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No / The objective of this study was to design, implement and evaluate an intervention based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to enhance young peoples' motivations to breastfeed/support a partner to breastfeed. Six semi-structured focus groups were first conducted with 48 13–14-year-olds from two schools in Northern Ireland. The salient beliefs elicited were subsequently used to design a TPB-based questionnaire that was then administered to 2021 13–14-year-old pupils (852 males; 1169 females) from 36 post-primary schools to identify the most important determinants of breastfeeding. The results were used to inform the design and implementation of an intervention package that was subsequently evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 44 randomly selected schools across Northern Ireland. Questionnaires were administered to 18 intervention and 26 control schools at baseline and again at 1 and 6 months post-intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. Multi-level modelling was employed to analyse the data. The results revealed significant effects on women's intention to breastfeed, β = 0.208, t(1275) = 2.715, P = 0.007; attitudes, β = 0.223, t(1275) = 4.655, P < 0.001; moral attitudes, β = 0.231, t(1275) = 4.211, P < 0.001; subjective norm, β = 0.118, t(1275) = 2.521, P = 0.012; and knowledge, β = 0.109, d.f. (1275) = 7.843, P < 0.001. However, for men, the results revealed significant effects on only the construct of knowledge, β = 0.104, t(541) = 4.345, P < 0.001.The research has provided evidence to support the need for breastfeeding education in schools and has shown how a theoretical framework may be used to inform the design and evaluation of a health behaviour intervention. / Research and Development Office of Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Research and Development Office. Grant Number: RSG/2584/03RRG3.33

A large-scale intervention, designed to increase healthier fast-food consumption, was evaluated at a national fast-food chain. Participants included fast-food consumers at three separate restaurant locations in southwestern Virginia. Each restaurant received three phases, consisting of fourteen days each. Two of the restaurants were exposed to two conditions, A (Baseline) and B (Intervention), while the other restaurant served as a control. Restaurant 1 received the following phases, with each phase lasting two weeks: A--B--A. Restaurant 2 received A--A--B, and Restaurant 3 received A--A--A. Research assistants distributed discount coupons on a new healthy sandwich to consumers during Condition B in Restaurants 2 & 3. This sandwich was available in a healthy combo including salad and water, and a regular combo including soda and fries. At all 3 locations, research assistants collected receipts showing all total menu item sales every day during the six-week intervention. Analyses of variance revealed consumers purchased the healthy sandwich significantly more during the incentive conditions, and also purchased the regular combo more frequently than the healthier combo during the intervention condition. Implications for the social validity of using incentives to motivate nutrition-related behaviors are discussed. / Master of Science

<p>Denna uppsats hade till syfte att undersöka hur attityder inför en hälsointervention ser ut hos anställda på ett företag där de anställda stod inför en kommande hälsointervention. Genom arbetet har författarna använt sig av tolkningar lutade på hermeneutiska principer. Författarna till denna uppsats skaffade sig ett kunskapsunderlag genom att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer med fem stycken anställda på ett företag som stod inför en hälsointervention. I uppsatsens resultat och analysdel redovisar författarna bland annat intervjudeltagarnas kognitiva, intentionella samt affektiva attityder och tolkar kring dessa. Vidare behandlas informanternas kunskap om den kommande interventionen, samt eventuella bakomliggande faktorer till de uppvisade attityderna. Författarna av uppsatsens tolkning av resultatet visar bland annat att alla intervjudeltagare anser att chefens deltagande i den kommande hälsointerventionen är positivt samt att alla ser fram emot interventionen. Informanterna hade olika personliga målsättningar med ett deltagande i interventionen. Genom intervjuerna framkom det att endast en informant vet varför interventionen skall utföras i gruppen.</p>

Denna uppsats hade till syfte att undersöka hur attityder inför en hälsointervention ser ut hos anställda på ett företag där de anställda stod inför en kommande hälsointervention. Genom arbetet har författarna använt sig av tolkningar lutade på hermeneutiska principer. Författarna till denna uppsats skaffade sig ett kunskapsunderlag genom att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer med fem stycken anställda på ett företag som stod inför en hälsointervention. I uppsatsens resultat och analysdel redovisar författarna bland annat intervjudeltagarnas kognitiva, intentionella samt affektiva attityder och tolkar kring dessa. Vidare behandlas informanternas kunskap om den kommande interventionen, samt eventuella bakomliggande faktorer till de uppvisade attityderna. Författarna av uppsatsens tolkning av resultatet visar bland annat att alla intervjudeltagare anser att chefens deltagande i den kommande hälsointerventionen är positivt samt att alla ser fram emot interventionen. Informanterna hade olika personliga målsättningar med ett deltagande i interventionen. Genom intervjuerna framkom det att endast en informant vet varför interventionen skall utföras i gruppen.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-70). Also available on the Internet.

Métis people in Canada experience Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) at a rate that is substantially higher than the general Canadian population, and therefore require medical and public healthcare for diabetes complications. Despite a growing literature examining Aboriginal health, little is known about how diabetes healthcare interventions are being delivered to the Métis in Canada. Culturally competent medical and public health interventions, those that are sensitive to the culture, history and the beliefs people hold, are known to produce better patient outcomes. These interventions are also known to deliver greater patient satisfaction, and may reduce existing health inequities. This thesis explores the extent to which community-level diabetes healthcare interventions in Saskatoon are being delivered to the Métis people in a manner that is appropriate and sensitive to their culture. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven Métis participants living with diabetes. Structured in-depth interviews were conducted with one key informant from Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. (CUMFI), and five healthcare practitioners tasked with providing T2DM interventions. Observations and documentary materials were used to supplement the interview data for the study. The study identified two main community-level diabetes healthcare interventions in Saskatoon with a series of activities organized under them. Although the study found no Métis specific T2DM healthcare intervention, participants identified that Métis cultural activities such as jigging and community gardening were incorporated into some of the interventions. However, language, Métis traditional foods, and traditional approaches to teaching were not incorporated into these programs. These omissions, coupled with barriers such as limited spatial accessibility, lack of funding and community poverty have repercussions on participation levels, participant retention and health outcomes for participants living with diabetes. Respondents are less inclined to participate if interventions are generic (non-Métis specific), which are considered less satisfactory. In turn, this may affect the sustainability of the healthcare program resulting in poor health outcomes. In this way the Métis continue to struggle with these community-level diabetes healthcare intervention programs. This study supports the need for Métis-specific community-level diabetes healthcare interventions as a means of improving health outcomes for the fight against T2DM among Métis people.

Internetbasierte Gesundheitsinterventionen (IGI) finden aufgrund ihrer Vorteile und Möglichkeiten eine zunehmende Verbreitung und sind zugleich ein innovatives Forschungsfeld. Sie ermöglichen eine schnelle und weite Verbreitung bei relativ geringen Kosten pro Teilnehmer/in. Die ortsunabhängige Zugänglichkeit der Gesundheitsangebote erleichtert die Versorgung auch im ländlichen Raum. Weitere Vorteile bestehen in der zeitlich unabhängigen Nutzung, die sich leicht in den individuellen Tagesablauf integrieren lässt, ebenso wie in der Wahrung der Anonymität der Nutzer/innen, die eine offene und ehrliche Auseinandersetzung mit potentiell schwierigen Themen in einer Gruppe erleichtern kann. Diese Erwartungen sind die logische Konsequenz von Befunden aus der Grundlagenforschung zu computervermittelter Kommunikation.

Background: The direct and indirect impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its mitigation measures have exacerbated the global mental health crisis. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) may have the potential to address health system gaps and global health inequalities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Purpose: This thesis aims to map the current state of DMHIs available in Nigeria and illustrate their progress, limitations, and challenges. This study aims to expand upon the findings of recent studies in LMICs by incorporating the perspectives of individuals who play a prominent role in global mental health. The lessons learned in the Nigerian context can inform the delivery of DMHIs in other low-resource settings. Methods: This research was conducted using case study methodology. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health researchers, healthcare providers, digital health experts and policy makers. Data sources such as news articles, websites, research papers, and interviews were used. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and data from multiple sources were then converged, coded, and analyzed using Dedoose via thematic analysis. Findings: The vast majority of DMHIs in Nigeria are private mental health service delivery platforms that connect directly to mental health professionals. The target audience for most DMHIs are broad and encompass all mental health conditions and ages. Advantages of DMHIs include increasing efficiency, accessibility, addressing stigma, and filling the mental health service gap. Disadvantages include skepticism in DMHIs, limitations of applicability, lack of accessibility to internet and technology, lack of sustainability, and lack of infrastructure, funding, and policies. Conclusions: There is a need to leverage DMHIs within the Nigerian population for mental health promotion. Future research should examine feedback from users and providers of DMHIs to allow for comparative analysis, more conclusive and replicable results to inform DMHI design and implementation. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

One way internet users determine the quality of a website is to look for so called 'credibility factors'. These factors can either be positive: the presence of a date, reference list, independent site certification; or negative: the presence of advertisements or broken links. This thesis investigates what role such factors play in the effectiveness of two e-health interventions. An e-health intervention is a health related website designed to change a person’s behaviour. Until now research into credibility has been largely theoretical. Studies have relied on subjective outcome measures such as Likert scales, website content recall, expressions of preference and self reported behaviour. This thesis describes two studies, the second of which investigates, for the first time, whether surface credibility manipulations change objective behavioural outcomes. Surface credibility is how much a perceiver believes a website on simple inspection. Based on a comprehensive literature review of credibility research, the following credibility factors were explored: presence of advertising, recognisable logos, contact details, physical address, references, third party certification, currency information, privacy statement, HTTPS encryption, top level domain and presence of a broken link. The first study involved the assembly of an exercise promotion website. Participants were randomised to receive the site modified to contain either factors heightening credibility or those lowering credibility. Participants using the high credibility version spent twice as long browsing the site as those using the low credibility version. There was no effect on attitude to exercise or self reported physical activity. The second study used the same methodology but with a website targeting an objectively measurable health behaviour (registration as an organ donor). In this study 889 university students were exposed to a website promoting organ donation. Information on the site was assembled based on theoretical domain interviewing and current research into organ donation interventions. 336 (37.79%) participants registered through the study website. The study detected no significant difference in registration rates between high and low credibility versions of the site. Of the 17 comments left on the low credibility site, only 3 were credibility related criticisms. It is the finding of this thesis that university students are willing to submit personal information and place trust in a website contravening many current credibility guidelines. Future studies into credibility are needed to explore why this is the case. One possibility is that the website was trusted simply because it was part of a research study. Another possibility is that the high quality of the textual content compensated for the lack of credibility of the site itself. It is the recommendation of this thesis that future studies focus on objective behavioural outcome measures and control for other forms of credibility such as participation in a research study.