School of Health Sciences & Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Health Promot J Austr. 2022 Oct;33 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):163-173. doi: 10.1002/hpja.585. Epub 2022 Mar 17.
Obesity disproportionately impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared to non-Indigenous children. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (AHWs) in Queensland support the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, little is known about their perspectives and practices on addressing childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate AHW perspectives and clinical practice behaviours with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.
In a cross-sectional mixed-methods approach, a purpose-developed online survey (25 items) was distributed to the AHW workforce in Queensland (~100 AHWs). The survey explored [1] role characteristics, [2] current attitudes and beliefs about childhood obesity, [3] barriers to discussing weight management, [4] clinical practice behaviours and [5] demographic characteristics. Eight AHWs responding to the survey also participated in semi-structured telephone interviews to discuss their survey responses.
Fifty-five AHWs responded and 45 completed the survey. While the majority of respondents (91%) agreed that addressing childhood obesity was an important part of their role, fewer (67%) agreed that obesity was an issue in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Over half (55%) found it difficult to discuss overweight and obesity with children and families and only 22.5% reported measuring height and weight often. Key themes included a willingness to address childhood obesity, with experience and training being key enablers to discussing the issue. There was a perceived lack of culturally appropriate programs to support AHWs working with families.
AHWs report a willingness to address childhood obesity within their roles, however many find it difficult to raise the issue with families, with even fewer routinely undertaking obesity assessment practices. SO WHAT?: These findings could inform training initiatives for AHWs to optimise screening, identification, referral, and treatment of childhood obesity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
与非原住民儿童相比，肥胖在原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童中不成比例地产生影响。昆士兰州的原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民卫生工作者（AHWs）支持原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民的健康。然而，对于他们在解决儿童肥胖问题上的观点和实践，我们知之甚少。本研究旨在调查 AHW 对原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童及其家庭的看法和临床实践行为。
采用横断面混合方法，向昆士兰州的 AHW 工作人员（约 100 名 AHW）分发了一份专门开发的在线调查（25 项）。该调查探讨了 [1] 角色特征、[2] 对儿童肥胖的当前态度和信念、[3] 讨论体重管理的障碍、[4] 临床实践行为和 [5] 人口统计学特征。对调查做出回应的 8 名 AHW 还参加了半结构式电话访谈，以讨论他们的调查回应。
55 名 AHW 做出回应，其中 45 名完成了调查。尽管大多数受访者（91%）认为解决儿童肥胖问题是他们角色的重要组成部分，但只有 67%的人认为肥胖是原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民中存在的问题。超过一半（55%）的受访者发现与儿童和家庭讨论超重和肥胖问题很困难，只有 22.5%的受访者经常测量身高和体重。关键主题包括愿意解决儿童肥胖问题，经验和培训是讨论该问题的关键因素。人们认为缺乏支持 AHW 与家庭合作的文化适宜计划。
AHWs 报告在其角色范围内愿意解决儿童肥胖问题，但许多人发现难以与家庭提出这个问题，甚至更少的人经常进行肥胖评估实践。那么，我们该怎么做呢？这些发现可以为 AHW 的培训计划提供信息，以优化在原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民社区中筛查、识别、转介和治疗儿童肥胖的工作。
