Counseling Parents About Child Feeding: a Qualitative Evaluation of French Healthcare and Childcare Professionals’ Experiences and Their Perception of a Brochure Containing New Recommendations

Background: Parents are crucial in establishing their children's eating habits, and healthcare (HCPs) and childcare professionals (CCPs) can provide meaningful and trusted guidance on feeding, especially in the 0-3-year-old period. With the upcoming release of the official brochure containing the new child feeding recommendations in France, this study aims to: 1) assess professionals’ practices and perceptions regarding their communication with parents on child feeding and 2) evaluate their impressions of the new brochure.Methods: A 15-page brochure containing updated child feeding recommendations for children 0-3 years old was developed by the French public health agency. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals (n=21), including 13 pediatricians and general practitioners (HCPs), nine childcare assistants or professionals (CCPs) two weeks after they were provided with this brochure to read. The interview guide was developed and piloted with other professionals (n=3) prior to these interviews. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using an inductive approach.Results: While HCPs and CCPs mostly communicate orally with parents, both acknowledged that the brochure might be a helpful supplement, especially for CCPs to legitimize their advice to parents. For HCPs, giving the brochure to parents may help provide systematic advice and save time during consultations. Professionals serving parents of lower socioeconomic status would prefer a supplement with less text and more illustrations. In general, the messages were perceived to be easily understandable but providing detachable cards to distribute according to the child’s age would facilitate information dissemination and might be more useful to parents. Professionals reported that lack of training, the circulation of contradictory information, and language barriers were common challenges. Professionals suggested that short texts with more references and visual aids could improve the brochure.Conclusions: French professionals welcome the new official brochure as a means to spread updated child feeding recommendations, but it could be modified to be better adapted to their needs of communication with parents and to facilitate the relay of information. Providing updated and consistent information to parents should be considered a priority for public health stakeholders toward increased adherence to new recommendations

Qualitative Evaluation, with French Healthcare and Childcare Professionals, of a Brochure Containing the Latest Official Child Feeding Recommendations to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

Meeting abstract number 4 in the 30. Annual Congress of European Chilhood Obesity Group (ECOG), 2021/11/10-13, Budapest (Hungary)

Qualitative evaluation, with French healthcare and childcare professionals, of a brochure containing the latest official child feeding recommendations to help prevent childhood obesity

International audienc

Counseling parents about child feeding: a qualitative evaluation of French doctors and health/childcare professionals' experiences and perception of a brochure containing new recommendations

International audienceBackground: Parents are crucial in establishing their children's eating habits, and doctors and health/childcare professionals (HCCPs) can provide meaningful and trusted guidance on feeding, especially in the 0-3-year-old period. With the upcoming release of the official brochure containing the new child feeding recommendations in France, this study aims to: (1) assess professionals' practices and perceptions regarding their communication with parents on child feeding and (2) evaluate their perception of the draft of the new brochure. Methods: A 15-page draft brochure (without pictures) containing updated child feeding recommendations for children 0-3 years old was developed by Sante publique France (the French public health agency). Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals (n = 21), including 13 pediatricians and general practitioners (doctors) and eight healthcare or childcare professionals (HCCPs) two weeks after they were provided with this draft brochure to read. The interview guide was developed and piloted with other professionals (n = 3) prior to these interviews. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using an inductive approach. Results: While doctors and HCCPs mostly communicate orally with parents, both acknowledged that the brochure might be a helpful supplement, especially for HCCPs to legitimize their advice to parents. For doctors, giving the brochure to parents may help provide systematic advice and save time during consultations. Professionals serving parents of lower socioeconomic status would prefer a supplement with less text and more illustrations. In general, the messages were perceived to be easily understandable but providing detachable cards to distribute according to the child's age would facilitate information dissemination and might be more useful to parents. Professionals reported that lack of training, the circulation of contradictory information, and language barriers were common challenges. Conclusion: French professionals welcomed the new official brochure as a means to spread updated child feeding recommendations. However, this brochure could be modified and specific tools developed to better adapt to professionals' needs of communication with parents and to facilitate the relay of information. Providing updated and consistent information to parents should be considered a priority for public health stakeholders toward increased adherence to new recommendations

A web-based and mobile intervention with brochure support providing complementary feeding guidelines to first-time parents in France: Randomized Controlled Trial (NutrienT trial)

International audiencePurpose: In light of the latest epidemiological and nutritional knowledge and scientific evidence supporting responsive feeding, the French feeding guidelines for 0-3 years were recently updated and nationally disseminated through a brochure and media campaign by Santé publique France. Moreover, smartphone apps become increasingly popular and is likely relevant to provide timely information across development to inform parents about child feeding practices but their effect is seldom evaluated. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to investigate whether the provision of guidelines through an app and a brochure (vs. brochure alone, usual service) results in healthier parental feeding practices, infant's eating behaviours and body mass index (BMI). Methods: This double-blinded monocentric 2-arm trial is conducted among first-time parents living in the area of Dijon (France) and recruited in a maternity ward. A smartphone app was developed by INRAE for the outcome evaluation and for the timely distribution of the new guidelines content: from child age 3 to 36 months, 106 age-adapted messages with dietary recommendations, educational advice, recipes and tips provided in the form of short texts and videos (intervention group only), and 36 generic messages (both groups). The primary outcome is the BMI z-score at 36 months of age. Secondary outcome measures include online parents' reports and behavioural assessments (experimental meals) of parental feeding practices and infant eating behaviours from inclusion to 36 months of age. Analyses of covariance on these outcomes will assess the effect of the intervention. Mediation and moderation analyses will explore, respectively, the mechanisms of action of the intervention and the potential moderating effect of socioeconomic, parental (attitudes and beliefs about child feeding) and infants' (general temperament) factors. Sample size was determined to be n=118 in each arm, plus 20% to compensate for potential attrition.Results/findings: The first participants were enrolled in March 2022 and the recruitment is ongoing (n=110 were included on February 2023). Conclusions: This is the first French RCT to assess a digital intervention targeted to first-time parents to improve feeding practices and child growth. The app may represent a potential stand-alone communication tool to complement those already disseminated to the general population

The risk of COVID-19 death is much greater and age dependent with type I IFN autoantibodies

International audienceSignificance There is growing evidence that preexisting autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) are strong determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. It is important to estimate their quantitative impact on COVID-19 mortality upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, by age and sex, as both the prevalence of these autoantibodies and the risk of COVID-19 death increase with age and are higher in men. Using an unvaccinated sample of 1,261 deceased patients and 34,159 individuals from the general population, we found that autoantibodies against type I IFNs strongly increased the SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate at all ages, in both men and women. Autoantibodies against type I IFNs are strong and common predictors of life-threatening COVID-19. Testing for these autoantibodies should be considered in the general population

The risk of COVID-19 death is much greater and age dependent with type I IFN autoantibodies

International audienceSignificance There is growing evidence that preexisting autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) are strong determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. It is important to estimate their quantitative impact on COVID-19 mortality upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, by age and sex, as both the prevalence of these autoantibodies and the risk of COVID-19 death increase with age and are higher in men. Using an unvaccinated sample of 1,261 deceased patients and 34,159 individuals from the general population, we found that autoantibodies against type I IFNs strongly increased the SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate at all ages, in both men and women. Autoantibodies against type I IFNs are strong and common predictors of life-threatening COVID-19. Testing for these autoantibodies should be considered in the general population