Health Education Journal

Children’s participation in cooking activities at home may have positive effects on diet quality. In Japan, schools are the primary site for food education, which includes cooking. Very few studies have assessed the impact of school-based cooking programmes on children’s participation in cooking activities at home.

The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the cooking programme on children’s participation in cooking at home and their self-efficacy and attitudes towards cooking.

Quasi-experimental study with an intervention and a comparison group. Outcomes were measured using pre- and post-programme surveys.

Two public elementary schools (A, B) in Tokyo, Japan.

One hundred-seventy children in the third and fourth grades at School A (intervention group) and 142 children at School B (comparison group) completed pre- and post-programme surveys. Students in the intervention school received three 45-minute cooking lessons, including two lessons that focused on peeling apples and one hands-on cooking experience. The main outcome measures were participation in cooking at home, attitudes towards cooking, and self-efficacy with respect to cooking and peeling apples.

The number of children participating in cooking-at-home activities increased in the intervention group (p = .005). Children who started cooking at home during the intervention period improved their cooking self-efficacy (p = .012) and attitudes towards cooking (p = .002).

Implementation of a short-duration cooking programme focused on improving children’s cooking attitudes, and self-efficacy can encourage participation in cooking activities at home.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of nutrition education programme using the Convenient, Attractive, Normative (CAN) framework to facilitate changes in mindset, attitudes and behaviours towards food among high-school male baseball players.

Quasi-experimental design.

Two public high schools in Osaka, Japan.

Students in two high schools (mean age ± SD, 16.6 ± .5 years) participated in the study. One school served as an intervention group (n = 28) and received the CAN nutrition education programme. The other school served as a control group (n = 22), and students within it did not receive the intervention. Students in the intervention group received three nutrition lecture sessions and face-to-face individual nutritional guidance over a 4 month intervention period. Before and after the intervention, all students were asked to record their food and beverage intake by taking food pictures, recording portion weights and sending these to the project dietitian. They were also asked to develop a dietary behaviour plan for meeting their goals. At the end of the intervention, they were asked about their experiences.

Students in the intervention improved their food intake, dietary balance and athletic performance. Bat swing speed was significantly faster following the intervention. Body weight increased without changing lean body mass in both groups.

Results suggest that a CAN nutrition education programme may be effective in increasing motivation and promote dietary behaviour change among male adolescent athletes. Future interventions should examine these motivational processes and investigate the factors contributing to well-balanced meals.

Anaemia is a health problem for adolescents in India. This paper examines the nuanced transformations triggered by a multi-pronged, community-based anaemia intervention with adolescents and their families, seeking meaningful insights for future nutrition and anaemia programmes.

Qualitative study rooted in critical theory.

Three slum communities – Dharavi and Kandivali (in Mumbai) and Kalwa (in Thane) in Maharashtra, India.

Data were collected through focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews with young people, parents and other stakeholders. Content analysis of drawings of a nutritious food plate by participants supplemented discussion and interview data. Thematic analysis was undertaken manually using a grounded theory approach.

Nutrition education with adolescents and parents led to reduced junk food consumption although reinforcement of the information provided was necessary to sustain the change. Parental support was a crucial factor in ensuring anaemia treatment compliance but was affected by a lack of awareness regarding the consequences of anaemia and the nutritional requirements of anaemic adolescents. Other factors, including the pampering of boys, the neglect of girls and the heavy workload of mothers influenced treatment compliance. Awareness and agency among adolescents contributed to a supportive environment in terms of raised consciousness and better sanitation within families and the community.

Findings highlight the need for a holistic approach to address anaemia among young people. While nutrition and health education are important to address treatment noncompliance, this approach should also focus on factors such as socioeconomic status, gender equity, health prioritisation, family involvement and engaging young people as agents of change to promote an enabling environment.

In Onondaga County, New York, around half of all births to Black and Hispanic teenage girls are unintended. The Layla’s Got You campaign consists of a chatbot and social media campaign designed to increase contraception knowledge among 16- to 25-year-old Black and Hispanic women in Onondaga County.

The campaign was co-created with local women in the target audience and employed digital and grassroots community building strategies. Focus groups were conducted among 31 women, during which participants selected the campaign’s logo and chatbot name and created the tagline. Participants reviewed chatbot responses and designed Layla’s appearance and features, and Black/Hispanic women are featured in website and promotional photos. A community campaign manager pairs digital strategies with grassroots partnerships among a diverse group of stakeholders, including social media influencers, hair salons and health clinics.

Since implementation, the chatbot has received 4,390 messages related to contraception or sexual health. Across social media accounts, the campaign has showed 2,483,683 impressions, average daily reach of 1,710 for Facebook and 943 for Instagram, and 32,816 total engagements across all platforms.

Layla’s Got You provides young women with a confidential place in which to find locally tailored and trustworthy information about contraception. By merging innovative technology-driven strategies, participatory creation techniques and grassroots community building, the initiative delivers impactful, easily updated health information on a large scale. This strategy has promising implications for increasing knowledge and positive attitudes towards contraception among specific at-risk audiences.

This study aimed to develop an animation-supported Mobile Diabetic Foot Care Education (M-DFCE) application for use by individuals with type 2 diabetes and identify its effects on knowledge, self-efficacy and foot care behaviour.

Randomised, controlled experimental study.

The study was carried out between October 2016 and September 2017. The sample consisted of 130 individuals with diabetes (65 in the experimental group and 65 in the control group). The experimental group received M-DFCE. Data were collected using the Patient Assessment Form, the Diabetes Foot Knowledge Questionnaire, the Diabetic Foot Care Self-Efficacy Scale and the Foot Self-Care Behaviour Scale. Differences between the groups were examined using Student’s t, Mann–Whitney U, Wilcoxon Signed Rank and Paired Sample tests.

Although there was no difference between the groups at initial evaluation, individuals in the experimental group who received animation-supported M-DFCE had significantly higher knowledge, self-efficacy and foot care behaviour levels than the control group.

The animation-supported mobile application developed for foot care education was effective in increasing the individuals’ knowledge, self-efficacy and behaviour with respect to foot care.

Military retirement happens early in the lifespan presenting a unique transition that challenges chronic illness. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that military retirees experience as they transition from active duty to military retirement that they perceive as inhibiting their ability to manage type 2 diabetes (T2DM) or pre-diabetes (preDM) and/or which increase their disease risk.

Twenty veterans diagnosed with T2DM or preDM participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews in a private setting at their primary care clinic. Transcripts were analysed using constant comparative method. Participants were aged 44 to 63 (M = 56), with 15 diagnosed with T2DM and 5 as preDM. They had been retired from the military 6 to 22 years (M = 14 years).

Participants linked five inter-related challenging factors to their T2DM/preDM diagnosis (when diagnosed post-retirement) and/or to their inability to manage their disease: (1) diet/eating habits, (2) physical activity, (3) weight fluctuation, (4) health care interactions and (5) systematic barriers. Military retirees’ experiences were embedded within a ‘cultural shift’. They struggled to maintain self-management behaviours once they were no longer on active duty and had more independence as civilians.

Results provide support for diabetes education during military retirement. Military retirees need help maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours beyond the structured, health-focused military culture. They could also benefit from patient–provider communication skills training in navigating systematic barriers and attaining the support needed to manage their disease.

Acceptance and adjustment to lifelong noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a great challenge for individuals living with these conditions. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent NCDs, with type 1 diabetes usually diagnosed during childhood. Self-leadership is linked to internal and external factors that may motivate individuals with NCDs to play an active role as changemakers in their community or society. The Young Leaders in Diabetes (YLD) training, created to equip young people with skills that would benefit the population to which they belong, uses the Empowerment Ladder as a framework to identify their position relative to three leadership stages (self, community and society).

To describe the stages and the ‘climbing’ process of the Empowerment Ladder and assess its suitability as a framework for use in a leadership training context.

From among 29 youth leaders who participated, 15 were selected (5 men and 10 women) and had their community engagement and activity analysed before and after training. Individuals were positioned on the Empowerment Ladder according to their past and current roles and activities. The difference between pre- and post-training test grades (delta scores) was calculated.

Post-training scores were significantly higher than pre-training scores (8.9 ± 0.54 vs 7.6 ± 1.08, p = .00084). Most individuals moved to a higher step on the Empowerment Ladder; however, three individuals, with delta scores lower than the median (0.1, 0.15 and 0.85) remained at their pre-YLD training level. Only one individual moved from Stage 1 (self) to Stage 3 (society). Another individual occupied two different steps at Stages 1 and 2 simultaneously because, although they demonstrated community leadership, they had not yet accepted their own health condition.

The Empowerment Ladder proved a useful tool for identifying stages from self to broader levels of leadership in individuals living with type 1 diabetes. These initial findings need to be validated with a larger population, which includes other NCD groups.

The under-utilisation of mental health services by populations because of inadequate mental health education by community leaders and the public is of concern. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of brief 1-day workshops in educating the public about mental health.

Quantitative pre–post evaluation.

Community-based mental health workshops in urban Jamaica.

A survey on awareness of mental health resources was completed by 39 community leaders. In addition, 204 participants, who attended three 1-day public educational workshops, anonymously completed evaluations of workshop objectives including met expectations, stimulated learning, and workshop strengths and weaknesses. Of these participants, 157 completed pre–post workshop evaluations to identify subjective improvements in knowledge and competency.

Almost 60% of community leaders reported being in regular contact with persons who expressed poor emotional well-being, but typically only referred 25%–30% for mental health counselling. The workshops on mental health education, facilitated by faith-based organisations, were well subscribed by the public and most participants rated them favourably. Significantly more participants reported satisfaction with the workshops on Parenting Practices compared to Workplace Wellness (p < .05). Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests revealed higher mean scores overall on post-workshop evaluation indicating gain in knowledge and competency; mean pre-test score, 3.26 (0.77), and post-test, 4.38 (0.48), p < .000.

One-day mental health education workshops met public expectations and resulted in subjective gains in knowledge and competency. Research is needed to clarify the specific benefits of using public education workshops supported by faith-based organisations to promote mental health.

The Healthy Environment Project (HEP) was designed to improve familiarity with attitudes, confidence and knowledge related to health-promoting best practices, as well as the implementation of health-promoting policy, system and environment best practice change in diverse early childhood education settings.

Pre–post study design to assess the outcomes of the HEP intervention.

Early childhood education providers representing 14 centres (n = 117) and 30 homes (n = 30) in Colorado, USA.

The Policy, System and Environment Change Process, which is an evidence-based strategic planning process based on intervention mapping, was facilitated in a professional development training format in 44 early childhood education settings.

Pre–post survey data (n = 125) suggest that early childhood education providers’ familiarity with, knowledge of, and confidence related to the implementation of health-promoting policy, system and environment change significantly increased after the professional development training (p < .05). No significant differences in these individual-level constructs were found between centre-based and home-based providers. The HEP also resulted in significant changes in environmental-level constructs; 154 total health-promoting changes (averaging 3.5 changes/setting) were implemented in 44 early childhood education settings.

Facilitation of a strategic planning process in a professional development training format resulted in improvements in individual- and environmental-level constructs related to healthy eating and physical activity behaviours and provides a novel way to foster sustainable health-promoting environments in early childhood education centres and homes.

Sport is an important source of physical, social and emotional health and well-being among children. Sports participation at school may provide young people with the opportunity to build interpersonal skills and develop supportive social relationships with peers and adults, which may translate to positive experiences during the school day. School climate represents the relationships, values and beliefs within a school system and is associated with positive social, emotional and psychological health outcomes. This research examines the influence of social relationships developed during an after-school sports programme on indicators of school climate.

Students in grades 4–8 (n = 230) at a school in Phoenix (Arizona) completed an online survey to measure perceptions of peer and coach relationships in after-school sports and indicators of school climate in the form of engagement with students, teachers and the school itself and perceptions of the school environment. Associations between sports relationships and school engagement and environment were examined through structural equation modelling (SEM).

Feeling coaches care about players and feeling like part of a team were positively associated with reported levels of school engagement. Feeling like other students shared similar values during sports, feeling a sense of belonging and feeling that coaches cared were associated with positive perceptions of school environment.

Participation in an after-school sports programme can provide an opportunity for young people to develop positive social relationships with peers and coaches which may contribute to positive perceptions of the learning environment and student engagement during the school day. Findings support efforts to increase opportunities and accessibility to sports during the school day.