Building a healthy generation together: parents' experiences and perceived meanings of a family-based program delivered in ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Sweden.

Autor: Farias L; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, 141 83, Sweden. Lisette.farias.vera@ki.se.; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, 141 83, Sweden. Lisette.farias.vera@ki.se., Hellenius ML; Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 171 77, Sweden., Nyberg G; The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Department of Physical Activity and Health, Lidingövägen 1, Stockholm, 114 33, Sweden.; Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden., Andermo S; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, 141 83, Sweden.; The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Department of Physical Activity and Health, Lidingövägen 1, Stockholm, 114 33, Sweden.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: International journal for equity in health [Int J Equity Health] 2024 Sep 11; Vol. 23 (1), pp. 180. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 11.
DOI: 10.1186/s12939-024-02271-8
Abstrakt: Introduction and Aim: Ethnically diverse neighborhoods encounter pronounced inequalities, including housing segregation and limited access to safe outdoor spaces. Residents of these neighborhoods face challenges related to physical inactivity, including sedentary lifestyles and obesity in adults and children. One approach to tackling health inequalities is through family-based programs tailored specifically to these neighborhoods. This study aimed to investigate parents' experiences and perceptions of the family-based Open Activities, a cost-free and drop-in program offered in ethnically diverse and low socioeconomic neighborhoods in Sweden.
Methods: Researchers' engagement in 15 sessions of the Open Activities family-based program during the spring of 2022, and individual interviews with 12 participants were held. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: The analysis resulted in three main themes and seven sub-themes representing different aspects of the program's meaning to the participants as parents, their families, and communities. The main themes describe how parents feel valued by the program, which actively welcomes and accommodates families, regardless of cultural differences within these neighborhoods. The themes also show how cultural norms perceived as barriers to participation in physical activity can be overcome, especially by mothers who express a desire to break these norms and support girls' physical activity. Additionally, the themes highlight the importance of parents fostering safety in the area and creating a positive social network for their children to help them resist criminal gang-related influences.
Conclusions: The program's activities allowed parents to connect with their children and other families in their community, and (re)discover physical activity by promoting a sense of community and safety. Implications for practice include developing culturally sensitive activities that are accessible to and take place in public spaces for ethnically diverse groups, including health coordinators that can facilitate communication between groups. To enhance the impact of this program, it is recommended that the public sector support the creation of cost-free and drop-in activities for families who are difficult to reach in order to increase their participation in physical activity, outreach, and safety initiatives.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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