Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Child\u27s Weight–Related Behaviors: A Parents\u27 Perspective

Purpose To explore parent perspectives of how the attributes of their child\u27s autism spectrum disorder(ASD) impact nutrition, physical activity, screen time behaviors and risk for obesity. Secondarily, we examined the parent\u27s perception of the healthcare providers (HCP) influence on these weight-related behaviors. Design and method We conducted and audio-recorded telephone interviews with parents of children with ASD (n = 8) using a structured question guide. Data were transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted. Issues surrounding weight-related behaviors and parental strategies used were reported. Results Two overarching themes with eight subthemes emerged: (1) Challenges related to features of ASD (subthemes included fixation on food, sensory issues/rigidity, developmental factors, impaired social skills, and medication effects) and (2) Challenges related to the care of children with ASD (subthemes included lack of individualized care planning, picking your battles and the impact of ASD on family). Conclusion Strategies extracted from the parent narratives promoted both healthy and unhealthy weight-related behaviors. The key finding in this study is that some parents did not follow HCP guidance when they perceived that the HCP did not understand their particular situation. Practice Implications Implementation of healthy weight-related behaviors can be optimized when providers consider the child\u27s challenging ASD behaviors, affirm the difficulties encountered by the family and provide guidance that builds on the individual child/family strengths

Mobile Device Use Among Rural, Low-Income Families and the Feasibility of an App to Encourage Preschoolers' Physical Activity: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundAs mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous, technology-based interventions provide a promising strategy to positively influence health behaviors of families with young children. However, questions remain about the feasibility and acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile apps in low-income, rural settings and among families with preschoolers.ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to understand the content and context of mobile device use for preschoolers; explore parent beliefs on this topic, including the acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile devices; and test a prototype of an app to encourage preschoolers' physical activity with both parents and children.MethodsParents (n=29) were recruited from 5 preschool centers in eastern, rural Colorado to complete a semistructured telephone interview regarding preschoolers' mobile device use. A second sample of parents (n=31) was recruited from the same preschool centers to view the app prototype independently and provide feedback. A third sample of preschool children (n=24) was videotaped using the app in small groups to measure engagement and record their responses to the app.ResultsFive key content areas emerged from the telephone interviews: (1) mobile devices are an important part of families' everyday routines, and parents have parameters governing their use; (2) parents often use mobile devices as a tool for behavior management; (3) parents clearly distinguish between mobile device use for learning versus entertainment; (4) parents have an overarching desire for balance in regard to their child's mobile device use; and (5) parents were generally supportive of the idea of using mobile apps for intervention delivery. From the app prototype testing with parents, participants reacted positively to the app and felt that it would be useful in a variety of situations. Testing with preschoolers showed the children were highly engaged with the app and a majority remained standing and/or actively moving through the entire length of the app.ConclusionsMobile devices are already integrated into most families' daily routines and appear to be an acceptable method of intervention delivery in low-income families in rural Colorado. The physical activity app represents an innovative way to reach these families and, with further improvements based on participant feedback, will provide children with a unique opportunity to practice key movement skills

The Tasting Party Assessment: Can Educators Reliably Evaluate Preschoolers’ Willingness to Try New Foods in Group Settings?

Food neophobia, defined as an unwillingness to consume novel and unfamiliar foods is common in young children. Assessment of neophobia or willingness to try new foods can be a challenge with this audience. With the increase in nutrition interventions focused on the young child, valid and reliable measures to assess willingness to try new foods that can be administered in groups by classroom teachers and Extension educators are needed. The Food Friends: Fun with New Foods (FWNF) program aims to increase children’s willingness to try new foods in childcare settings. The Tasting Party assessment was developed as the primary tool for measuring the FWNF program’s impact. Construct and face validity were established and inter-observer reliability between two researchers and teachers was obtained. Findings indicate the Tasting Party could reliably be used by classroom teachers to accurately observe tasting behaviors in a group of preschool-aged children. This provides a low-cost, low-burden valid and reliable assessment tool, thus enhancing the scalability and reach of nutrition education programs focused on young children. The Tasting Party is adaptable for use in Extension programs such as the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)

Home-made fish traps reduce the capture of small shannies (Lipophrys pholis) compared to using hand-nets in the UK

A replicated, controlled study in 2011-2012 found that using home-made fish traps reduced the capture of unwanted, small shannies Lipophrys pholis compared to using conventional hand-nets in intertidal habitats

Journal selections: Let’s support our students’ futures

Dietetic educators concur that use of professional journals in the undergraduate curriculum promotes student reading skills, exposes students to current research, enhances computer skills and prepares dietetic students for the real world environment. Those of us in educational institutions are continually asked to review our university library holdings; prioritizing on the basis of department selections, cost, rate of inflation, use by faculty and students and availability through interlibrary loans and other document retrieval procedures. No doubt, those in industry and clinical and private practice are also watching their budgets and are asked to review expenses for professional publications

Reproductive justice and black lives: A concept analysis for public health nursing

Inequities in maternal mortality in the US are a form of structural violence against Black women. The concept of reproductive justice has been employed in the social sciences for almost thirty years, yet nursing has been slow to adopt this concept in promoting maternal-child health. Objective: to analyze the concept of reproductive justice as used in peer-reviewed publications with the aim of reframing black maternal health in public health nursing scholarship, research, practice, and advocacy. Design: We conducted a systematic review of the social science literature. We analyzed selected articles though a principle-based concept analysis focusing on epistemological, pragmatic, linguistic, and logical principles. Sample: 8 articles were selected from a pool of 377. Results: Race was identified as a source of power for understanding reproductive justice through individual knowledge, collective knowledge, and praxis. Pragmatically, reproductive justice is a social justice-oriented platform that bridges the pro-choice/pro-life divide; aids coalition building; and promotes inclusion. Linguistically, the concept is distinct from both reproductive health and reproductive rights. Reproductive justice is logically situated within intersectionality theory and the cumulative embodiment of oppressions Black women experience based on race, class, and gender. Conclusion: Reproductive justice reframes public health nursing actions for Black women by focusing on uncovering systems of oppression, recognizing past historical injustices, and advancing cultural safety in health promotion. Multilevel interventions are needed to simultaneously address these injustices particularly in the areas of preconception health, maternal health, infant and child health, and Black family well-being across the reproductive lifespan

771-3 Direct Characterization of F1ecalnide Binding Rates from Use-Dependent Conduction Delay In Canine Purkinje Fibers

To quantitatively characterize flecainide-induced channel blockade from usedependent conduction delay (CD), 12 canine purkinje fibers were studied using a dual microelectrode technique. During 60 sec of pacing at interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 1.25–0.4 sec with 2μM flecainide (FLEC), incremental CD followed a monoexponential time course, the rates of which were linearly related to the interpulse recovery interval (tr=ISI — action potential duration). Steady state block was an exponential function of the recovery rates. Use-dependent block derived from incremental CD and decremental squared conduction velocity (θ2) was characterized by the forward (k) and reverse (I) rate constants for the activated (a) and resting (r) states:ka (× 106) (mol-1 s-1)la (s-1)kr (× 102) (mol-1 s-1)Ir (s-1)CD7.0±2.612.0±4.40.6±1.74.01±1.63θ210.0±3.414.7±2.52.8±5.73.66±1.40Vmax(prox)6.8±2.315.9±5.05.1±10.34.22±1.11These rates reflect marked open state Na+ channel block and closed channel trapping at resting membrane potentials with FLEC. The addition of 1μM isoproterenol (ISO) to FLEC-superfused fibers reversed the FLEC-induced reduction of θ2 from 1.79±0.7 to 1.89±0.89 (m/s)2 (p=0.017) without changing V˙max. The rate constants for FLEC binding and unbinding were not altered by ISO. Thus FLEC's apparent binding rates can be quantified from its use-{jependent effects on conduction. Both ISO's selective reversal of FLEC effect on θ2 but not V˙max and the absence of changes in the rate constants suggest that the modulation of FLEC effect is due to an alteration in passive membrane properties. These characterizations will facilitate subsequent comparisons of FLEC interactions in pathologic and hyperadrenergic states in vivo