Objective: Using the Social Determinants of Health as the study's theoretical underpinning, the authors examined the impact of the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project farmers' market initiatives on changes in awareness and use of farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: During the farmers' market season, the researchers conducted a random digit-dial telephone survey among residents in 3 rural North Carolina counties to examine changes in farmers' market awareness, shopping, and fruit and vegetable consumption. They examined change over 1 year using t tests, chi-square tests, and propensity score matching. Results: In 1 county there were increases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption, and in 1 county there were decreases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusions and Implications: The impact of farmers' market initiatives may be affected by county-specific socioeconomic contexts.

Theories and strategies of social mobilization, capacity building, mass and interpersonal communication, as well as risk communication and behavioral change were used to develop health education and promotion campaigns to decrease and prevent injuries and infectious diseases among the survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008. We evaluated the effectiveness of the campaigns and short-term interventions using mixed-methods. The earthquake survivors’ health knowledge, skills, and practice improved significantly with respect to injury protection, food and water safety, environmental and personal hygiene, and disease prevention. No infectious disease outbreaks were reported after the earthquake, and the epidemic level was lower than before the earthquake. After a short-term intervention among the students of Leigu Township Primary and Junior School, the proportion of those with personal hygiene increased from 59.7% to 98.3% (p < 0.01). Of the sampled survivors from Wenchuan County, 92.3% reported to have improved their health knowledge and 54.9% improved their health practice (p < 0.01). Thus, health education and promotion during public health emergencies such as earthquakes play an important role in preventing injuries and infectious diseases among survivors.

Purpose: To determine the difference of Body Mass Index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and their predictors among residents of different urbanization levels in China. Methods: A stratified, multistage, random cluster sampling method was used to select a representative sample aged 18-60 years in metropolitan, prefecture, and rural areas in 4 provinces and Beijing City in China. A total of 6,159 residents were interviewed. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between urbanization levels and the prevalence of overweight/obesity adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. Findings: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 21.0% and 2.5%, respectively. Compared to metropolitan residents (BMI = 22.76 ± 3.20 kg/m2), rural and prefecture residents had a higher BMI, 23.17 ± 3.49 kg/m2 (P <001) and 23.06 ± 3.31 kg/m2 (P =.004), respectively. Multiple logistic regression showed that, compared to the rural residents, those in prefecture and metropolitan areas were less likely to be overweight and obese (OR = 0.80 [95% CI: 0.68-0.94] and OR = 0.68 [95% CI: 0.57-0.80], respectively). The prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher in males (OR = 1.68 [95% CI: 1.43-1.97]) and patients with noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCD; OR = 2.50 [95% CI: 2.16-2.89]). Less frequency of physical activity was associated with a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity (OR: 0.85, [95% CI: 0.74, 0.97]). Conclusions: The rural population had an increased prevalence of overweight/obesity compared to both the prefecture and metropolitan populations. Male gender, older age, and NCD were positively associated with the prevalence of overweight/obesity. Policies are urgently needed to combat the overweight and obesity challenge in rural China.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Non-communicable diseases (NCD) continue to rise globally, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Low and medium-income countries (LMIC) such as South Africa are the worst affected because of an existing burden of infectious diseases and general poverty in the population. In South Africa, NCDs were responsible for 57.8% of total deaths in 2017, surpassing group 1 diseases (30.7%) that include tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Studies have shown that early detection of NCDs and interventions to reduce NCDs' risk significantly prevent suffering and further loss of lives. Workplace health promotion and healthy university concepts are widely being implemented globally to promote health at workplaces and institutions of higher learning. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of selected non-communicable disease risk factors and to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease among administrative staff at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, using secondary data collected in 2011.

El proyecto fue desarrollado en el distrito de La Molina del departamento de Lima, durante el periodo de mayo a junio en el presente año 2020 en una vivienda habitada por 4 personas de las cuales una actuó como promotor de salud. El proyecto fue realizado durante la pandemia Covid19 o Sars-Cov-2. Al analizar el entorno a través de indicadores de salud, se encontró que el distrito tiene excelentes condiciones, tiene un alto porcentaje de cobertura de necesidades básicas, excelentes cifras de Índice de Desarrollo Humano y bajas tasas de analfabetismo. Se encontró en los involucrados cinco problemas principales relacionados a salud oral, actividad física, calidad de sueño, alimentación y postura en el trabajo, algunas de estas, causadas por el confinamiento obligatorio, forzándolos a cambiar su estilo de vida y trabajo. Mediante diversas actividades educativas y de monitoreo se logró tener un impacto positivo en todos los involucrados, logrando el 100% de cobertura y eficacia, así como la asistencia a todas las actividades. Se observo un incremento en el conocimiento y una mejora en los hábitos de los miembros del entorno familiar. Los resultados fueron evaluados a través de indicadores y representados en gráficos. / The project was developed in La Molina, a district located in Lima, Peru from May to June of the current year in a 4-person household. One of which acted as the health promotor. This project was executed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. District´s condition was found in excellent conditions when it was studied, with very low deficiencies in basic needs and analphabetism. Also, it had the best Human Development Index (HDI) in the country. There were 5 key problems detected amongst the people involved related to oral health, sports, sleep quality, nutrition and ergonomics in the work environment; some of this caused by the mandatory confinement related to the virus, forcing the people involved to change their work and lifestyle. Changes in these problems were reached by using different activities focused on teaching and monitoring, obtaining 100% attendance, coverage and efficacy. An increase of knowledge and improvement of habits is displayed on the graphs as well. / Trabajo de investigación

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophiae in psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2006. / It is widely documented that institutionalised children represent a vulnerable sector of the population as they carry a high risk for the development of psychological problems. Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the use of exercise as a medium for mental health promotion. Various studies have provided evidence that exercise improves general health, quality of life, mood, subjective well-being, self esteem, self perception and other attributes which influence mental health positively. However, there is little research done in the South African context with specific emphasis on children. It was against this backdrop that an investigation into the use of exercise as a medium of mental health promotion among institutionalised children was conducted. This study was contextualised within the community psychological model of mental health promotion with mental health being conceptualised as a subset of physical activities aimed at improving health and well-being. A quasi-experimental control group research design, with pre and post testing on self report measures of physical self-perception, depression and paediatric symptoms, was used to investigate the effectiveness of physical exercise as a medium for mental health promotion among institutionalised children in local children's homes. Focus groups were held with children and caregivers to obtain qualitative data. The exercise intervention was associated with significant improvements in the physical self-perception of the children and caretakers' ratings of children's behaviour. These findings provide a compelling argument for the value of exercise in the promotion of mental health in children's homes. / National Research Foundation

The centrality of the church in African American communities makes it a culturally compelling sponsor for health promotion activities targeting health disparities among the medically underserved. Pastoral support is critical in determining whether a church initiates or supports a health promotion agenda, but there is little understanding of the variables that influence this decision. The aim of the qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of African American pastors regarding the decision to incorporate health promotion programs in their churches. This study was guided by the health belief model using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected using both semi-structured and open-ended interviews. Ten pastors of North Carolina African American churches, with and without health promotion ministries, were recruited for the study. Eight pastors agreed to participate in the study. They were interviewed, and interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were open coded and analyzed. NVivo 11 was used to manage the data. Five themes emerged from the study: the importance of health promotion, pastor support of a health promotion program, pastor influence on individuals in the congregation, the health status of church members, and barriers and facilitators. Positive social change may be realized by using this information to increase the effectiveness of culturally sensitive health information and developing health education programs that specifically target the African American faith community. Information from this research could help guide public health agencies on how to approach health programming in this specific area and for this population.

Background One central task within nursing is health promotion, which can be done at different levels. Primary prevention aims to promote health and protect against illness by preventing problems before they occur. HIV is still a worldwide issue, yet Ethiopia is one country where efforts at preventing the spread of the virus have had positive results. Aim This study aimed to describe how nurses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, work with primary prevention to minimise the spread of HIV. Method The study was conducted as a qualitative field study at a hospital in Addis Ababa. Semi-structured interviews were held with seven nurses at four different units. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Result The nurses mentioned various efforts of preventing HIV, where the main findings describe the different hands-on methods at their unit as well as the nurses’ frequent work with health education and information. An additional finding outlines the setting in which the nurses carry out their preventive work. Conclusion In conclusion, the nurses worked in a variety of ways to prevent the spread of the virus to themselves and to their patients. Screening was an important effort to minimise the exposure to other non-infected individuals. Health education and information were quoted by the majority of the nurses, but it was impacted by the awareness that the patients already exhibited. The findings show the multitude of efforts attempted at all units, which highlight the significant presence and value of health promotion within nursing.

This dissertation presents knowledge translation processes regarding the Do-Live-Well (DLW) framework for Canadian occupational therapists (OTs) and consists of five chapters. The first chapter explains why this DLW educational research was needed and provides a description of the theoretical frameworks used in the DLW educational project, including knowledge translation, program evaluation, and adult education frameworks. In chapter 2, I described the process of developing the equivalent online and in-person educational workshops that were evidence- and theory-based. Three phases were undertaken to develop the DLW workshops: (1) understand DLW training needs, (2) develop educational content and apply the problem-based learning approach, and (3) conduct a usability test of the online workshop website. The findings from each phase were used in DLW online and in-person workshops. In chapter 3, findings of a mixed-methods study are presented. The study was designed to (1) compare the effectiveness of online education with in-person learning regarding the DLW framework for Canadian OTs and (2) further explore workshop participants’ experience in both learning formats. While there were no statistically significant differences in knowledge gained, the in-person group was more satisfied with their learning. Participants in both groups valued the importance of personal interactions in learning; the online learners said online learning did not provide the same quality of in-person interactions that in-person education provided. In chapter 4, I explored workshop participants’ experiences of using the DLW framework in practice three months after DLW workshops by asking about benefits, facilitators, and barriers of using the DLW framework in practice. Participants valued the importance of the DLW framework, but there were challenges of using the DLW framework, associated with structural, organizational, provider, innovation, and patient factors. In chapter 5, the contributions of the DLW educational project are discussed by providing insights related to knowledge translation using Knowledge-To-Action cycle. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The purpose of this dissertation is to present the processes of how knowledge about the Do Live Well (DLW) framework, a Canadian health promotion approach, has been disseminated and applied in Canadian occupational therapy practice. This dissertation presented three major contributions: (a) It describes the detailed processes of developing theory- and evidence-based educational workshops regarding the DLW framework for Canadian occupational therapists (OTs) that could be replicable in continuing education for health care professionals. (b) It compares the effectiveness of an online DLW workshop compared to a traditional in-person DLW workshop for Canadian OTs and explores learners’ experiences in participating in the two different educational workshops. (c) It offers an understanding of workshop participants’ experiences and perspectives on the use of the DLW framework in practice after they completed the workshops.

INTRODUCTION: Worksite health promotion programs (WHPP) promote maintenance and changes of health-related behaviors of employees. Some companies opt to contract with a third party provider to implement a WHPP. PURPOSE: This study evaluated the participation rates, availability and use of health coaching, and changes in biometric data over a 2-year time period of employees in 13 companies for whom the WHPP was implemented by Wellness Corporate Solutions (WCS). METHODS: We had 2 years of biometric, health risk appraisal (HRA), or health coaching data on 4,473 employees. The statistical analysis included biometric screening data (percent body fat, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), high- and low-density lipoproteins (HDL-C, LDL-C), TC/HDL ratio, triglycerides, glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP)) from all 13 companies and health coaching data from five companies. RESULTS: Employee participation rates of the 13 companies ranged from 35% to 75%. Five of the 13 companies provided voluntary telephonic health coaching to employees participating in their WHPPs. Of those employees for which we had 2-year data, 125 (12.9%) actually participated in health coaching. Only one of the 13 companies demonstrated improvement in all 10 biometric measurements and 1 company demonstrated improvement in only one biometric measurement. The biometric measurements that showed the greatest improvements over time were triglycerides, blood pressure, BMI, and TC. There was no association found between the number of variables that improved and employee participation rate (p = 0.8814) or the type of incentives offered to employees (p = 0.1389). Availability and use of health coaching did not appear to affect the number of variables that improved. Compared to employees who did not use health coaching, there were significantly greater changes in DBP, HDL-C, and BMI (p < 0.05) in employees who used health coaching. The magnitude of change in variables of interest was dependent, in part, on the baseline value. CONCLUSIONS: Voluntary participation in WHPPs results in positive changes in health-related biometric variables. Health coaching can positively affect the magnitude of change in some biometric variables and the magnitude of change is likely related to the baseline value and the frequency of coaching interactions. Further research should evaluate the benefits of various forms and frequencies of health coaching. Worksite health promotion programs and health coaching may also have a positive impact on other variables (e.g., employee attitudes and morale) not addressed in this study.