| 11. |
- Alexandrou, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Adapting a Parental Support App to Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors (MINISTOP) for a Multi-Ethnic Setting : A Qualitative Study on the Needs and Preferences of Parents and Nurses within Swedish Child Health Care
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early efforts for prevention of childhood overweight and obesity are needed. In order to adapt an app promoting healthy diet and physical activity behaviors in children (MINISTOP 1.0) for multi-ethnic communities, we explored: (1) needs and concerns among Somali-, Arabic-, and Swedish-speaking parents in terms of supporting healthy diet and activity behaviors in their children; (2) nurses perceptions of parental needs and concerns in relation to diet and physical activity behaviors; and (3) how the features and content of the MINISTOP 1.0 app could be refined to better support health behaviors in children, among both parents and nurses. Focus groups with Somali-, Arabic-, and Swedish-speaking parents (n = 15), and individual interviews with nurses (n = 15) were conducted. Parents expressed several challenges in supporting childrens health behaviors, the need for a tailored app, and alternative ways of accessing the content (audio/video). Nurses emphasized the need of supporting parents early, and the value of a shared platform in different languages, to facilitate communication. This study contributes valuable insights about parental needs and relevant adaptations to a parental support app, such as addition of audio/video files for increased accessibility. This adapted app version-MINISTOP 2.0, can be useful for childhood obesity prevention in multi-ethnic communities.
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| 12. |
- Alexandrou, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Effectiveness of a Smartphone App (MINISTOP 2.0) integrated in primary child health care to promote healthy diet and physical activity behaviors and prevent obesity in preschool-aged children: randomized controlled trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. - : BMC. - 1479-5868. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Childhood overweight and obesity is a public health priority. We have previously reported the efficacy of a parent-oriented mobile health (mHealth) app-based intervention (MINISTOP 1.0) which showed improvements in healthy lifestyle behaviors. However, the effectiveness of the MINISTOP app in real-world conditions needs to be established. Objective:To evaluate the real-world effectiveness of a 6-month mHealth intervention (MINISTOP 2.0 app) on childrens intake of fruits, vegetables, sweet and savory treats, sweet drinks, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and screen time (primary outcomes), and on parental self-efficacy (PSE) for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors, and childrens body mass index (BMI) (secondary outcomes). Methods:A hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation design was utilized. For the effectiveness outcomes, a two-arm, individually randomized controlled trial was conducted. Parents (n = 552) of 2.5-to-3-year-old children were recruited from 19 child health care centers across Sweden, and, randomized to either a control (standard care) or intervention group (MINISTOP 2.0 app). The 2.0 version was adapted and translated into English, Somali and Arabic to increase reach. All recruitment and data collection were conducted by the nurses. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after six months, using standardized measures (BMI) and a questionnaire (health behaviors, PSE). Results:Among the participating parents (n = 552, age: 34.1 +/- 5.0 years), 79% were mothers and 62% had a university degree. Twenty-four percent (n = 132) of children had two foreign-born parents. At follow-up, parents in the intervention group reported lower intakes of sweet and savory treats (-6.97 g/day; p = 0.001), sweet drinks (-31.52 g/day; p < 0.001), and screen time (-7.00 min/day; p = 0.012) in their children compared to the control group. The intervention group reported higher total PSE (0.91; p = 0.006), PSE for promoting healthy diet (0.34; p = 0.008) and PSE for promoting physical activity behaviors (0.31; p = 0.009) compared to controls. No statistically significant effect was observed for childrens BMI z-score. Overall, parents reported high satisfaction with the app, and 54% reported using the app at least once a week. Conclusion:Children in the intervention group had lower intakes of sweet and savory treats, sweet drinks, less screen time (primary outcomes) and their parents reported higher PSE for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. Our results from this real-world effectiveness trial support the implementation of the MINISTOP 2.0 app within Swedish child health care.
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| 13. |
- Alexandrou, Christina, 1981-
(författare)
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MINISTOP 2.0 : a smartphone app integrated in primary child health care to promote healthy diet and physical activity behaviors and prevent obesity in preschool-aged children
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BackgroundChildhood overweight and obesity is currently estimated to affect 39 million children under the age of five worldwide. After the COVID-19 pandemic, further increases have been observed in several countries including Sweden, where an increased incidence was observed in 3- and 4-year-old children, especially in disadvantaged areas. This development emphasizes the urgent need for population-based childhood obesity prevention interventions, and Swedish primary child health care provides an ideal setting for primary preventive efforts during the preschool years. However, thus far, previous child health care-based obesity prevention interventions have demonstrated limited effectiveness. As previous interventions also have been face-to-face delivered and thus resource-demanding; new, and scalable ways of delivering interventions also need to be evaluated. Mobile health or mHealth refers to the use of mobile devices for medical and public health practice and provides opportunity for development and dissemination of digital interventions for various purposes and populations at scale. This thesis reports the results of the MINISTOP 2.0 project, which covers the development and evaluation of the MINISTOP 2.0 digital intervention, from adaptation and translation of the intervention to Somali, Arabic and English (Paper I), to evaluation of real-world effectiveness within the Swedish primary child health care setting (Paper II) followed by exploration of user experiences and implementation aspects (Paper III) and a cost-consequence analysis of the intervention costs (Paper IV). AimThe overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate whether a 6-month parent-oriented mHealth intervention (MINISTOP 2.0 app), embedded in the routine services of Swedish primary child health care, can be used to improve diet and physical activity behaviors, and decrease the prevalence of over-weight and obesity in 2.5-to-3-year-old children. MethodsThe MINISTOP 2.0 project utilized a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study design to enable simultaneous evaluation and exploration of intervention effectiveness, user experiences and implementation aspects. Paper I: A qualitative exploration of user requirements in an app-based parental support intervention was conducted through three focus group interviews with Somali- (n = 5), Arabic- (n = 4), and Swedish-speaking parents (n = 6), and individual interviews with child health care nurses (n = 15). Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Paper II: A two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted at 19 child health care centers located in six Swedish regions. Participating parents (n = 552) were invited during their routine visit at 2.5/3-years at their primary child health care center. All baseline and follow-up procedures were conducted by the nurses. Parents that were randomized to the control group received standard care, while the intervention group received access to the MINISTOP 2.0 app for six months, alongside standard care. Prior to randomization, nurses measured the child’s height and weight for assessment of BMI, and parents answered a questionnaire about their child’s intake of fruit and vegetables, sweet and savory treats, and sweet drinks; time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and screen time; and parental self-efficacy (PSE) for promoting healthy diet, physical activity, and screen time behaviors. These baseline procedures were then repeated at a 6-month follow-up visit to the child health care center. Paper III: A qualitative exploration of user experiences, acceptability, and feasibility of the MINISTOP 2.0 intervention was conducted through individual interviews with parents (n = 24) with diverse backgrounds, and with child health care nurses (n = 15). Data was analyzed using content analysis. Paper IV: Data on all costs related to the MINISTOP 2.0 intervention, including costs for app and interface upkeep as well as salary costs for introduction and dissemination of the app by nurses, was collected retrospectively. A cost-consequence analysis was then performed to estimate the costs of the intervention. ResultsPaper I: Parents expressed several challenges related to promoting healthy eating behaviors, such as worrying about their child not eating enough, and difficulties balancing different food cultures. There were also requests for the app content to be accessible through alternative modes of delivery (e.g., audio/video) for parents with low literacy. Nurses underlined the importance of supporting parents early with health behavior interventions, and the value of a shared digital platform, available in several languages, to facilitate communication with parents. Paper II: Seventy-nine percent of the participating parents (n = 552) were mothers and 62% had a university degree. Among the children, 24% had two foreign-born parents. Children in the intervention group had lower in-takes of sweet and savory treats (-6.97 g/day; p = 0.001), sweet drinks (-31.52 g/day; p < 0.001), and screen time (-7.00 min/day; p = 0.012) com-pared to the control group at follow-up. Parents in the intervention group also reported higher total PSE (0.91; p = 0.006), PSE for promoting healthy diet behaviors (0.34; p = 0.008) and PSE for promoting healthy physical activity behaviors (0.31; p = 0.009) compared to the control group. For children’s MVPA or BMI z-score, no statistically significant effect was observed between groups. Finally, parents also reported high satisfaction with the app, and 54% reported using the app once a week or more. Paper III: Findings indicated that the app was well accepted and appreciated, as it increased knowledge and awareness around current health behaviors. Furthermore, evidence-based information available in one place and from a trusted source, was highly valued, especially when living in a country with a different culture than your own. The app was also acknowledged as a feasible support tool and a suitable complement to the standard care offered during visits. Finally, due to the accessibility in different languages and the possibility of disseminating the app at scale, both nurses and parents described the app as an appropriate tool for reaching larger populations of parents as well as parents in need of additional support. Paper IV: The total cost for the MINISTOP 2.0 intervention was 437 439 SEK based on the 277 families in the intervention group. The cost for child health care nurses introducing and registering families for the app represented only 9% of the total cost per family, which was considerably lower in comparison to other similar childhood obesity prevention interventions. Also, notably, for upscaling, sharing running costs for the user interface for larger populations of children, would result in much lower total costs per family. ConclusionsOverall, qualitative findings for adapting the intervention highlighted the need for early access to information, as well as the importance of adapting interventions to also be accessible for parents with migrant background and parents with lower literacy. When disseminated through primary child health care, the MINISTOP 2.0 intervention resulted in statistically significant reduced intakes of sweet and savory treats, sweet drinks, and screen time in children (primary outcomes) as well as increased PSE for promoting healthy diet and activity behaviors (secondary outcome). The app was well accepted and perceived as a feasible support tool for parents. Furthermore, accessibility in different languages was also appreciated. Finally, the relatively low salary costs in comparison to face-to-face interventions suggest that the MINISTOP 2.0 app and caregiver interface may be an affordable preventive effort for early promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors in children when scaled up on a population level. Altogether, the results from the papers in this thesis support the large-scale implementation of the MINISTOP 2.0 app within the Swedish primary child health care setting for promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviours in 2.5-to-3-year-old children.
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| 14. |
- Alexandrou, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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User experiences of an app-based mHealth intervention (MINISTOP 2.0) integrated in Swedish primary child healthcare among Swedish-, Somali- and Arabic-speaking parents and child healthcare nurses: A qualitative study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Digital Health. - : Sage Publications. - 2055-2076. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Preventive and scalable interventions, accessible to all, to counteract childhood obesity are urgently needed. We have recently developed a novel, digital parental intervention (MINISTOP 2.0 app) available in Swedish, Somali, Arabic and English. We have previously reported its positive effects on children's health behaviors and on parental self-efficacy. However, before introducing the app at scale in primary child healthcare, implementation aspects also need to be explored.Aim: This study aims to explore and describe user experiences as well as acceptability and feasibility of the MINISTOP 2.0 app-based intervention in a diverse group of parents (end-users) and Swedish child healthcare nurses (implementers).Methods: Individual interviews were conducted with Swedish- (n = 9), Somali- (n = 9), Arabic- (n = 5) and English-speaking (n = 1) parents as well as Swedish primary child healthcare nurses (n = 15). Data was analyzed using content analysis with an inductive latent approach.Results: Parents described how the app facilitated behavior change through increased awareness regarding current diet and physical activity behaviors. Furthermore, the evidence-based app content further facilitated trust and behavior change. Both parents and nurses acknowledged the app's preventive potential and the potential for reaching parents with diverse backgrounds or in need of extra support.Conclusion: The MINISTOP 2.0 app was perceived as a useful tool for health promotion both by parents and healthcare professionals, especially since it was adapted to several languages. These findings coupled with the previously shown beneficial effects on health behaviors support the large-scale implementation of the app in primary child healthcare.
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| 15. |
- Amara-Gahete, Francisco J, et al.
(författare)
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Energy expenditure differences across lying,sitting, and standing positions in younghealthy adults
- 2019
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 14:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The time spent in sedentary behaviour represents an important public health burden. Toreduce sedentary time in the general population, the simplest, most effective, and mostaccessible method is to decrease lying and sitting time. We aimed to compare differenceson energy expenditure (EE) across lying, sitting, and standing positions; and to analyse theassociations between the change on EE of changing from one position to another andanthropometric and body composition parameters in young healthy adults. A total of 55(69% women) young healthy adults aged 21.7 ± 2.2 participated in the study. We measuredEE by indirect calorimetry across lying, sitting, and standing positions following the standardprocedures. The EE was significantly higher in standing than in both lying and sitting positions(mean difference: 0.121±0.292 and 0.125±0.241 kcal/min, respectively; all P<0.001),and no differences were observed between lying and sitting positions (P = 1.000). Therewas a negative association between the EE differences in sitting vs. standing position andlean body mass (P = 0.048), yet no associations between EE differences with the rest of theanthropometric and body composition parameters were observed in each position pair studied(all P>0.321). Our findings support the fact that increasing the time spent standing couldbe a simple strategy to slightly increase EE. Therefore, our results have important clinicalimplications including a better monitoring, characterizing, and promoting countermeasuresto sedentariness through low-level physical activities.
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| 16. |
- Andersson, Agneta, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Energi och metabolism
- 2013. - 6
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Ingår i: Näringslära för högskolan. - Stockholm : Liber AB. - 9789147105205 ; , s. 131-159
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Bokkapitel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 17. |
- Andersson, Niklas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Investigation of central versus peripheral effects of estradiol in ovariectomized mice
- 2005
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Ingår i: J Endocrinol. - : Bioscientifica. - 0022-0795 .- 1479-6805. ; 187:2, s. 303-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is generally believed that estrogens exert their bone sparing effects directly on the cells within the bone compartment. The aim of the present study was to investigate if central mechanisms might be involved in the bone sparing effect of estrogens. The dose-response of central (i.c.v) 17beta-estradiol (E2) administration was compared with that of peripheral (s.c.) administration in ovariectomized (ovx) mice. The dose-response curves for central and peripheral E2 administration did not differ for any of the studied estrogen-responsive tissues, indicating that these effects were mainly peripheral. In addition, ovx mice were treated with E2 and/or the peripheral estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780. ICI 182,780 attenuated most of the estrogenic response regarding uterus weight, retroperitoneal fat weight, cortical BMC and trabecular bone mineral content (P<0.05). These findings support the notion that the primary target tissue that mediates the effect of E2 on bone is peripheral and not central.
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| 18. |
- Arvidsson, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Med accelerometrar kan fysisk aktivitet mätas objektivt
- 2019
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Ingår i: Läkartidningen. - 0023-7205 .- 1652-7518. ; 116, s. 1654-1658
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accelerometrar används i stor utsträckning inom forskning och i viss grad i klinisk verksamhet för att fastställa fysisk aktivitet, men de ställer krav på användarna. God kännedom krävs om utformning av mätprotokoll och bearbetning av rådata till användbara mått, som kan användas i lämpliga statistiska analyser för att undvika mätfel.Mätfel medför felskattning av den fysiska aktiviteten, uteblivna gruppskillnader, försvagade samband med hälsa och felaktiga slutsatser om interventionseffekter.Mätning av fysisk aktivitet i klinisk verksamhet främjas genom samarbete mellan kliniskt verksamma, kliniska forskare och forskare med metodologisk kompetens inom fysisk aktivitetsmätning.
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| 19. |
- Arvidsson, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Med accelerometrar kan fysisk aktivitet mätas objektivt : [Physical activity measured with accelerometers].
- 2019
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Ingår i: Läkartidningen. - 0023-7205 .- 1652-7518. ; 116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of accelerometers has revolutionized measurement of physical activity, and they are used to a large extent in research and have started to be implemented into clinical settings. However, achievement of reliable outcomes requires good methodological knowledge and skills by the user. Otherwise, significant measurement errors may occur, interfering with assessment of the physical activity level in the population, group differences, associations with health parameters or effect of treatments. This paper by the Swedish Network for Objective Measurement of Movement (NORM) provides an overview of physical activity measurement including sections of data collection, processing of raw data into useful metrics and statistical analysis. It targets users of accelerometer in research, health care and national surveys.
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| 20. |
- Arvidsson, Daniel, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Med accelerometrar kan fysisk aktivitet mätas objektivt- Snabb metodutveckling, men mer kompetens krävs för användning fullt ut i klinisk praxis : Physical Activity Measured With Accelerometers
- 2019
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Ingår i: Läkartidningen. - 1652-7518. ; 116
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of accelerometers has revolutionized measurement of physical activity, and they are used to a large extent in research and have started to be implemented into clinical settings. However, achievement of reliable outcomes requires good methodological knowledge and skills by the user. Otherwise, significant measurement errors may occur, interfering with assessment of the physical activity level in the population, group differences, associations with health parameters or effect of treatments. This paper by the Swedish Network for Objective Measurement of Movement (NORM) provides an overview of physical activity measurement including sections of data collection, processing of raw data into useful metrics and statistical analysis. It targets users of accelerometer in research, health care and national surveys.
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