Harrison James E, Abayomi Julie, Hassan Shaima, Foweather Lawrence, Maxwell Clare, McCann Deborah, Garbett Sarah, Nugent Maria, Bradbury Daisy, Timpson Hannah, Porcellato Lorna, Judd Marian, Chisholm Anna, Isaac Nabil, Wolfenden Beth, Greenhalgh Amy, Watson Paula M
Physical Activity Exchange, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 2EX, UK.
Faculty of Health Social Care and Medicine, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk L39 4QP, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Jan 21;22(2):137. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22020137.
Despite being well-positioned to promote healthy lifestyles in young children, early years practitioners often face barriers to supporting child weight management. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess the preliminary effectiveness and acceptability of an e-learning toolkit (HealthyWEY) designed to upskill and support multi-agency professionals to promote healthy weight in early childhood. A total of 54 health visitors/community nursery nurses, 38 children's centre staff and 17 other health professionals engaged with the HealthyWEY e-learning, which drew on self-determination theory and consisted of nine modules that were completed over 7-10 weeks. Non-parametric statistical analysis using Wilcoxon's signed-rank tests were used to explore participants' practice-based knowledge, psychological needs satisfaction and motivations for prioritising pre-school child weight from pre- to post-intervention. Focus groups ( = 11) were conducted with a sub-sample of multi-agency professionals ( = 39) to explore the process of implementation across sites, while interviews were also conducted with two parents/carers who took part in consultations with HealthyWEY-trained practitioners. After completing the HealthyWEY e-learning, participants perceived fewer barriers to pre-school child weight management (median change = -0.7; < 0.001), greater autonomy (median change = 0.7, < 0.001), competence (median change = 0.8, < 0.001) and relatedness (median change = 0.4, < 0.001) and a higher autonomous motivation towards promoting healthy weight (median change = 0.3, < 0.001). E-learning was perceived to be highly relevant to participants' roles and congruent with local child weight strategies. Challenges to implementation included time constraints and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for a better user experience were offered by enhancing the toolkit's design and interactivity. Engagement with the HealthyWEY e-learning led to promising changes in perceived barriers and motivational variables. The toolkit was perceived to be acceptable amongst multi-agency workforces, albeit challenging to prioritise within time-pressured health and early years settings.
尽管幼儿期从业者在促进幼儿健康生活方式方面具有有利条件,但他们在支持儿童体重管理方面往往面临障碍。这项混合方法研究旨在评估一个电子学习工具包(HealthyWEY)的初步有效性和可接受性,该工具包旨在提升多机构专业人员的技能,并支持他们在幼儿期促进健康体重。共有54名健康访视员/社区托儿所护士、38名儿童中心工作人员和17名其他健康专业人员参与了HealthyWEY电子学习,该学习借鉴了自我决定理论,由九个模块组成,在7至10周内完成。使用威尔科克森符号秩检验进行非参数统计分析,以探讨参与者在干预前后基于实践的知识、心理需求满意度以及将学前儿童体重作为优先事项的动机。对39名多机构专业人员的子样本进行了11次焦点小组讨论,以探讨各地点的实施过程,同时还采访了两名与接受过HealthyWEY培训的从业者进行咨询的家长/照顾者。完成HealthyWEY电子学习后,参与者认为学前儿童体重管理的障碍减少(中位数变化=-0.7;P<0.001),自主性增强(中位数变化=0.7,P<0.001),能力提高(中位数变化=0.8,P<0.001),关联性增强(中位数变化=0.4,P<0.001),并且促进健康体重的自主动机更高(中位数变化=0.3,P<0.001)。电子学习被认为与参与者的角色高度相关,并且与当地儿童体重策略一致。实施的挑战包括时间限制和与新冠疫情相关的干扰。通过改进工具包的设计和交互性,为获得更好的用户体验提供了建议。参与HealthyWEY电子学习导致在感知障碍和动机变量方面出现了有希望的变化。该工具包在多机构工作人员中被认为是可接受的,尽管在时间紧迫的健康和幼儿环境中难以将其作为优先事项。