caring about health behaviour information communicated by parents was associated with fewer unhealthy behaviours. In contrast, the opposite was found when adolescents cared about health information communicated by teachers. Conclusion: It is important for parents to encourage their adolescent children to adopt healthy behaviours because this is particularly effective at lowering the number of unhealthy behaviours in adolescents. It also appears to be important for parents and teachers to develop credibility among adolescents regarding information communicated about health issues. The results also indicate the importance of involving parents in the school health work to influence them to encourage their adolescent children to adopt healthy behaviours

Sexual and contraceptive behavior among female university students in Sweden : repeated surveys over a 25-year period

ObjectiveTo study female students' sexual and contraceptive behavior and compare these results with earlier surveys. DesignComparative, repeated cross-sectional surveys, started in 1989 and repeated every fifth year. SettingContraceptive counseling delivered at a Student Health Center in Sweden. PopulationFemale university students (n=359). MethodsMultiple-choice waiting-room questionnaire. Main outcome measuresSexual and contraceptive behavior. ResultsIn 1989, age at first intercourse was 17.6years vs. 16.7years in 2014, number of lifetime sexual partners was 4.0 vs. 12.1 in 2014, and number of sexual partners during the previous 12months was 1.0 vs. 2.8 in 2014. Condom use during first intercourse with the latest partner decreased from 49% to 41% (n=172 in 2009 vs. n=148 in 2014: p&lt;0.001), and experience of anal sex increased from 39% to 46% (n=136 in 2009 vs. n=165 in 2014: p=0.038), and 25% (n=41 in 2014) always used a condom during anal sex. A total of 70% (n=251) made use of pornography, and 48% (n=121) considered their sexual behavior affected by pornography. Eighty-nine percent (n=291) wanted two to three children and 9% (n=33) had thought about freezing eggs for the future. The female students' knowledge about increasing age being correlated with decreased fertility varied. ConclusionsSexual behavior among female university students has gradually changed during the last 25years and behavior appears more risky today. As this may have consequences on future reproductive health, it is vital to inform women about consistent and correct condom use and about the limitations of the fertile window.Christina Stenhammar och Ylva Tiblom Ehrsson delar förstaförfattarskapet.</p

Sexual and contraceptive behavior among female university students in Sweden : repeated surveys over a 25-year period

ObjectiveTo study female students' sexual and contraceptive behavior and compare these results with earlier surveys. DesignComparative, repeated cross-sectional surveys, started in 1989 and repeated every fifth year. SettingContraceptive counseling delivered at a Student Health Center in Sweden. PopulationFemale university students (n=359). MethodsMultiple-choice waiting-room questionnaire. Main outcome measuresSexual and contraceptive behavior. ResultsIn 1989, age at first intercourse was 17.6years vs. 16.7years in 2014, number of lifetime sexual partners was 4.0 vs. 12.1 in 2014, and number of sexual partners during the previous 12months was 1.0 vs. 2.8 in 2014. Condom use during first intercourse with the latest partner decreased from 49% to 41% (n=172 in 2009 vs. n=148 in 2014: p&lt;0.001), and experience of anal sex increased from 39% to 46% (n=136 in 2009 vs. n=165 in 2014: p=0.038), and 25% (n=41 in 2014) always used a condom during anal sex. A total of 70% (n=251) made use of pornography, and 48% (n=121) considered their sexual behavior affected by pornography. Eighty-nine percent (n=291) wanted two to three children and 9% (n=33) had thought about freezing eggs for the future. The female students' knowledge about increasing age being correlated with decreased fertility varied. ConclusionsSexual behavior among female university students has gradually changed during the last 25years and behavior appears more risky today. As this may have consequences on future reproductive health, it is vital to inform women about consistent and correct condom use and about the limitations of the fertile window.Christina Stenhammar och Ylva Tiblom Ehrsson delar förstaförfattarskapet.</p

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