Trials

BACKGROUND: An international workshop on population health intervention research (PHIR) was organized to foster exchanges between experts from different disciplines and different fields. This paper aims to summarize the discussions around some of the issues addressed: (1) the place of theories in PHIR, (2) why theories can be useful, and (3) how to choose and use the most relevant of them in evaluating PHIR. METHODS: The workshop included formal presentations by participants and moderated discussions. An oral synthesis was produced by a rapporteur to validate, through an expert consensus, the key points of the discussion and the recommendations. All discussions were recorded and have been fully transcribed. RESULTS: The following recommendations were generated through a consensus in the workshop discussions: (i) The evaluation of interventions, like their development, could be improved through better use of theory. (ii) The referenced theory and framework must be clarified. (iii) An intervention theory should be developed by a partnership of researchers and practitioners. (iv) More use of social theory is recommended. (v) Frameworks and a common language are helpful in selecting and communicating a theory. (vi) Better reporting of interventions and theories is needed. CONCLUSION: Theory-driven interventions and evaluations are key in PHIR as they facilitate the understanding of mechanisms of change. There are many challenges in developing the most appropriate theories for interventions and evaluations. With the wealth of information now being generated, this subject is of increasing importance at many levels, including for public health policy. It is, therefore, timely to consider how to build on the experiences of many different disciplines to enable the development of better theories and facilitate evidence-based decisions

Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries

What is it to be “an ideal parent”? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being “responsible and children/family-focused” for Asian parents, being “responsible and proper demeanor-focused” for African parents, and being “loving and responsible” for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zones—being “loving and patient,” there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized “being caring,” while French-speaking parents valued “listening” or being “present.” Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures

Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries

What is it to be “an ideal parent”? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being “responsible and children/family-focused” for Asian parents, being “responsible and proper demeanor-focused” for African parents, and being “loving and responsible” for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zones—being “loving and patient,” there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized “being caring,” while French-speaking parents valued “listening” or being “present.” Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures

Population health intervention research: what is the place for pilot studies?

BACKGROUND: An international workshop on population health intervention research (PHIR) was organized to foster exchanges between experts from different disciplines and different fields. AIMS: This paper aims to summarize the discussions around one of the issues addressed: the place or role of pilot studies in PHIR. Pilot studies are well-established in biomedical research, but the situation is more ambiguous for PHIR, in which a pilot study could refer to different purposes. METHODS: The workshop included formal presentations of participants and moderated discussions. An oral synthesis was carried out by a rapporteur to validate by expert consensus the key points of the discussion and the recommendations. All discussions have been recorded and fully transcribed. DISCUSSION: PHIR generally addresses complex interventions. Thus, numerous tasks may be required to inform the intervention and test different aspects of its design and implementation. While in clinical research the pilot study mainly concerns the preparation of the trial, in PHIR the pilot study focuses on the preparation of both the intervention and the trial. In particular, pilot studies in PHIR could be used for viability evaluation and theory development. RECOMMENDATION FROM THE WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS: The following recommendations were generated by consensus from the workshop discussions: i) terms need to be clarified for PHIR; ii) reporting and publication should be standardized and transparency should be promoted; iii) the objectives and research questions should drive the methods used and be clearly stated; iv) a pilot study is generally needed for complex intervention evaluation and for research-designed programs; and v) for field-designed programs, it is important to integrate evaluability assessments as pilot studies. CONCLUSION: Pilot studies play an important role in intervention development and evaluation. In particular, they contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of intervention and the conditions of its applicability and transferability. Pilot studies could therefore facilitate evidence-based decisions about design and conduct of main studies aimed to generate evidence to inform public health policy

Prevention of unhealthy weight in children by promoting physical activity using a socio-ecological approach: what can we learn from intervention studies?

International audienceAIM: Our objectives was to identify the characteristics of interventions likely to successfully prevent overweight in youngsters by promoting physical activity (PA), with special focus on dimensions of the socio-ecological model of behaviour and health, and unresolved issues. METHODS: This was a systematic review of population-based interventions either promoting PA or limiting sedentary behaviour in children with measure of weight status as an endpoint. The efficacy of studies was evaluated according to the levels of PA determinants in the socio-ecological model (individual, interpersonal, institutional environment, community) targeted by the interventions. RESULTS: A total of 54 studies met our inclusion criteria, most of them published within the last 5 years and targeting children aged 6-12 years. Twenty-three interventions targeted individual and/or interpersonal PA determinants only; 26 targeted determinants at three or four levels with at least one environment component at the institutional level; and five were multilevel community-based interventions. Our review indicated that programmes targeting PA determinants at the different levels of the socio-ecological model, including the social and organizational/built environments, had the greatest potential for preventing obesity in youngsters. Targeting various facets of PA, including everyday PA, might represent another key element for program efficacy on weight status. CONCLUSION: Data regarding the efficacy of comprehensive PA interventions that simultaneously address individual attitudes and skills, the social context, and the environment, to prevent overweight in children are encouraging. Further studies are needed to evaluate the maintenance of the effects and whether such strategies apply to young children and older adolescents, and to different cultural contexts

Atomistic study of structural, elastic, electronic and thermal properties of perovskites Ba(Ti,Zr,Nb)O3

International audienceThe full-potential linearized augmented plane waves (FP-LAPW) method based the on density functional theory (DFT) using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) is applied to study the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of BaTiO3, BaZrO3, and BaNbO3 cubic perovskites. The quasi-harmonic Debye model, by means of total energy versus volume calculations obtained with the FP-LAPW method, is applied to study the thermal and vibrational effects. Predicted temperature and pressure effects on the structural parameters, thermal expansions, heat capacities, and Debye temperatures are determined from the non-equilibrium Gibbs functions