Value of video-based education to enhance infant motor development.

BACKGROUND: Parents play a vital role in promoting infant motor development and physical activity; however, there is little information available to parents on how to support healthy movement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of implementing video-based education to improve infant physical activity and motor development. METHODS: This multiple case study consisted of semi-structured interviews with mothers (n = 12) and early childhood experts (n = 5, e.g., pediatrician, home visitor). Participants watched pre-recorded videos and answered questions which were developed following Bowens and colleagues guide for designing feasibility studies. Data were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach. RESULTS: Most mothers (91.7 %) reported they were highly likely to recommend the videos to others and said the best way to share these videos would be through an app or social media (83.3 %) or health care entities (e.g., hospital, pediatrician, 75 %). Half of mothers (50 %) reported they would be interested in seeing videos once a month or once every couple of months. Further, all experts agreed parents would be somewhat or highly likely to use the videos and a majority (80 %) stated they were highly likely to recommend and share videos like these. Experts' top suggestions for sharing the videos was through an app/social media (40 %) and credible websites (40 %). DISCUSSION: Overall, the videos appear feasible for mothers. Both groups primarily suggested that videos be disseminated through social media, online, or through an app. Future research should engage parents and healthcare providers in developing videos.

The Effect of a Parent-Directed Program to Improve Infants' Motor Skills.

Poor motor skills are associated with several factors that might delay children's development. Therefore, early programs to promote a child's motor development are essential. Within the first year of life, parents have a critical role in promoting their infant's motor development. However, little research has explored parent-directed programs that promote infant development in a Scandinavian context. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a parent-directed program to improve infant motor development. METHODS: Parents of infants received a parent-directed program that included guidance from health visitors on ways to promote motor development, videos with motor development activities and a bag with related materials. Two municipalities in Denmark took part in the study (one intervention, one control). Health visitors in both municipalities measured the infants' age-appropriate motor skills once when the infants were between 9-11 months of age. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: No difference was detected in motor development over time in the two municipalities regarding the proportion of children with age-appropriate motor skills. CONCLUSIONS: A parent-directed program in which parents were guided to play and encourage motor development with their infant showed no effect on infants' age-appropriate motor skills at 9-11 months.

Interventions by Caregivers to Promote Motor Development in Young Children, the Caregivers' Attitudes and Benefits Hereof: A Scoping Review.

In the first year of life, the child's caregivers, including parents and daycare staff, play an essential role, as they are responsible for implementing daily activities to promote the motor development of young children. However, what does the research show about interventions to promote the motor development of 0-36-month-olds carried out by the child's caregivers, and what are the caregivers' experiences and attitudes hereof? This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the published studies to derive an overall interpretation. A systematic search was conducted in five scientific databases, resulting in 10,219 articles, of which 9 met the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that providing early intervention to 0-36-month-old children, in which the caregivers carry out the activities, promotes the young child's motor development. Furthermore, the interventions increase the caregivers' interest and motivation to promote the young child's motor development, which is essential in maintaining the behaviour after the end of the interventions. Supervision and guidance provided for the child's caregivers concerning knowledge and skills about age-appropriate behaviours and facilitation of their child's motor development increases the caregivers' self-confidence, interest, and motivation.

Motives and Barriers Related to Physical Activity within Different Types of Built Environments: Implications for Health Promotion.

Studies have identified individuals' motives and barriers as main predictors of physical-activity behaviour, while other studies found physical-activity behaviour to be related to characteristics of the built environment. However, studies that have a combined focus on motives and barriers and the built environment are less common. This scoping review aims to provide knowledge about motives and barriers related to physical activity within different types of built environments to mitigate this knowledge gap. A systematic literature search was performed in four scientific databases and yielded 2734 articles, of which 31 articles met the inclusion criteria. The review identified four types of built environments within which motives and barriers were studied, including walkability, cyclist infrastructure, neighbourhood parks and open spaces and sports facilities. Several common motives recur across all four types of built environments, especially easy accessibility and good facility conditions. Conversely, poor accessibility and inadequate facility conditions are common barriers. Our review also showed how some motives and barriers seem to be more context-specific because they were only identified within a few types of built environments. This knowledge may help target future health-promotion initiatives in relation to urban planning and the importance of the environment on physical activity.

Transferring Knowledge on Motor Development to Socially Vulnerable Parents of Infants: The Practice of Health Visitors.

Parents are a determinant factor in a child's development of motor skills. Studies show that programmes in which health visitors supervise parents may improve infants' motor skills. This study examines which factors health visitors have found to enhance and hamper the implementation of a motor development programme among socially vulnerable parents of infants. The data consist of three group interviews with 4 health visitors in each (12 health visitors in total) and a subsequent member check with 27 health visitors. All were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a thematic analysis was conducted. The results show that according to the health visitors, the programme increases the ability and willingness of parents to engage in co-producing its implementation. In particular, the materials that they hand out to the parents enhance the implementation. On the other hand, they perceive the limited time provided for the implementation, together with the many pressing needs of the families, as hampering the implementation. Consequently, the study can inform future policies and programmes for frontline workers and socially vulnerable parents of infants.

Motives and Barriers Related to Physical Activity and Sport across Social Backgrounds: Implications for Health Promotion.

Studies have found physical inactivity to be a significant health risk factor and have demonstrated how physical inactivity behaviour varies according to social background. As a result, differences according to social background must be considered when examining motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport. This scoping review examines motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport among people with different social backgrounds, including age, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnic minority background and disability status. A systematic literature search was performed in four scientific databases and yielded 2935 articles of which 58 articles met the inclusion criteria. We identified common motives for physical activity and sport as health benefits, well-being, enjoyment, social interaction, and social support; common barriers as time restrictions, fatigue and lack of energy, financial restrictions, health-related restrictions, low motivation, and shortage of facilities. We also identified several motives and barriers that were specific to or more pronounced among people with different social backgrounds. The knowledge about motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport provided in this article can inform health promotion initiatives that seek to improve public health both in general and when specifically targeting groups of people with different social backgrounds.

Weekly variation in markers of cardiometabolic health - the possible effect of weekend behavior - a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents' health-related behavior varies from weekday to weekend. Only few studies, however, have examined to which degree such variation will affect markers of cardiometabolic health. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to examine if markers of cardiometabolic health differ between different days of the week in adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional school-based study included up to 581 participants, 11-17 years old. Markers of metabolic health were insulin, glucose, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood pressure. Linear mixed regression modelling was used to examine the cardiometabolic profile across weekdays. RESULTS: Significant declining trends were observed across the week in adolescents' levels of cardiometabolic health markers. Lower levels of insulin (16.1%), glucose (2.6%) and triglyceride (24.7%) were observed on Fridays compared to Mondays (p ≤ 0.006). Gradual improvement in measurement profiles across weekdays was less apparent for HDL-C, LDL-C, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (P ≥ 0.06). Analyses stratified by sex suggested a more noticeable pattern of gradual improvement across weekdays in boys than in girls. CONCLUSION: Significantly lower levels of insulin, glucose and triglyceride were observed in adolescents on Fridays compared to Mondays. However, when sex specific analyses were performed significant profile variations were only observed across the week in boys. More research is needed to better understand which behavioral factors in particular seem to influence weekly variation in markers of cardiometabolic health - especially since such variation potentially will have an impact on how assessments of markers of cardiometabolic health optimally should be planned, standardized and carried out, both in research and in medical practice.