The Let’s Eat Healthy and Move at School program for adolescents in South Korea: Program design, implementation, and evaluation plan using intervention mapping

Purpose@#This study aimed to systematically develop an obesity prevention program for adolescents to promote healthy eating and physical activity in schools. @*Methods@#The development of the Let's Eat Healthy and Move at School program for adolescents followed the six steps of intervention mapping (IM). IM is a widely used protocol for developing systematic and effective interventions based on theories and evidence. @*Results@#To better understand the problem and identify the needs of adolescents, interviews were conducted with teachers, school nurses, and students (step 1). In step 2, the desired behaviors and their determinants were established and combined into a matrix comprising 16 change objectives. In step 3, theoretical methods such as persuasive communication and consciousness-raising were chosen. The program was segmented into three educational activity sessions in step 4. In step 5, an implementation manual was developed for program instructors to ensure effective and accurate implementation. Finally, practices for evaluating the program's effectiveness and procedures were designed in step 6. @*Conclusion@#The Let’s Eat Healthy and Move at School program will provide adolescents with guidelines to promote healthy living and prevent obesity in everyday life using strategies for sustainable adolescent obesity prevention and management.

Who are the Assistant Cooks at the Community Child Centers in South Korea? Focus Group Interviews with Workfare Program Participants

Purpose@#Community child centers (CCCs) were introduced to provide after-school activities and care, including meal services to children from low-income families. The assistant cooks, who have the main responsibility for making and serving food at CCCs, are a major factor influencing the eating habits of children using CCCs. In this study, we tried to identify and understand who the assistant cooks are, what their job responsibilities are, and what they need in order to be able to provide children with healthy meals. @*Methods@#Three focus group interviews were held with 17 workfare program participants who worked as assistant cooks at CCCs, and content analysis methods were applied using the NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis software. @*Results@#The assistant cooks reflected on their perceptions of the children's health at the CCCs, their own cooking style, and their role at the CCCs. Additionally, barriers to the optimal provision of their services were pointed out, and improvements were suggested. @*Conclusion@#The results of this study can be used as a fundamental resource for the development of tailored interventions that consider a child's unique environment to address health disparities, specifically with respect to childhood obesity.