College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos, Peru.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Feb 10;22(1):175. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-07519-z.
Childhood obesity is an urgent worldwide concern associated with increased morbidity in adulthood. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are well placed to influence childhood obesity trends and implement interventions. English-language studies regarding HCPs' perceptions of childhood obesity are limited to high-income countries. Peru is an upper-middle-income country with regional disparities in childhood obesity prevalence. This qualitative study aims to explore HCPs' perceptions of childhood obesity in Iquitos, Peru, where prevalence is relatively low.
Twenty-one HCPs with child healthcare experience were purposively recruited from two primary healthcare centres. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted with a translator and audio recorded. Transcribed data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Eight themes were identified and divided into four categories: (1) HCPs' perceptions and attitudes towards childhood obesity (level of concern regarding childhood obesity, perceived consequences of childhood obesity); (2) Factors which HCPs perceive to be important in the development of childhood obesity (parental factors, contextual factors); (3) HCPs' perceptions of their role in childhood obesity prevention and management (educating parents about childhood obesity, regular monitoring of child growth); and (4) Barriers and facilitators in childhood obesity prevention and management (in healthcare, in schools).
HCPs had a low level of concern regarding childhood obesity in Iquitos and prioritised undernutrition. Parental factors were perceived to be the most influential in the development of childhood obesity. HCPs perceived themselves to have minimal influence due to prevailing positive views of excess weight and difficulties engaging parents. Educating parents about childhood obesity was felt to be essential to prevention and management although regular monitoring of child growth and home healthcare visits were viewed as useful additional measures. This study can help to inform the development of targeted public health strategies which are sensitive to local contexts and could prevent the upward childhood obesity trends evident elsewhere in Peru.
儿童肥胖是一个全球性的紧急问题，与成年后发病率的增加有关。医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）非常适合影响儿童肥胖趋势并实施干预措施。关于 HCPs 对儿童肥胖的看法的英文研究仅限于高收入国家。秘鲁是一个中上收入国家，儿童肥胖症的患病率存在地区差异。这项定性研究旨在探讨秘鲁伊基托斯的 HCPs 对儿童肥胖的看法，那里的患病率相对较低。
从两家初级保健中心有儿童保健经验的 21 名 HCPs 中进行了有针对性的招募。使用翻译进行了半结构化的个人访谈，并进行了音频记录。使用主题分析对转录数据进行了分析。
确定了 8 个主题，并分为四类：（1）HCPs 对儿童肥胖的看法和态度（对儿童肥胖的关注程度，对儿童肥胖的后果的看法）；（2）HCPs 认为对儿童肥胖发展重要的因素（父母因素，背景因素）；（3）HCPs 对其在儿童肥胖预防和管理中的作用的看法（向父母传授儿童肥胖知识，定期监测儿童生长）；以及（4）儿童肥胖预防和管理中的障碍和促进因素（在医疗保健中，在学校）。
伊基托斯的 HCPs 对儿童肥胖的关注度较低，并且优先考虑营养不良。父母因素被认为是儿童肥胖发展的最具影响力的因素。HCPs 认为自己的影响力有限，因为普遍存在对超重的积极看法以及难以与父母接触。尽管定期监测儿童生长和家庭医疗访问被视为有用的附加措施，但认为向父母传授儿童肥胖知识对于预防和管理至关重要。这项研究可以帮助制定针对当地情况的有针对性的公共卫生策略，从而防止秘鲁其他地区明显的儿童肥胖上升趋势。
