Write, draw, show, and tell: a child-centred dual methodology to explore perceptions of out-of-school physical activity

Background Research to increase children’s physical activity and inform intervention design has, to date, largely underrepresented children’s voices. Further, research has been limited to singular qualitative methods that overlook children’s varied linguistic ability and interaction preference. The aim of this study was to use a novel combination of qualitative techniques to explore children’s current views, experiences and perceptions of out-of-school physical activity as well as offering formative opinion about future intervention design. Methods Write, draw, show and tell (WDST) groups were conducted with 35 children aged 10–11 years from 7 primary schools. Data were analysed through a deductive and inductive process, firstly using the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model as a thematic framework, and then inductively to enable emergent themes to be further explored. Pen profiles were constructed representing key emergent themes. Results The WDST combination of qualitative techniques generated complimentary interconnected data which both confirmed and uncovered new insights into factors relevant to children’s out-of-school physical activity. Physical activity was most frequently associated with organised sports. Fun, enjoyment, competence, and physical activity provision were all important predictors of children’s out-of-school physical activity. Paradoxically, parents served as both significant enablers (i.e. encouragement) and barriers (i.e. restricting participation) to physical activity participation. Some of these key findings would have otherwise remained hidden when compared to more traditional singular methods based approaches. Conclusions Parents are in a unique position to promote health promoting behaviours serving as role models, physical activity gatekeepers and choice architects. Given the strong socialising effect parents have on children’s physical activity, family-based physical activity intervention may offer a promising alternative compared to traditional school-based approaches. Parents' qualitative input is important to supplement children’s voices and inform future family-based intervention design. The WDST method developed here is an inclusive, interactive and child-centred methodology which facilitates the exploration of a wide range of topics and enhances data credibility

Burglars’ Take on Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED): Reconsidering the Relevance from an Offender Perspective

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) represents a multi-faceted approach to crime reduction that draws upon theories from urban design, psychology and criminology. Yet there remains a lack of clarity regarding CPTED’s definition and scope. CPTED has been defined by, amongst others Crowe (2000), Ekblom (2011) and Armitage (2013), and the principles upon which it is based have seen even greater discrepancy. Conscious that these principles have primarily been defined by academics and policy-makers, this research aims to rectify this imbalance. A sample of twenty-two incarcerated prolific burglars from three prisons (England), were asked to describe their response to sixteen images of residential housing. The results confirm that the design of residential housing influences burglar decision making, but that the principles of CPTED should be re-examined, with surveillance, and physical security a clear deterrent, yet management and maintenance and defensible space not considered as important in offender decision making

noPILLS in waters

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) are an increasingly recognised risk to the quality of surface water and groundwater. The noPILLS project contributed towards a better understanding of the complex system of processes and – probably more importantly – actors that influence the presence of pharmaceutical micropollutants in waste water and, ultimately, receiving waters.Clearly, a problem as complex and wide-ranging as that of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment cannot be comprehensively explored by a single project. However, noPILLS aimed to provide a unique insight into the problem by first defining the range of factors affecting pharmaceuticals in the environment, together with related points for intervention, and then investigating these interventions in a multi- and inter-disciplinary fashion. In developing the concept of a “medicinal product chain” (of processes and actors), noPILLS identified potential “levers for intervention” towards the reduction of pharmaceutical ingress into the aquatic environment. This report describes a series of case studies of applied investigative nature along the medicinal product chain, which explored and evaluated a range of levers for intervention for their underlying efficacy, efficiency, barriers and challenges.In summary, the noPILLS project has shown that:• Pharmaceutical micropollutants are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment in the project areas, and contribute to environmental effects;• Regional differences exist in environmental conditions, as can be expected due to macro-geographical influences (landscape, climate etc), but conditions can also vary within regions and in time, with the biggest factors being influx of effluents and dilution in the environment;• A risk highlighted by noPILLS is that of antibiotic resistance developing in - or being introduced into - the aquatic environment via the sewerage network;• People, acting both as consumers/patients and as professionals, play an important role in the medicinal product chain and need to be involved more in intervention activities;• Strong regional differences exist in factors that are influenced by human behaviour, attitudes, and awareness; most likely this is primarily a result of regional differences in systems (e.g. health system, funding, waste management);• There appears to be a relatively high level of underlying willingness to ‘do the right thing’ both by the general public and professionals, which is largely under-utilized due to lack of information, support or means to change behaviour;• Technological interventions are effective in reducing some pharmaceutical micropollutants but present their own challenges in terms of monetary and energy costs;• Training, education and awareness raising, together with good stakeholder management and effective communication, are crucial for the success of all forms of intervention.• There appears to be no single ‘silver bullet’ intervention point, and the whole medicinal product chain needs to be considered for multi-point, targeted intervention