Design Secondary analysis of student responses to a task called ‘Being Healthy’ in New Zealand’s National Education Monitoring Project.

Setting Year 4 (8—9 year-old) and Year 8 (12—13 year-old) students who took part in New Zealand’s National Education Monitoring for Health and Physical Education in 2002.

Method Coding of student responses using NVivo qualitative analysis package.

Results Students reiterated messages widely promulgated in popular and professional mediums. Students predominantly conceived of health as a corporeal matter, citing eating, exercise and hygiene practices as the most important health promoting behaviours.

Conclusion Students could usefully be encouraged to adopt socially critical understandings of what health might entail and broader, more holistic conceptualizations of health beyond matters of the ‘body’ alone.

Design Video recordings of consultations between 113 final-year medical students and simulated patients were scored blind by two independent raters with the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC). Half of the students participated in a four-hour motivational interviewing workshop while the other half did not.

Results Differences between the two groups were statistically significant for five of six global MISC variables. All differences were in the expected direction, with higher scores in the group that had received MI training. There were also statistically significant group differences in the expected direction on several behavioural measures. The group that received MI training asked fewer closed questions and more open questions; they summarized, affirmed and emphasized patient control more often, and directed and confronted less often.

Conclusion Four hours of training has a measurable effect on medical students’ style and verbal behaviour in simulated patient consultations, but is not sufficient to become proficient in motivational interviewing.

Design Longitudinal, pre-intervention and intervention assessments occurred between 2004 and 2006.

Setting Recruitment of 10,433 people from ten sites located in areas of high health need across England.

Method Demographic data were collected by questionnaire, with seven-day, population-specific self-reports assessing pre-intervention and intervention MPA. Using guidelines for young people and adults, MPA MET-minutes/week were used to assign participants to four MPA categories (sedentary, lightly, moderately and highly active) at pre-intervention and intervention phases. Cross-tabulation established movement between three change categories (reversal, stability and progression).

Results From nine sites, 5324 people engaged in the evaluation, and a sub-sample of 998 provided demographic and 1022 self-report baseline and intervention data (i.e. completers) for a typical week’s physical activity participation. Of completers who were sedentary or lightly active at pre-intervention, 58.5 per cent achieved recommended physical activity guidelines. 80.9 per cent who were sedentary at pre-intervention reported as lightly, moderately or highly active at intervention. Conclusions Completers increased overall activity levels, including those sedentary and lightly active at pre-intervention who increased levels to recommended guidelines.

Design Data for the study were generated from one-to-one qualitative interviews which encouraged the participants to articulate the symbolic value of eating choices in their day-to-day experiences.

Participants Twenty five young people (12 male, 13 female) aged between 15 and 17 years from diverse socio-economic backgrounds living in different parts of the urban area of Nicosia were recruited using a snowballing technique.

Analysis The analysis focused on the division between ‘healthy’ and ‘fast’ foods.

Results This study discloses the way that a group of young Cypriots make sense of, and articulate, ‘fast’ and ‘healthy’ foods as consumer eating choices. The analysis demonstrates how ‘fast’ and ‘healthy’ eating choices entail a symbolic value which the participants claimed had significance and meaning in young people’s lifestyles. Eating fast foods was primarily seen as a medium for expressing a youthful self and/or lifestyle image, while choosing healthy food was viewed as being in opposition to the normal image of being young.

Conclusions and implications This article challenges the one-dimensional approach of the ‘nutrition value of foods’ approach for convincing young people to choose healthy foods and strongly suggests the need to provide them with opportunities to become aware of and critical about the symbolic value of eating choices.

Design Qualitative study.

Setting Perth, Western Australia.

Methods Sixteen adults aged 65 to 74 years were interviewed in their own homes using a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using a descriptive qualitative methodology.

Results Participants believed that physical activity provided health benefits and reflected positively on physical activity experiences when they were younger, with many expressing a desire to engage in less age-appropriate activities. The major barrier to physical activity was pain. Participants described both positive and negative examples related to society’s support of physical activity.

Conclusions A number of issues were raised. These included: the need for more specific information on the benefits of physical activity; the role of pain management in physical activity; the concept that involvement in physical activity in younger years leads to involvement when older; and the expressed desire of older people to engage in less age-appropriate physical activities.

Design Qualitative research methods were used based on a grounded theory approach, to provide insights into older adults’ experiences following a fall, of both rehabilitation and home exercise.

Setting Community dwellings.

Method Nine participants who had been through falls rehabilitation and who were over 60 years old were recruited through health professionals. Participants had attended one of three different rehabilitation centres, or were under the care of the Specialist Case Manager for Elderly, Frail and Falls who sees clients with more complex needs.

Results Thekeyfactorcausingolderpeopletocarryouttheirhomeexercise programme is a determination to regain independence following illness and a fall. However, social interaction has a key role to play in this strive for independence through supporting the continuation of home exercise. Interview data reveal that relationships with professionals, families and friends (the existence of social networks) during and after the rehabilitation process can impact on uptake and continuation of exercise.

Conclusion A grounded theory approach to research with older people can be a useful tool for informing health promotion workers and other health professionals in practice. This study helps us to acknowledge that from an older adult’s perspective, independence is highly valued, and encourages us to consider how we can then adopt this as a motivator for participation in healthy, active ageing. When working with older people, professionals need to adopt a holistic approach to their health, using a person-centred approach to promote positive, active ageing.

Design This was a cross-sectional case study that involved an in-depth examination of the food choice process and knowledge of a child in the pre-operations stage and a child in the concrete operations stage as defined by Piaget.

Setting This study took place in New York City.

Methods The five general questions on health and nutrition which were posed to each child were: Why do we need to eat? What makes some foods healthy or unhealthy? Can some foods be healthy and unhealthy at the same time? Where do certain foods come from? Why is it important to eat in moderation? The responses to these questions were analyzed from both cognitive and health education perspectives. In addition to being asked questions about nutrition, each in-depth interview included an activity in which the children were given a stack of pictures of foods and were asked to classify them as being healthy or unhealthy.

Results Thelevelofknowledgeandthoughtprocessaboutfoodofachild in the pre-operations stage and a child in the concrete operations stage exhibit several significant differences that are characteristic of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. Specifically, the depth of knowledge, the use of symbolic thinking, and the abilities to think bi-directionally and systematically, and to view issues from multiple perspectives vary between the two stages.

Conclusion Many of the predictions about how the children would react to certain questions given their age appear to be consistent with the early writings of Piaget. The main implications of these findings could help health educators who focus on nutrition to tailor their educational programmes according to the cognitive abilities defined by Piaget, and reinforced by our findings.

Design A cross-sectional survey.

Setting College students at a major Midwestern university.

Methods Students were recruited to complete a self-administered questionnaire that included information on sun-sensitivity, knowledge and tanning attitudes and behaviours. Survey sampling statistical techniques that account for clustering among the 163 students recruited were used.

Results We found a high level of skin cancer prevention knowledge; however, knowledge was not related to a reduction in the importance of tanning. In many cases, higher levels of knowledge corresponded to a greater emphasis on the importance of tanning. Sunscreen use was low among this population. Those who placed an importance on tanning more often indicated that they believed that ‘sunless tanning creams are safer than the sun’.

Conclusions This population’s belief that they look healthier and feel better with a tan strongly influences the desire to tan. Therefore, future cancer information campaigns or other prevention efforts should directly address the desire to tan by encouraging the use of sunless tanning products as an alternative method of tanning.