Exploring parent-reported barriers to supporting their child’s health behaviors: a cross-sectional study

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Research

Jocelyn W. Jarvis¹  Daniel W. Harrington²  Heather Manson³ 

[1] Department of Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, 480 University Avenue, Suite 300, M5G 1V2, Toronto, ON, Canada;Department of Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, 480 University Avenue, Suite 300, M5G 1V2, Toronto, ON, Canada;School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada;Department of Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, 480 University Avenue, Suite 300, M5G 1V2, Toronto, ON, Canada;School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada;Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th floor, M5T 3M7, Toronto, ON, Canada;

关键词: Parental support behaviors;    Barriers;    Child physical activity;    Child recreational screen time;    Child healthy eating;    Child sleep;    Health promotion;    Social-ecological framework;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12966-017-0508-9

 received in 2016-12-08, accepted in 2017-04-07,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundParents can influence the health behaviors of their children by engaging in supportive behaviors (e.g., playing outside with their child, limiting recreational screen time). How, and the extent to which parents engage in supportive behaviors may be influenced by perceived barriers. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the frequency, and types, of barriers to providing parental support are dependent on the type of child health behavior being supported (i.e., physical activity, recreational screen time reduction, healthy eating, and sleep).MethodsStudy participants were 1140 Ontario parents with at least one child under the age of 18 who completed a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) survey about parental support behaviors. Open-ended responses about perceived barriers to parental support were coded, and aggregated to meta-categories adopted from the social-ecological model (i.e., individual child, individual parent, interpersonal, environmental). Freidman rank sum tests were used to assess differences across child behaviors. Wilcoxon rank sum tests with Bonferroni adjustments were used as a post hoc test for significant Freidman results.ResultsThere were more barriers reported for supporting physical activity than for any other child behavior (ps < .01, As ≥ .53). Parents reported more parent level and environmental level barriers to supporting child physical activity versus other behaviors (ps < .001, As ≥ .55), child level barriers were more frequently reported for supporting healthy eating and sleep (ps < .001, As ≥ .57), and interpersonal barriers were more frequently reported for supporting recreational screen time reduction (ps < .001, As ≥ .52). Overall, parents reported more child and parent level barriers versus interpersonal and environmental barriers to supporting child health.ConclusionsParents experience a variety of barriers to supporting their children’s health behaviors. Differences in types of barriers across child health behaviors emerged; however, some frequently reported barriers (e.g., child preferences) were common across behaviors. Interventions promoting parental support should consider strategies that can accommodate parents’ busy schedules, and relate to activities that children find enjoyable. Creating supportive environments that help facilitate support behaviors, while minimizing parent level barriers, may be of particular benefit. Future research should explore the impact of barriers on parental support behaviors, and effective strategies for overcoming common barriers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Queen’s Printer for Ontario. 2017