Hardy Louise L, Hector Debra, Saleh Shay, King Lesley
Physical Activity Nutrition Obesity Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2016 Sep;24(5):e63-71. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12247. Epub 2015 Apr 30.
The home environment is associated with obesity-related behaviours among children, and research in Australia has shown that some of these behaviours are more prevalent among children from particular cultural backgrounds including Middle Eastern. This study presents findings from face-to-face, semi-structured interviews conducted in April 2013 with a convenience sample of Middle Eastern parents of primary school-age children at an Islamic private school in Sydney, Australia. The interviews explored parental perceptions and practices regarding state government health messages addressing children's eating, physical activity and screen time. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the content of these generic public health messages is relevant and acceptable to Middle Eastern parents of young children, and to identify any enablers and barriers to adopting these healthy practices at home. Thematic analysis identified predominant themes. In total, 21 interviews were conducted (reference children: 12 boys/9 girls, aged 5-12 years). The content of current health messages regarding children's weight-related behaviours was familiar to respondents, and accepted as relevant for guiding their parenting practices. Parents perceived that they typically encouraged healthy behaviours, although they also reported making regular exemptions, in response to various circumstances. Overall, the perceptions and reported practices of the parents were consistent with other studies with Australian parents. There were no apparent culturally specific barriers or enablers to children's weight-related behaviours. There is however scope for health promoters to provide more precise information on health recommendations, health risks and benefits, and to provide more specific ideas for ways in which parents can act on these health messages within the home and family environment, to encourage and support healthy behaviours in their children.
家庭环境与儿童肥胖相关行为有关，澳大利亚的研究表明，其中一些行为在包括中东在内的特定文化背景的儿童中更为普遍。本研究呈现了2013年4月对澳大利亚悉尼一所伊斯兰私立学校的小学适龄儿童的中东家长进行的便利抽样面对面半结构化访谈的结果。访谈探讨了家长对州政府关于儿童饮食、身体活动和屏幕时间的健康信息的看法和做法。该研究的目的是调查这些一般性公共卫生信息的内容对幼儿的中东家长是否相关且可接受，并确定在家中采用这些健康做法的促进因素和障碍。主题分析确定了主要主题。总共进行了21次访谈（参考儿童：12名男孩/9名女孩，年龄5至12岁）。受访者熟悉当前关于儿童体重相关行为的健康信息内容，并认为这些信息与指导他们的育儿做法相关。家长们认为他们通常鼓励健康行为，尽管他们也报告说会根据各种情况经常做出例外。总体而言，家长们的看法和报告做法与对澳大利亚家长的其他研究一致。对于儿童体重相关行为，没有明显的文化特定障碍或促进因素。然而，健康促进者有空间提供关于健康建议、健康风险和益处的更精确信息，并提供更具体的想法，说明家长如何在家庭环境中根据这些健康信息采取行动，以鼓励和支持孩子的健康行为。
