Between 1971 and 1999, ParticipACTION, Canada’s Health Promotion agency, reached into Canadian homes, schools, and places of work to “educate, motivate, and mobilize” the public about the perceived need to become physically fit. This dissertation discusses how the agency employed a variety of professional marketing approaches to create compelling prescriptive literature concerning physical fitness to advance a nation-building agenda based in the state directive of individual accountability for the Canadian body. As a result of ParticipACTION's sustained and pervasive influence, Canadians not only remember this prolific brand, but its underlying messaging has become a part of how Canadians view physical fitness and citizenship. ParticipACTION was a project of healthism fostered in an environment of anxiety. The threat of the Cold War, the constructed menace of the Obesity Crisis, and the fear of Quebec Separatism were all used to bolster the message at this semi-public agency over its thirty years of national social marketing. How individual Canadians experienced ParticipACTION varied significantly based on their body type, socio-economic status, gender, language, ethnicity, and region. Through the use of Historical GIS mapping, oral interviews, and archival records, this dissertation offers a history from creation to closure of this national agency and its place in Canada’s social history.

Allt fler rapporter visar att den psykiska ohälsan ökar bland ungdomar i Sverige och då främst bland flickor. Gymnasieskolan är en stor mötesplats för ungdomar och skolsköterskan är en viktig person då hon träffar alla ungdomar minst en gång under deras gymnasietid, i det av Skolverket fastställda hälsosamtalet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur elever inom gymnasieskolan vill att deras  skolsköterska ska arbeta hälsofrämjande och preventivt. Gymnasieelever vid två olika skolor i nordvästra Skåne intervjuades i två olika fokusgrupper.  Intervjumaterialet transkriberades och analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Efter resultatanalysen framkom tre kategorier: kommunikation, skolsköterskan som aktör på gymnasieskolan och interaktion. Faktorer som att  skolsköterskan skall finnas där, vara lättillgänglig och inge trygghet var viktiga för  gymnasieeleverna. Resultatet visar att skolsköterskan behövs inom gymnasieskolan men behöver synliggöra sitt arbete. Vidare forskning, både ur elevernas och ur skolsköterskans perspektiv behövs. Ungas ökade psykiska ohälsa finns högt på agendan i Sverige idag, ändå är skolsköterskan och elevhälsan på gymnasienivå ett område som fortfarande är outforskat. / Research is accumulating which indicates that mental illness is increasing among youth in Sweden and especially among female youth. Secondary school is a significant meeting place for young people and the school nurse is an important person as he or she meets with each youth at least once in the health conversation required by the school system. The goal of this study was to investigate how secondary school students want their school nurse to work in the promotion of health and prevention of illness. Students at two different secondary schools in south Sweden were interviewed in two different focus groups. The data procured from the interviews was transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. Three categories were derived from this analysis: communication, the school nurse's role in the secondary school and interaction. The students deemed that factors such as the presence of the nurse, the availability of the nurse and the nurse's ability to communicate safety  were important. The results indicated that the nurse is needed in the secondary school, but he or she also needs to make his or her work visible. More research is needed from both the perspective of the students and the nurses. Increasing the mental health of young people is a high priority in Sweden today. But the school nurse and student health at the secondary level is still largely unresearched.

Thesis (MCur)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Informal discussions and the work experience of the researcher in the field of health care raised concerns about the problems regarding the sexual health of adolescents. This demonstrated the need for an integrated health care system to promote adolescent sexual health. Against this background the study was undertaken to: • Identify the attitudes of adolescents towards sexual health. • Determine their knowledge of sexual health • Determine what the practice of sexual health by adolescents entail. • Provide recommendations where applicable. Triangulation, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, was used. The findings reflected the following: • A positive attitude towards sexual health, but adolescents are involved in high risk sexual behaviour. • Sub-optimal knowledqë regarding sexual issues. • A need for sexual education by parents and health workers, especially nurses. The following recommendations, are proposed: • Sex education should start at an age as early as possible, at home, by parents. • Health workers should be trained to give proper information and advice to adolescents about their sexual health. • Condoms should be freely available and accessible to all the people of Namibia. • Adolescents should be actively involved in the promotion of their own sexual health. Keywords: Prevention of teenage pregnancy I Sexually transmitted diseases I HIV I AIDS and Sex education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Informele besprekings en praktiese ervaring van die navorser in die gesondheidsorgveld het probleme rakende die seksuele gesondheid van adolessente uitgewys. Dit het gedui op die behoefte aan 'n geïntegreerde gesondheidsorgsisteem ten einde die seksuele welsyn van adolessente te bevorder. Teen dié agtergrond is die studie onderneem om: • Die houding van adolessente teenoor seksuele welsyn te bepaal. • Die kennis van adolessente omtrent seksuele welsyn te bepaal. • Te bepaal wat die praktyk van seksuele welsyn van adolessente behels. • Aanbevelings soos van toepassing te maak. Die metode van triangulasie, wat 'n kombinasie van 'n kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmedotiek is, is gebruik. Die bevindings reflekteer die volgende: • 'n Positiewe houding jeens seksuele gedrag, maar adolessente is betrokke by riskante seksuele ged rag. • Suboptimale kennis ten opsigte van seksuele kwessies. • 'n Behoefte aan seksuele onderrig deur ouers en gesondheidswerkers, veral verpleegkundiges. Die volgende aanbevelings word voorgestel: • Onderrig ten opsigte van seksuele gedrag moet op die jongste moontlike ouderdom deur die ouers tuis gedoen word. • Gesondheidswerkers moet opgelei word om die regte en relevante advies en inligting aan adolessente oor te dra rakende hul seksuele gesondheid. • Kondome moet vrylik beskikbaar en bekombaar wees vir alle inwoners van Namibië.Adolessente moet aktief betrokke wees in die bevordering van hul eie seksuele welsyn. Sleutelwoorde: Voorkoming van tienerswangerskappelseksueel oordraagbare siektes I MIV I VIGS en seksuele voorligting.

The overall aim of this thesis was to develop knowledge about how to promote health in children treated for cancer and how health promotion interventions based on such knowledge can be evaluated. In this thesis, a descriptive and explorative design has been used, comprising both qualitative (Papers I-III) and quantitative (Papers I and IV) methods. A nationwide cohort of 144 childhood cancer survivors (24-42 years) answered a questionnaire about the support they had received from health care services (Paper I). Fifteen children (8-12years), with experience of cancer treatment, participated in five focus groups with two sessions per group (Paper II and III). The focus group methodology was combined with participatory and art-based techniques, such as draw and tell and photography. The children discussed what promotes health and what friendship is about. A methodological design was used to psychometrically test the Swedish version of the Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life instrument (MMQL) (Paper IV). The study included 950 pupils in grade 6 and 9 from seven primary schools. In addition to this, a comparison of the MMQL instrument with the health-promoting factors described by children in the focus groups was performed. The findings showed that there is a need for health-promoting factors, such as knowledge and psychosocial support, from health care services for childhood cancer survivors. Their family and friends may contribute with support and then serve as health-promoting factors. Health-promoting factors, according to children 8-12 years of age and with experience of cancer treatment, are meaningful relationships, recreational activities and a trustful environment. The children expressed a holistic view of what promotes their health. Friendship, from the perspective of the children, is a process of equal and mutual commitment that develops over time and with interactions occurring face-to-face and digitally. The MMQL instrument may be valid and reliable in a sample of healthy children. However, less than one-third of the items in the MMQL instrument could be linked to the health-promoting factors that the children participating in the focus groups highlighted. In conclusion, the findings in this thesis contribute knowledge from a participant perspective regarding the needs and the experiences of health-promoting factors for those who have received treatment for cancer. This knowledge could form a basis for development of health promotion interventions aimed at children who have received treatment for cancer. It is suggested that if the MMQL instrument is used to evaluate health promotion among children who have received treatment for cancer, the MMQL should be complemented with items that capture aspects of health that are important to the children.

Alcohol use during pregnancy can damage the fetus. Midwives at antenatal care (ANC) screen pregnant women for risk drinking in early pregnancy. There are however, no routines involving both parents-to-be in a dialogue about alcohol. The aim of this thesis is to investigate alcohol use among pregnant women and their partners and to evaluate a method for midwives’ dialogue about alcohol in a life cycle perspective with both parents-to-be. Study I was a quasi-experiment within ANC. An intervention group (IG) received counseling with the midwife about alcohol use. The IG (238 couples) and a comparison group (271 couples) filled out questionnaires in early and in late pregnancy about alcohol use and support for an alcohol-free pregnancy. Study II was a cross-sectional study where 444 partners of pregnant women filled out a questionnaire at ANC about alcohol use, motives for decreased drinking and their perception about the midwives’ counseling about alcohol. Alcohol consumption was low among the pregnant women. One third (30 %) had decreased alcohol use before pregnancy and 90% stopped drinking after pregnancy confirmation. Of the partners, 24 % decreased alcohol use before pregnancy and 40 % decreased during pregnancy. Around 90 % of the women received support for an alcohol-free pregnancy, compared to 37 % of the partners. Twenty per cent of partners and 25 % of pregnant women reported alcoholism in their family. Partners who had alcoholism in the family drank more than partners without this experience. A majority, 95 %, of the partners in study II used alcohol, 29 % were binge drinking on a normal drinking day and 74 % were binge drinking occasionally. Most partners appreciated the counseling about alcohol and reported various motives for decreased alcohol consumption. Many pregnant women and partners decreased alcohol consumption in transition to parenthood, which is a crucial time for changing alcohol-drinking patterns. Involving both parents-to-be in counseling about alcohol restrictions during pregnancy may be a useful health promotion strategy.

Bakgrund: Det stora antalet familjer som söker asyl påverkar sjuksköterskans arbete inom barnhälsovården. I Sverige erbjuds alla barn mellan 0-6 år att göra regelbundna hälsokontroller, vilket även omfattar barn som söker asyl. Sjuksköterskors hälsofrämjande och förbyggande vård omfattar barns hälsa utifrån det fysiska, psykiska och sociala välbefinnandet. Det hälsofrämjande arbetet utvecklar empowerment hos familjerna där målet är en god hälsa. Flykt och trauman påverkar familjer som söker asyl och många lider av psykisk ohälsa. Sjuksköterskors arbete kräver speciella och individuella insatser i mötet med dessa familjer. Syfte: Var att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av arbetet inom barnhälsovården med familjer som söker asyl. Metod: Intervjustudien har en kvalitativ design med en induktiv ansats. Femton sjuksköterskor från sex olika kommuner deltog i studien. Samtliga med erfarenhet av arbete med asylsökande familjer inom barnhälsovård. Insamlad data analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: I resultatet framkom tre kategorier: Familjers behov och stöd påverkar arbetet, Yttre faktorer påverkar arbetet, Komplexiteten i mötet med familjerna påverkar arbetet. Slutsats: Studien visar att sjuksköterskor inom barnhälsovården anpassar arbetet efter asylsökande familjers behov och förutsättningar. Sjuksköterskornas erfarenheter och utbildning är grunden för hens kompetens. Den psykiska ohälsan och en social komplex situation för familjerna som söker asyl medför en utmaning för sjuksköterskorna i det hälsofrämjande arbetet. / Background: The large number of families seeking asylum affect nurses work in child health care. All children in Sweden between 0-6 years, do regular check-ups, including children seeking asylum. Nurses health promotion and preventive care covers childrens health based on the physical, mental and social well-being. Health promotion develops empowerment of families where the goal is good health. Escape and trauma affect families seeking asylum and many suffer from mental illness. Nurses work requires special and individual efforts in meeting with families. Purpose: To describe nurses experience of work in child health care with families seeking asylum. Method: The interview study had a qualitative design with an inductive approach. Fifteen nurses from six different municipalities participated in the study, all with experience working with asylum-seeking families in child health care. Collected data were analyzed according to qualitative content analysis. Results: The results revealed three categories: Families needs and support affect the work, External factors affect the work, The complexity of the meeting with the families affect the work. Conclusion: The study shows that nurses in child health care adapts work to asylum seeking families needs and circumstances. Nurses experience and education is the foundation of his or her skills. Mental illness and a socially complex situation for families seeking asylum is a challenge for nurses working with health promotion.

Increasing levels of physical activity in older adults and fall prevention are key concerns of current UK health policy. Regular physical activity has many positive benefits for older adults, for example in fall prevention. However, sedentary behaviour among older adults is common. Forty per cent of over 50s in the UK report less physical activity than is considered necessary to maintain good health. Sedentary behaviour is even more common in South Asian older people in the UK. The aim of this research was to investigate the attitudes and beliefs that drive or hinder uptake and adherence of physical activity, in general and in relation to fall prevention, among 60-70 year old Caucasian and South Asian community dwellers. An ethnographic method was chosen as the research approach as it provided the framework for facilitating the incorporation of multiple voices. Two main geographical areas were chosen to conduct the study and included eight sites of study. Data collection used multiple methods (participant observation, focus groups and semi-structured interviews). In total 60 hours of participant observation, 15 focus group discussions (n = 87; mean age = 65.74 years) and 40 semi-structured interviews (mean age = 64.83 yrs) were conducted. Data analysis and classification followed a framework approach, comparing and contrasting themes within and across groups. Findings demonstrate that older people do not recognise falls as a risk and are not motivated to perform physical activity on a regular basis purely to help prevent falls. Social support and social benefits of physical activity appear to be key motivators to initiating and maintaining physical activity. Enjoyment, increased self-confidence and developing social networks seem to be important motivators in terms of adherence. Health, although a good motivator for the initiation of physical activity, appears to be a secondary motivator in terms of adherence. Barriers to physical activity include perceived and actual poor physical health, lack of social support, specificity of physical activity messages by health professionals as well as lack of motivation, low mood, fear of harm and domestic and carer issues. These findings suggest that older adults should be assessed individually, to address physical symptoms and possible low mood, and not according to age. The importance of exercise, even in the presence of physical illness needs to be explained. There is a need to promote confidence in older people’s ability to perform an activity, as this appears to be essential in continuing with exercise. Activities that take a ‘one size fits all’ approach, serve as a de-motivating force. Variety in exercise and physical activity is important to maintain motivation in the long-term.

The community-based public health coalition has proliferated in public health practice since the 1970‘s as a favored means of achieving community participation in public health promotion. There is concern, however, that many contemporary coalitions are not particularly inclusive, and that population health indicators fail to demonstrate significant improvement in health outcomes resultant from coalition practice. This dissertation research was designed to critically examine participation and dissemination of coalition-derived ideas through ethnographic study of five community-based participatory public health coalitions in the United States. The research answers calls from public health scholars to improve upon the coalition theory base and to contribute a useful theory of dissemination of public health interventions. At the same time, the research contributes to anthropological calls for better understanding of mechanisms that discourage the participation of all stakeholders. The research uses a theoretical model – Habermas‘ Theory of Communicative Action – that sees participation and dissemination as linked phenomena. The research was designed to contribute to an existing theory of coalition function, Butterfoss and Kegler‘s Community Coalition Action Theory. Qualitative evidence of communicative action was gathered through participant observation of coalition meetings and semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of members of each study coalition. Data were compared across coalitions and across respondent categories to determine variation in diversity of coalition participation and forms of coalition-derived communicative action; as well as indicators associated with motivation for coalition participation, barriers to participation, and dissemination of ideas both in coalition meetings and to broader discourse communities outside the coalition. The results of this applied research include the creation of a typology of diversity of coalition participation, improved understanding of differences in motivation for coalition participation between members in- and outside of the social services sector, the identification of collateral idea exchange as a key coalition outcome, and means of overcoming barriers to participation and dissemination. In addition to representing contributions to theory within anthropology and public health, these results have been shared with leaders of each of the study coalitions.

<p>Hälsosamma levnadsvanor är en viktig förutsättning för att skapa en positiv hälsoutveckling och kostvanor, fysisk aktivitet och stress är faktorer som påverkar hälsan. Till följd av den senare tidens förändringar i samhället har befolkningens levnadsvanor förändrats till en mer ohälsosam kost, fysisk inaktivitet, och stressen har ökat. De förändrade levnadsvanorna har påverkat folkhälsan, och att satsa på dessa områden i folkhälsoarbetet kan ge betydelsefulla hälsovinster. Landstinget Västmanland driver ett projekt med syftet att främja hälsosamma levnadsvanor. I projektet ingår ”Kom i form gruppen” som är en gruppverksamhet som inriktas på kost, fysisk aktivitet och stress. Syftet var att undersöka deltagarnas upplevelser av deltagandet i ”Kom i form gruppen” och om deltagandet har påverkat deras levnadsvanor. För att besvara syftet användes en kvalitativ metod med intervjuer. Resultatet visar att innehållet på träffarna inte har gett någon ny kunskap. Deltagandet har gett medvetenhet och motivation och upplevelsen om kostvanor har påverkats varierar mellan deltagarna. Deltagarnas motionsvanor har påverkats genom regelbundna motionstillfällen och vardagsmotion. Påverkan på stress har inte skett men de försöker att tänka på att stressa mindre. Tidsbrist och stress upplevs dock som ett hinder för att leva hälsosamt.</p> / <p>Healthy lifestyles are an important condition for creating a positive health and dietary habits, physical activity and stress are factors that affect health. As a result of recent changes in society people's lifestyles have changes through unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and stress has increased. Changing lifestyles have affected public health, and to invest in these areas in public health work can provide significant health benefits. Västmanland County Council operates a project to promote healthy behavior. The project includes "Kom i form gruppen" which is a group that focuses on nutrition, physical activity and stress. The aim was to investigate participants' experiences of participation in "Kom i form gruppen" and if the participation has affected their lifestyles. To answer the purpose, a qualitative approach with interviews used. The result shows that the content of the meetings has not identified any new knowledge. Participation has provided awareness and motivation and appreciation of food habits have been affected varied between participants. The participants' exercise habits have been affected by regular exercise occasions and everyday physical activity. Effect of stress has not been made, but they try to think about to rush less. Lack of time and stress, however, perceived as an impediment to healthy living.</p>

<p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></p><p><p><strong><p>Sammanfattning</p></strong><p>Syftet med denna uppsats var att belysa hur fenomenet friskvård på en arbetsplats uppfattas av enskilda individer och vilken betydelse det kan få med avseende på såväl hälsan som välbefinnandet i stort. Utifrån denna fråga ville vi även se om det fanns skillnader i upplevelser av friskvård i de olika yrkeskategorierna från arbetsledning till arbetstagare. Inställningen till friskvård som prevention på en arbetsplats och vardagsmotion för den enskilde individen är individuell. En del människor varken vill eller tror sig kunna utöva friskvård och håller sig friska ändå. Den empiriska undersökningen bygger på kvalitativ metod. Vi har genomfört en intervjuundersökning med sju intervjupersoner från olika yrkeskategorier vilka har bidragit med sina tankar kring friskvården. Vi har använt oss av Antonovsky teori KASAM. Intervjuerna har tolkats enligt hermeneutiska principer. Resultaten visar bland annat att friskvård är betydelsefull på många sätt för medarbetare. Friskvård handlar om så mycket mer än fysisk aktivitet.</p><em><em><p> </p></em><em><p> </p></em><p> </p></em> </p></p>