Children's Family Dinner Experiences and Attitudes

Overweight and obesity are a major problem affecting children in many countries. The practice of sharing regular family meals has been shown to improve children's diets and eating habits, which in turn can have favourable outcomes for children's weight status. This study explored children's family mealtime attitudes and experiences to identify themes that may be effective in encouraging families to have regular family meals. Most of the children showed a strong preference to eat together as a family. They reported usually enjoying the interaction with their parents and other family members that occurred during mealtimes. Among the minority who reported that they didn't enjoy family meals, conflict with siblings and parents was a common explanation. The study findings can inform the development of social marketing campaigns aiming to improve children's diets and eating behaviours in an effort to prevent and address child obesity.This study was funded by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway (#16187))

The Arts and Creative Industries in Health Promotion: an Evidence Check Rapid Review brokered by the Sax Institute for The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation

This rapid review was commissioned by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth). The purpose of the review was to inform future strategic planning and investment for VicHealth’s Arts Strategy (2019–2023). VicHealth’s Arts Strategy has a four-year goal to promote the health and wellbeing benefits of the arts to all Victorians by (1) increasing participation and diversity in the arts, (2) embedding the arts and creative industries across VicHealth’s five imperative areas, and (3) harnessing arts and cultural settings as a powerful environment to influence health awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. This rapid review addressed the following three questions: Question 1: What approaches have been effective in improving arts participation, particularly for priority groups? Question 2: What programs or activities which have used the arts as a vehicle or setting have been effective in increasing awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in VicHealth's five imperative areas? Question 3: Of the approaches, programs or activities identified in question 1 and 2, which may be implemented by local councils in Victoria, including those which may be delivered in partnership?This report was commisioned by The Victorian Health Promotion Foundatio

Factors influencing overweight children\u27s commencement of and continuation in a resistance training program

Background: In light of the child overweight and obesity problem in Australia, resistance training programs have been trialled as an innovative way of assisting children increase lean body mass and reduce body fat. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing overweight children\u27s participation in a resistance training trial program. Method: Parent-child pairs who participated in the trial program were invited to take part in a follow-up individual interview to discuss their program experiences. In total, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parent-child pairs. Results: The factors found to be most relevant to program commencement among parents were a desire for their child to lose weight and gain confidence, the proximity of the venue, and no cost for participation. For children, the most relevant factors were the opportunity to build strength and improve fitness and having supportive parents who facilitated program initiation. The factors most relevant to continuation for parents were the quality of the program management, being able to stay for the sessions, the child\u27s improved weight status, coordination, and confidence, and no cost for participation. Weight loss and improved confidence were also motivators for continuation among the children, along with pleasant social interaction with peers and trainers and ongoing parental support. Conclusion: Different factors variably influence program commencement and program continuation in both parents and children. This has important implications for future interventions that aim to successfully recruit and retain intervention participants

Factors influencing the health behaviour of Indigenous Australians: perspectives from support people

Disparities between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations continue to be prevalent within Australia. Research suggests that Indigenous people participate in health risk behaviour more often than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and that such behaviour has a substantial impact on health outcomes. Although this would indicate that reducing health risk behaviour may have positive effects on health outcomes, the factors that influence Indigenous health behaviour are still poorly understood. This study aimed to interview people who support Indigenous groups to gain an understanding of their views on the factors influencing health behaviour within Indigenous groups in Western Australia. Twenty nine people participated in the study. The emergent themes were mapped against the social ecological model. The results indicated that: (1) culture, social networks, history, racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the psychological distress associated with some of these factors interact to affect health behaviour in a complex manner; (2) the desire to retain cultural identity and distinctiveness may have both positive and negative influence on health risk behaviour; (3) strong social connections to family and kin that is intensified by cultural obligations, appears to affirm and disrupt positive health behaviour; (4) the separation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social connection/networks that appeared to be fostered by marginalisation and racism may influence the effect of social networks on health behaviour; and (5) communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people may be interrupted by distrust between the groups, which reduces the influence of some non-Indigenous sources on the health behaviour of Indigenous people

The Practice of Transformative Consumer Research - Some Issues and Suggestions

Transformative consumer research (TCR) is a new academic initiative among researchers committed to studying the role consumption plays in the major social problems of our day. These problems may involve the over consumption of products among the obese, the addicted, and the materialistic, or the under consumption of products among the hungry, the homeless, and the poor. The goal of transformative research is to do practical research that can be used by consumers, activists, policy makers, and businesses to improve consumer well-being. In this article, we propose rethinking the way that research is traditionally conducted in consumer research to make it more conducive to achieving TCR objectives. We start with the conventional approaches to consumer research and then offer alternative approaches to increase the likelihood that research will deliver useful and useable results

Factors influencing overweight children's commencement of and continuation in a resistance training program

Background: In light of the child overweight and obesity problem in Australia, resistance training programs have been trialled as an innovative way of assisting children increase lean body mass and reduce body fat. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing overweight children's participation in a resistance training trial program. Method. Parent-child pairs who participated in the trial program were invited to take part in a follow-up individual interview to discuss their program experiences. In total, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parent-child pairs. Results. The factors found to be most relevant to program commencement among parents were a desire for their child to lose weight and gain confidence, the proximity of the venue, and no cost for participation. For children, the most relevant factors were the opportunity to build strength and improve fitness and having supportive parents who facilitated program initiation. The factors most relevant to continuation for parents were the quality of the program management, being able to stay for the sessions, the child's improved weight status, coordination, and confidence, and no cost for participation. Weight loss and improved confidence were also motivators for continuation among the children, along with pleasant social interaction with peers and trainers and ongoing parental support. Conclusion. Different factors variably influence program commencement and program continuation in both parents and children. This has important implications for future interventions that aim to successfully recruit and retain intervention participants.This study was funded by the Telstra Foundatio

Evaluation of the Music Engagement Program for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia: Study protocol for a pilot trial

Background Alzheimer's disease and dementia are prevalent conditions globally. People with Alzheimer's disease and dementia commonly experience mental health problems, negative emotional states, and behavioural disturbance. Music therapy has previously been used in this population to improve symptoms of mental health problems; however, there is a paucity of evidence-based programs that also explore positive outcomes such as overall quality of life, social outcomes, as well as the acceptability and sustainability of these programs. Aims This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the specialised Music Engagement Program (MEP) in improving quality of life, wellbeing, and depression symptoms, in aged-care residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The project also aims to explore how the MEP could be applied and maintained on a broader level throughout the aged-care community. Methods The intervention will take place over 8 weeks in an aged-care facility for people living with dementia in Canberra, Australia. Weekly 45-60-min group singing sessions will be led by a music facilitator. Results The results of the study will be submitted for publication in relevant academic journals and mental health conferences, disseminated to participants on request, to the residential care facility, and via the lead researcher's website. Conclusions This study can provide an indication of the feasibility of the MEP in enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Further investigation will be required to establish the MEP's ability to be maintained on an ongoing basis with minimal costs and administrative support.This project is supported by a 2017 Excellence in Population Health Research Award, Research School of Population Health, ANU (AG, MP), and by funding provided by ACT Health for ACACIA: The ACT Consumer and Carer Mental Health Research Unit. The project is also supported by in-kind resources from the Centre for Mental Health Research, ANU. The lead author (AG) can disseminate the results of this trial without the express permission of the funding bodies. MB is supported by Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Fellowship 1150698

Understanding barriers to fruit and vegetable intake in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children: a mixed-methods approach

To identify barriers to fruit and vegetable intake for Indigenous Australian children and quantify factors related to these barriers, to help understand why children do not meet recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake. We examined factors related to carer-reported barriers using multilevel Poisson models (robust variance); a key informant focus group guided our interpretation of findings. Eleven diverse sites across Australia. Australian Indigenous children and their carers (N 1230) participating in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children. Almost half (45 %; n 555/1230) of carers reported barriers to their children’s fruit and vegetable intake. Dislike of fruit and vegetables was the most common barrier, reported by 32·9 % of carers; however, we identified few factors associated with dislike. Carers were more than ten times less likely to report barriers to accessing fruit and vegetables if they lived large cities v. very remote areas. Within urban and inner regional areas, child and carer well-being, financial security, suitable housing and community cohesion promoted access to fruit and vegetables. In this national Indigenous Australian sample, almost half of carers faced barriers to providing their children with a healthy diet. Both remote/outer regional carers and disadvantaged urban/inner regional carers faced problems accessing fruit and vegetables for their children. Where vegetables were accessible, children’s dislike was a substantial barrier. Nutrition promotion must address the broader family, community, environmental and cultural contexts that impact nutrition, and should draw on the strengths of Indigenous families and communities.This work was supported by the Australian National University (K.A.T., University Research Scholarship); the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (E.B., grant number 1042717), (R.L., grant 1088366), (M.P., grant number 9100001 – The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre)

Using systems science to understand thedeterminants of inequities in healthy eating

Introduction Systems thinking has emerged in recent years as a promising approach to understanding and acting on the prevention and amelioration of non-communicable disease. However, the evidence on inequities in non-communicable diseases and their risks factors, particularly diet, has not been examined from a systems perspective. We report on an approach to developing a system oriented policy actor perspective on the multiple causes of inequities in healthy eating. Methods Collaborative conceptual modelling workshops were held in 2015 with an expert group of representatives from government, non-government health organisations and academia in Australia. The expert group built a systems model using a system dynamics theoretical perspective. The model developed from individual mind maps to pair blended maps, before being finalised as a causal loop diagram. Results The work of the expert stakeholders generated a comprehensive causal loop diagram of the determinants of inequity in healthy eating (the HE2 Diagram). This complex dynamic system has seven sub-systems: (1) food supply and environment; (2) transport; (3) housing and the built environment; (4) employment; (5) social protection; (6) health literacy; and (7) food preferences. Discussion The HE2 causal loop diagram illustrates the complexity of determinants of inequities in healthy eating. This approach, both the process of construction and the final visualisation, can provide the basis for planning the prevention and amelioration of inequities in healthy eating that engages with multiple levels of causes and existing policies and programs.This research was supported by The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre through the NHMRC partnership centre grant scheme (grant ID: GNT9100001) with the Australian Government Department of Health, New South Wales Ministry of Health, Australian Capital Territory Health, HCF, and the HCF Research Foundation

From Understanding to Impactful Action: Systems Thinking for Systems Change in Chronic Disease Prevention Research

Within the field of chronic disease prevention, research efforts have moved to better understand, describe, and address the complex drivers of various health conditions. Change-making is prominent in this paper, and systems thinking and systems change are prioritised as core elements of prevention research. We report how the process of developing a theory of systems change can assist prevention research to progress from understanding systems, towards impactful action within those systems. Based on Foster-Fishman and Watson’s ABLe change framework, a Prevention Systems Change Framework (PSCF) was adapted and applied to an Australian case study of the drivers of healthy and equitable eating as a structured reflective practice. The PSCF comprises four components: building a systemic lens on prevention, holding a continual implementation focus, integrating the systemic lens and implementation focus, and developing a theory of change. Application of the framework as part of a systemic evaluation process enabled a detailed and critical assessment of the healthy and equitable eating project goals and culminated in the development of a theory of prevention systems change specific to that project, to guide future research and action. Arguably, if prevention research is to support improved health outcomes, it must be more explicitly linked to creating systems change