Fiona Farringdon

We are all one together: peer educators' views about falls prevention education for community-dwelling older adults - a qualitative study

BackgroundFalls are common in older people. Despite strong evidence for effective falls prevention strategies, there appears to be limited translation of these strategies from research to clinical practice. Use of peers in delivering falls prevention education messages has been proposed to improve uptake of falls prevention strategies and facilitate translation to practice. Volunteer peer educators often deliver educational presentations on falls prevention to community-dwelling older adults. However, research evaluating the effectiveness of peer-led education approaches in falls prevention has been limited and no known study has evaluated such a program from the perspective of peer educators involved in delivering the message. The purpose of this study was to explore peer educators’ perspective about their role in delivering peer-led falls prevention education for community-dwelling older adults.MethodsA two-stage qualitative inductive constant comparative design was used. In stage one (core component) focus group interviews involving a total of eleven participants were conducted. During stage two (supplementary component) semi-structured interviews with two participants were conducted. Data were analysed thematically by two researchers independently. Key themes were identified and findings were displayed in a conceptual framework.ResultsPeer educators were motivated to deliver educational presentations and importantly, to reach an optimal peer connection with their audience. Key themes identified included both personal and organisational factors that impact on educators’ capacity to facilitate their peers’ engagement with the message. Personal factors that facilitated message delivery and engagement included peer-to-peer connection and perceived credibility, while barriers included a reluctance to accept the message that they were at risk of falling by some members in the audience. Organisational factors, including ongoing training for peer educators and formative feedback following presentations, were perceived as essential because they affect successful message delivery.ConclusionsPeer educators have the potential to effectively deliver falls prevention education to older adults and influence acceptance of the message as they possess the peer-to-peer connection that facilitates optimal engagement. There is a need to consider incorporating learnings from this research into a formal large scale evaluation of the effectiveness of the peer education approach in reducing falls in older adults.

The effect of school uniform on incidental physical activity among 10-year-old children

The school setting provides a unique opportunity to promote physical activity in children by ensuring adequate time, appropriate facilities and education guidance is offered. However school uniform design could also limit physical activity. A repeated measures crossover design was used to compare school recess and lunchtime physical activity over four weeks in 64 primary school children (M=10.48 yrs) when wearing winter uniform or sports uniform. Pedometers recorded step counts during each school recess and lunch break. Perception of the level of intensity of physical activity was also measured using a self-report log book. Mixed model analyses found that girls, but not boys, were significantly more active at recess (p=.03), lunch (p=.04) and overall (p=.006) when wearing their sports uniform compared to their winter uniform. School uniform did not impact the boys physical activity levels. Perceived intensity of physical activity increased slightly among both girls and boys. A physically restrictive school uniform has the potential to inhibit physical activity among primary-school-aged girls.

Don't know, don't care or confused: what do Australian adolescents know about Australian Dietary Guidelines?

ABSTRACT Western Australian adolescents are not adhering to the Australian Dietary Guidelines yet little research has considered what adolescents know about the Healthy Living Pyramid (HLP), the recommended daily serves. Four studies assessed nutrition-related knowledge or influences on food preference. Studies one and two investigated adolescents perceptions of healthy and unhealthy food and what influences their food choice by conducting 24 gender-specific focus groups (nu2009=u2009150, 12–16 years). Study three (nu2009=u200928, 13–14 year) assessed the test–retest reliability of a nutrition questionnaire that measured knowledge of the HLP and the recommended daily serves. Study four (nu2009=u200938, 12–16 years) measured changes in HLP knowledge after a six session community-based cooking and food-literacy program. Participants knowledge about discretionary foods and vegetables was high, however, knowledge about intake of the other food groups especially grains was poor. Body image emerged as the strongest influence over food preference with media reinforcing girls desire to be thin and boys desire to be muscular.

In their own words: A qualitative study exploring influences on the food choices of university students

ISSUE ADDRESSEDnUniversity students generally make independent decisions regarding food choices. Current research about knowledge of Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG), sources of nutrition information and influences on food choices for this group is scarce.nnnMETHODSnQualitative data were collected from gender-separated focus groups comprising four female (n = 31) and four male (n = 18) to identify: knowledge of ADG; sources of nutrition information; factors that influence food choices; perceived relevant nutrition messages and how best to deliver them.nnnRESULTSnGaps in knowledge were identified particularly regarding number of serves and serving size for food groups. Social media was the most commonly reported source of knowledge. Social media was also a major influence on food choice due to its impact on body ideals.nnnCONCLUSIONnCurrent health promotion nutrition messages were perceived irrelevant given the focus on long-term health risks. Health and adhering to the ADG were not identified as important. The desire to look a particular way was the major influence on food choices. SO WHAT?: While there is an awareness of ADG, our participants made a deliberate decision not to follow them. This provides a challenge for developing relevant preventive health messages for this target audience.