The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
School of Education, Western Sydney University, Kingswood, NSW, Australia.
Front Public Health. 2024 Aug 6;12:1401806. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1401806. eCollection 2024.
Parents have the potential to drive healthy lifestyle behaviors through educational initiatives. This study aims to understand the prevalent thoughts and perceptions parents have toward brain health educational programs for preschool and primary school settings, whilst also contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the role parents can play in the broader context of dementia reduction strategies and the cultivation of brain health awareness among children.
Parents with children aged between 2 and 11 years old were interviewed about their current knowledge of dementia, prior beliefs, current lifestyle factors and opinions on educating their children from a young age on the topic of dementia literacy. Thematic deductive analysis was employed to systematically categorize and interpret the qualitative data obtained from these interviews.
Thirty parents ( = 38.6, SD = 4.9, Range = 32-48) identified three core themes on (e.g., conceptualizing the link between intellectual engagement, continuous learning, and the prevention of cognitive decline), (e.g., current knowledge and awareness of brain health, dementia and associated stigma, and provision of age-appropriate health literacy) and (i.e., barriers to initiating conversations about dementia with children and strategies to address and alleviate parental concerns). Parents possessing prior knowledge of dementia and its modifiable risk factors exhibited greater propensity to educate their children on the associated risk factors.
Our study highlights the vital influence of parents' experiences, health literacy, and education on the acceptance of brain health education for children. Future interventions should target stigma reduction, enhance awareness, and offer accessible information on modifiable dementia risk factors, enabling a conducive environment for active parental involvement in educating children about brain health and contributing to future well-being.
父母有潜力通过教育举措推动健康的生活方式行为。本研究旨在了解父母对学前和小学阶段脑健康教育计划的普遍看法和认知，同时深入了解父母在更广泛的痴呆症预防策略和儿童脑健康意识培养中所扮演的角色。
对有 2 至 11 岁孩子的父母进行了关于痴呆症的当前知识、先入为主的观念、当前生活方式因素以及从幼儿开始就对儿童进行痴呆症素养教育的看法的访谈。采用主题演绎分析法对从这些访谈中获得的定性数据进行系统分类和解释。
30 位父母（M=38.6，SD=4.9，范围 32-48）确定了三个核心主题，即（例如，将智力投入、持续学习和预防认知能力下降联系起来）、（例如，对脑健康、痴呆症和相关耻辱感以及提供适合年龄的健康素养的当前知识和意识）和（即与儿童就痴呆症展开对话的障碍以及解决和减轻父母担忧的策略）。对痴呆症及其可改变风险因素有先验知识的父母更倾向于对孩子进行相关风险因素的教育。
我们的研究强调了父母的经验、健康素养和教育对儿童脑健康教育接受程度的重要影响。未来的干预措施应针对减少耻辱感、提高意识，并提供有关可改变的痴呆症风险因素的可及信息，为父母积极参与儿童脑健康教育创造有利环境，为未来的福祉做出贡献。
