Nutrition and physical activity environments of home-based child care: What hispanic providers have to say
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-2015
Abstract
Background: It is important to understand the perceptions and beliefs of family child care providers (FCCPs) regarding which factors influence children's physical activity (PA), screen-time (ST), and dietary behaviors in order to develop and implement appropriate obesity prevention interventions. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the aforementioned perceptions and beliefs of FCCPs in Rhode Island. Methods: Four focus groups (n=30) were held with FCCPs. Providers were female, Hispanic, and Spanish speaking. Providers were asked about different aspects of feeding, PA, and ST behaviors. Themes were coded using NVivo10 (QSR International Pty Ltd, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia). Content analysis was used to analyze final themes. Results: Providers understood the importance of providing opportunities for healthy eating and PA for the children they cared for, but there was room for improvement, especially with regard to certain feeding and ST practices. Several barriers were evident, including the lack of physical infrastructure for PA, cultural beliefs and practices related to child feeding, and difficulties working with parents to provide consistent messages across environments. Conclusions: Given that FCCPs are aware of the importance of healthy eating and PA, there is a need to address the specific barriers they face, and operationalize some of their knowledge into practical everyday actions. This formative work will inform the development of a culturally relevant, multicomponent intervention for ethnically diverse FCCPs to improve the food and PA environments of their homes, which should, in turn, improve the dietary, PA, and ST behaviors of the 2- to 5-year-old children they care for.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Childhood Obesity
Volume
11
Issue
5
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Tovar, Alison, Noereem Z. Mena, Patricia Risica, Gemma Gorham, and Kim M. Gans. "Nutrition and physical activity environments of home-based child care: What hispanic providers have to say." Childhood Obesity 11, 5 (2015): 521-529. doi: 10.1089/chi.2015.0040.