Turn off the TV?: attitudes towards TV-viewing and childhood obesity in Jamaican mothers

OBJECTIVE: TV-viewing has been associated with childhood obesity and reducing screen time might help address this epidemic in Caribbean children. We explored the attitudes and beliefs of Jamaican mothers on the impact of television viewing on childhood obesity. DESIGN AND METHODS: Community health aides recruited mothers, 18 years and older with children aged 6-24 months, from four primary care clinics in Jamaica. Four focus group discussions (2 rural and 2 urban) were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Audio recordings and field notes from discussions were collected by field investigators. Transcripts were reviewed by study investigators and immersion/crystallization techniques were used to identify emerging themes. RESULTS: the mothers had a mean age of 28.26 ñ 6.25 years and 63% were unemployed. Parenting decisions were made based on instinct developed through experience, example and external input (friends, family, community and media) and information not consistent with this instinct was not readily accepted. Among the risk factors for obesity identified by mothers, TV-viewing was not perceived as important. The causal link between TV-viewing and obesity in young children was unclear to mothers. The perceived benefits from TV-viewing on their child’s development outweighed any potential harm and strong evidence would be required to convince them otherwise. CONCLUSION: Jamaican mothers may not easily accept obesity interventions that discourage TV-viewing. Incorporating evidence from credible sources, and interventions focused on healthy growth and development using examples of children developing optimally without the aid of TV, may overcome this perception.

Impact of AIDS on patients attending the family physician - abstract

For four weeks during March and April 19, this study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of patients in relation to AIDS was carried out in three government-operated Family Medicine Centres in Barbados. Persons between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who agreed to take part, were interviewed, using a standardised pretested coded questionnaire. Of three hundred and thirty-seven patients who were interviewed, 134 were males and 203 females. One hundred and seventy-six patients (52 percent) identified AIDS as an STD, more often than syphilis or gonorrhoea was so identified. On the other hand, only 117, (35 percent), said it was true that "a person with the AIDS virus may remain in good health for many years". Fifty-two percent of patients said that TV contributed a lot to their knowledge of AIDS; 42 percent said radio contribute a lot, but only 7 percent said the doctor, nurse or clinic setting taught them a lot. In respect of lifestyle change, 81 percent knew that using a condom reduced the chances of getting AIDS, yet only 18 percent were currently using condoms. Similarly, 88 percent knew that reducing the number of sexual partners was important, whilst 51 percent only said that "since the AIDS epidemic they now have less sexual partners". The main conclusion is that the Primary Care Team has an important support role in AIDS education, which at this time is not being carried out in Barbados (AU)