Improving health related behavior in deprived neighborhoods

The core of this thesis describes the evaluation of the community intervention "Wijkgezondheidswerk", a community health behavior intervention program to improve health related behavior in deprived neighborhoods in the city of Eindhoven. Besides this evaluation study, we were able to investigate other important additional topics. The baseline data of the evaluation study were used to examine determinants ofhealth related behavior in deprived neighborhoods and also a systematic review of the literature was conducted. The community intervention "Wijkgezondheidswerk" is a joint project with a number of partners involved in either intervention implementation or intervention evaluation. The lead agency is the municipal health service of Eindhoven. Other main partners in Eindhoven are the municipal task force of social development, local grassroots organizations, and community social work organizations. Main partners involved in the evaluation component of the project are the Department ofSocial Sciences of the Wageningen University and the Department of Public Health of the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam. The project was evaluated by means of a community intervention trial and has a quasi-experimental design. Beforehand, the municipal health services assigned the intervention to two neighborhoods and to have an evaluation design with concurrent control neighborhoods, three matched comparison neighborhoods* were selected prior to intervention implementation. A longitudinal sample survey and repeated cross sectional sample surveys were used to measure changes in ke

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of adolescent health status measurement by the Child Health Questionnaire Child Form (CHQ-CF): internet administration compared with the standard paper version

AIMS: In this study we evaluated indicators of the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Child Health Questionnaire-Child Form (CHQ-CF). We compared the results in a subgroup of adolescents who completed the standard paper version of the CHQ-CF with the results in another subgroup of adolescents who completed an internet version, i.e., an online, web-based CHQ-CF questionnaire. METHODS: Under supervision at school, 1,071 adolescents were randomized to complete the CHQ-CF and items on chronic conditions by a paper questionnaire or by an internet administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The participation rate was 87%; age range 13–7 years. The internet administration resulted in fewer missing answers. All but one multi-item scale showed internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α > 0.70). All scales clearly discriminated between adolescents with no, a few, or many self-reported chronic conditions. The paper administration resulted in statistically significant, higher scores on 4 of 10 CHQ-CF scales compared with the internet administration (P < 0.05), but Cohen’s effect sizes d were ≤0.21. Mode of administration interacted significantly with age (P < 0.05) on four CHQ-CF scales, but Cohen’s effect sizes for these differences were also ≤0.21. CONCLUSION: This study supports the feasibility, internal consistency reliability of the scales, and construct validity of the CHQ-CF administered by either a paper questionnaire or online questionnaire. Given Cohen’s suggested guidelines for the interpretation of effect sizes, i.e., 0.20–.50 indicates a small effect, differences in CHQ-CF scale scores between paper and internet administration can be considered as negligible or small

Understanding Vocational Students’ Motivation for Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors

Unhealthy eating behaviors and low levels of physical activity are major problems in adolescents and young adults in vocational education. To develop effective intervention programs, more research is needed to understand how different types of motivation contribute to health behaviors. In the present study, Self-Determination Theory is used to examine how motivation contributes to dietary and physical activity behaviors in vocational students. This cross-sectional study included 809 students (mean age 17.8 ± 1.9 years) attending vocational education in the Netherlands. Linear multilevel regression analyses were used to investigate the association between types of motivation and dietary and physical activity behaviors. Amotivation was negatively associated with breakfast frequency and positively associated with diet soda consumption and high-calorie between-meal snacks. A positive association was found between autonomous motivation and water intake, breakfast frequency, fruit intake, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Autonomous motivation was negatively associated with the consumption of unhealthy products. Controlled motivation was not associated with physical activity or dietary behaviors. Different types of motivation seem to explain either healthy or unhealthy dietary behaviors in vocational students. Autonomous motivation, in particular, was shown to be associated with healthy behaviors and could therefore be a valuable intervention target

Evaluation of a school-based multicomponent behavioural intervention in deprived urban areas for children classified as overweight, obese or at risk for overweight

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of an after-school group-based medium-intensity multicomponent behavioural intervention programme for children aged 8–12 years classified as overweight, obese or at risk for overweight on body mass index standard deviation score (BMI SDS). In accordance with standardized protocols body weight and height were measured in 195 participants (88 boys, 107 girls) at baseline and at the end of the programme. A total of 166 children derived from a school-based monitoring system served as control group. Multivariate regression analyses examined the effect of the intervention and the independent factors associated with better outcomes in the intervention group. Results: Analysis of covariance showed a significant intervention effect on BMO SDS in favour of the intervention group (b-coefficient - 0.13 ± 0.03; p < 0.01) compared with the control group. Change in BMI SDS between baseline and follow-up in the intervention group was associated with baseline age (b-coefficient 0.03 ± 0.02; p=0.04) but was independent from gender, ethnicity, baseline BMI SDS, time between baseline and follow-up, school year and attendance rate

Healthy by Design: Using participatory design methods to develop a healthy lifestyle intervention for vocational students

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours are common among vocational students and increase their risk of non-communicable diseases later in life. Unfortunately, only a limited number of school-based healthy lifestyle interventions have been developed for vocational students. Moreover, there is no evidence that these interventions are effective. They have often been developed by professionals without involving students and therefore may not align with the target group’s perceptions and needs. We used a participatory design approach to develop an intervention to promote healthy physical activity and dietary behaviours, in co-creation with vocational students. ‘Contextmapping’ was used to assess student conscious and subconscious motivation for a healthy lifestyle (n = 27, ages 17-26 years). All sessions and interviews were recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were analysed using framework analysis. Contextual characteristics that influenced student lives were their peers, family and short-term motives like earning money, being cool and looking good. In addition, they often had a passive attitude towards daily life, were unaware of their health illiteracy and being healthy was a goal for the distant future. These findings led to four design concepts that converged in a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention that includes a social media campaign and activities to demonstrate and practice specific health behaviours among vocational students

Hoe krijg je mbo-studenten (toch) geïnteresseerd?

Mbo-studenten maken veel ongezonde voedingskeuzes, maar in de Interventiedatabase Gezond en Actief Leven (www.loketgezondleven.nl) staan weinig effectieve interventies geregistreerd specifiek gericht op voedingskeuzes bij deze groep.1 In dit artikel wordt daarom de ontwikkeling beschreven van twee prototypes van apps om gezonde voedingskeuzes onder mbo-studenten te stimuleren. https://ntvd.media/artikelen/hoe-krijg-je-mbo-studenten-toch-geinteresseerd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gittekloek/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-salmon-508999a/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvia-schipper-a3b8007