General self-efficacy, not musculoskeletal health, was associated with social isolation and loneliness in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Social isolation and loneliness are prevalent among older adults. This study investigated factors influencing worsening social isolation and loneliness in community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on musculoskeletal conditions, falls, and fractures. METHODS: We studied 153 participants from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Baseline assessments (2019-20) included osteoporosis, clinical osteoarthritis, fractures after age 45 years, falls in previous year, and lifestyle factors. Self-efficacy was assessed using a shortened General Self-Efficacy Scale. Social isolation was assessed using the 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale. Follow-up (2020-21) assessments included social isolation and loneliness using the 6-item De Jong-Gierveld scale for emotional, social, and overall loneliness. RESULTS: Baseline median age was 83.1 years. A history of smoking predicted worsening social isolation (p = 0.046). Being married (p = 0.026) and higher self-efficacy scores (p = 0.03) predicted reduced social isolation at follow-up. Greater alcohol consumption was associated with higher overall loneliness (p = 0.026). Being married was related to a 36% (95% CI: 3%, 58%) reduction in emotional loneliness (p = 0.037). No musculoskeletal condition was associated with social isolation or loneliness. However, we observed a 22% (14%, 30%; p < 0.001) reduction in emotional loneliness and a 12% (4%, 20%; p = 0.003) reduction in overall loneliness per unit increase in self-efficacy score. CONCLUSIONS: No musculoskeletal condition was associated with increased social isolation or loneliness, but longitudinal studies in larger samples are required. Greater self-efficacy was associated with reduced social isolation and reduced loneliness. Interventions promoting self-efficacy in older adults may reduce isolation and loneliness in this age group.

Parental perspectives on negotiations over diet and physical activity: how do we involve parents in adolescent health interventions?

OBJECTIVE: To identify the ways in which parental involvement can be incorporated into interventions to support adolescent health behaviour change. DESIGN: Data from semi-structured interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. SETTING: Southampton, Hampshire, UK. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of twenty-four parents of adolescents. RESULTS: Parents consider themselves to play an important role in supporting their adolescents to make healthy choices. Parents saw themselves as gatekeepers of the household and as role models to their adolescents but recognised this could be both positive and negative in terms of health behaviours. Parents described the changing dynamics of the relationships they have with their adolescents because of increased adolescent autonomy. Parents stated that these changes altered their level of influence over adolescents' health behaviours. Parents considered it important to promote independence in their adolescents; however, many described this as challenging because they believed their adolescents were likely to make unhealthy decisions if not given guidance. Parents reported difficulty in supporting adolescents in a way that was not viewed as forceful or pressuring. CONCLUSIONS: When designing adolescent health interventions that include parental components, researchers need to be aware of the disconnect between public health recommendations and the everyday reality for adolescents and their parents. Parental involvement in adolescent interventions could be helpful but needs to be done in a manner that is acceptable to both adolescents and parents. The findings of this study may be useful to inform interventions which need to consider the transitions and negotiations which are common in homes containing adolescents.

Intervention strategies to improve nutrition and health behaviours before conception.

The nutritional status of both women and men before conception has profound implications for the growth, development, and long-term health of their offspring. Evidence of the effectiveness of preconception interventions for improving outcomes for mothers and babies is scarce. However, given the large potential health return, and relatively low costs and risk of harm, research into potential interventions is warranted. We identified three promising strategies for intervention that are likely to be scalable and have positive effects on a range of health outcomes: supplementation and fortification; cash transfers and incentives; and behaviour change interventions. On the basis of these strategies, we suggest a model specifying pathways to effect. Pathways are incorporated into a life-course framework using individual motivation and receptiveness at different preconception action phases, to guide design and targeting of preconception interventions. Interventions for individuals not planning immediate pregnancy take advantage of settings and implementation platforms outside the maternal and child health arena, since this group is unlikely to be engaged with maternal health services. Interventions to improve women's nutritional status and health behaviours at all preconception action phases should consider social and environmental determinants, to avoid exacerbating health and gender inequalities, and be underpinned by a social movement that touches the whole population. We propose a dual strategy that targets specific groups actively planning a pregnancy, while improving the health of the population more broadly. Modern marketing techniques could be used to promote a social movement based on an emotional and symbolic connection between improved preconception maternal health and nutrition, and offspring health. We suggest that speedy and scalable benefits to public health might be achieved through strategic engagement with the private sector. Political theory supports the development of an advocacy coalition of groups interested in preconception health, to harness the political will and leadership necessary to turn high-level policy into effective coordinated action.

What works in engaging communities? Prioritising nutrition interventions in Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa.

BACKGROUND: "Choosing All Together" (CHAT), is a community engagement tool designed to give the public a voice in how best to allocate limited resources to improve population health. This process evaluation explored the mechanisms through which CHAT generates community engagement. METHOD: The CHAT tool was adapted and implemented for use in two rural communities (Nanoro, Burkina Faso, and Navrongo, Ghana) and one urban township (Soweto, South Africa) to prioritize maternal and child nutrition interventions. Community discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Twenty-two transcripts, including six each from Navrongo and Soweto and 10 from Nanoro, were analysed thematically to generate data driven codes and themes to explain mechanisms underlying the CHAT process. The process evaluation was based on the UK MRC process evaluation guidance. RESULTS: Seven themes describing the functions and outcomes of CHAT were identified. Themes described participants deliberating trade-offs, working together, agreeing on priorities, having a shared vision, and increasing their knowledge, also the skills of the facilitator, and a process of power sharing between participants and researchers. Participants came to an agreement of priorities when they had a shared vision. Trained facilitators are important to facilitate meaningful discussion between participants and those with lower levels of literacy to participate fully. CONCLUSION: CHAT has been shown to be adaptable and useful in prioritising maternal and child nutrition interventions in communities in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and South Africa. Conducting CHAT in communities over a longer period and involving policy-makers would increase trust, mutual respect and develop partnerships.

Do the concepts of "life course approach" and "developmental origins of health and disease" underpin current maternity care? Study protocol.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the knowledge of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concepts among midwives and obstetricians and to identify barriers and facilitators for clinicians to engage women and their partners before or early in pregnancy on risk factors associated with DOHaD, and thus to embed the concept of DOHaD in routine clinical practice. METHODS: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews will be conducted in Ghana, India, Pakistan, Brazil, the UK, and USA in collaboration with the International Confederation of Midwives and the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Participants will be contacted via email and telephone interviews will be conducted until data saturation followed by inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Findings from this exploratory study will provide new knowledge about the perspectives of midwives and obstetricians on DOHaD and their role in preventing the intergenerational passage of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk and improving preconception care. CONCLUSION: This study will help us understand the current use of DOHaD principles in international maternity care and how this can be improved. Bringing DOHaD to clinical practice will help healthcare practitioners adopt a long-term approach in the prevention of NCDs and childhood obesity and will help women to enter pregnancy in optimum health.

Smoking during pregnancy: where next for stage-based interventions?

Pregnancy is a 'window of opportunity' for encouraging positive behaviour change, such as quitting smoking. Associations have been shown between smoking stage of change and other health behaviour during pregnancy. For example, women in the precontemplative stage have poorer assessment of risks associated with smoking, feel less personally responsible for their unborn child's health and in turn are less likely to adopt health-promoting behaviour. Stage of change models are a popular tool within the health services, but the results of stage-based smoking cessation interventions are mixed. Identifying the crucial components of effective interventions is an important imperative for research in this area. This article reviews the literature to ascertain these components and makes recommendations for designing effective interventions.

Lasting impressions: influence of the initial hospital consultation for chronic pelvic pain on dimensions of patient satisfaction at follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common condition in women, and care experiences are distressing and unsatisfactory for many. Research suggests that elements of the initial hospital consultation influence clinical outcome. This study aimed to identify the dimensions through which initial consultations were subsequently recalled at follow-up. METHOD: A questionnaire study of 100 women, 6 months following a hospital gynaecology consultation for CPP, was conducted. Measures of pain and ratings of the medical consultation were completed at initial consultation and at follow-up. RESULTS: Follow-up questionnaire items loaded to constructs of "affect", "expectation", and "cognition", forming three subscales. Patients' initial ratings of the consultation and scores on all three subscales measured at follow-up were correlated, remaining significant for both affect and expectation after controlling for current pain status. CONCLUSION: Doctor's affect and the appropriateness of information to meet expectations are important influences on experiences of care and contribute to the long-term therapeutic element of the consultation.

Association of early childhood abdominal circumference and weight gain with blood pressure at 36†months of age: secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether changes in measures of fat distribution and body size during early life are associated with blood pressure at 36 months of age. DESIGN: Analysis of data collected from a prospective cohort study. SETTING: Community-based investigation in Southampton, UK. PARTICIPANTS: 761 children with valid blood pressure measurements, born to women participating in the Southampton Women's Survey. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Anthropometric measurements were collected at 0, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months and conditional changes between the time points calculated. Blood pressure was measured at 36 months. Factors possibly influencing the blood pressure were assessed using linear regression. All independent variables of interest and confounding variables were included in stepwise multiple regression to identify the model that best predicted blood pressure at 36 months. RESULTS: Greater conditional gains in abdominal circumference (AC) between 0-6 and 24-36 months were associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures at 36 months (p<0.001). Subscapular skinfold and height gains were weakly associated with higher blood pressures, while greater weight gains between 0-6, 12-24 and 24-36 months were more strongly associated, but the dominant influences were AC gains, particularly from 0-6 to 24-36 months. Thus one SD score increases in AC between 0-6 and 24-36 months were associated with 1.59 mm Hg (95% CI 0.97 to 2.21) and 1.84 mm Hg (1.24 to 2.46) higher systolic blood pressures, respectively, and 1.04 mm Hg (0.57 to 1.51) and 1.02 mm Hg (0.56, 1.48) higher diastolic pressures, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Conditional gains in abdominal circumference, particularly within 6 months of birth and in the year preceding measurement, were more positively associated with blood pressure at 36 months than gains in other anthropometric measures. Above-average AC gains in early childhood may contribute to adult hypertension and increased cardiovascular disease risk.