Developing a nutrition assessment tool for Irish pre‐schools

Kearney²,

Hayes³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

Self Cite

Objective: To evaluate the impact on nutrition-and health-related practice of two methods of delivery of a nutrition and health intervention in Irish full-day-care pre-schools: training of pre-school managers only or training of managers and their staff. Design: A simple randomised study with pre-schools divided into two training groups: 'manager trained' and 'manager and staff trained'. Direct observational data -food and fluid provision, physical activity, outdoor time, staff practices and availability of nutrition and health resources -were recorded during one full day spent in each pre-school both pre-and post-intervention, using a specifically developed and validated Pre-school Health Promotion Activity Scored Evaluation Form. Post-intervention, self-assessment data were also collected using the same evaluation tool. Setting: Pre-schools, Midlands of Ireland. Subjects: A convenience sample of forty-two pre-schools registered with the Irish Health Service Executive. Results: From pre-to post-intervention, significant improvement (P , 0?05) in nutrition-and health-related practice was observed within both intervention delivery groups in all areas evaluated: environment, food service, meals and snacks. No additional effect attributable to staff training was observed. Scores assigned by direct independent observation were lower than pre-school self-assessment scores. Conclusions: The implementation of a training intervention in pre-schools significantly improved practice with no significant benefit of additional staff training. Direct independent observation is required to quantify practice accurately.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-school manager training: a cost-effective tool to promote nutrition- and health-related practice improvements in the Irish full-day-care pre-school setting

Kearney²,

Hayes³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

Self Cite

“…While many children are now cared for outside the home, inadequate nutrition practices in pre-schools have been reported (Benjamin et al, 2007; Jennings et al, 2011; Johnston Molloy et al, 2011). The Healthy Incentive for Pre-schools (HIP) Project is ongoing in the Midlands of Ireland and aims to develop an intervention scheme to incentivize pre-schools to improve their nutrition and health practices.…”

Section: Determination Of the Voice Of The Child In The Hip Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Researching young children’s perception of food in Irish pre-schools: An ethical dilemma

Hayes²,

Kearney³

et al. 2012

Research Ethics

Self Cite

Poor nutrition habits have been reported in the childcare setting. While the literature advocates the need to carry out ‘Voice of the Child’ research, few studies have explored this methodology with regard to children and food, in particular in the pre-school setting. This article aims to outline the ethical issues raised by a research ethics committee and to discuss the impact of these issues on a study that hoped to determine the food perceptions of children (aged three to four years) within an ongoing nutrition and lifestyle pre-school project in Ireland. Ethical approval was granted for this study but only upon the clarification of two aspects: that only hedonic symbols previously used in the literature could be included in the study; and that parental consent be obtained from both parents of each child. Children were shown food pictures and asked to use the hedonic symbols to answer questions posed to them on the food. Owing to the ethical constraints imposed by the requirement for two-parent consent, seven children, from a potential sample of 85, were eligible to partake in the study. These children did not seem to understand the hedonic symbols recommended for use by the ethics committee, therefore preventing the collection of in-depth qualitative data. The ethical constraints placed on this study impacted on both its design and its methodology and are discussed in relation to national and international ethical guidance and legislation. Future research with children regarding food choice must balance the need for strict ethical standards with the need to explore children’s views on this subject.

“…With this in mind, the need to ensure best practice in pre-school nutrition and physical activity is paramount. Although the American Dietetic Association notes that child-care regulations reflect a minimum standard and that actual practice should greatly exceed them ( 19 ) , it would appear that in many countries poor nutrition and physical practice have been documented; in the UK ( 20 , 21 ) , the USA ( 22 – 25 ) , Australia ( 26 ) , Holland ( 27 ) and Ireland ( 28 , 29 ) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthy incentive scheme in the Irish full-day-care pre-school setting

Kearney²,

Hayes³

et al. 2013

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

Self Cite

A pre-school offering a full-day-care service provides for children aged 0-5 years for more than 4 h/d. Researchers have called for studies that will provide an understanding of nutrition and physical activity practices in this setting. Obesity prevention in pre-schools, through the development of healthy associations with food and health-related practices, has been advocated. While guidelines for the promotion of best nutrition and health-related practice in the early years' setting exist in a number of jurisdictions, associated regulations have been noted to be poor, with the environment of the child-care facility mainly evaluated for safety. Much cross-sectional research outlines poor nutrition and physical activity practice in this setting. However, there are few published environmental and policy-level interventions targeting the child-care provider with, to our knowledge, no evidence of such interventions in Ireland. The aim of the present paper is to review international guidelines and recommendations relating to health promotion best practice in the pre-school setting: service and resource provision; food service and food availability; and the role and involvement of parents in pre-schools. Intervention programmes and assessment tools available to measure such practice are outlined; and insight is provided into an intervention scheme, formulated from available best practice, that was introduced into the Irish full-daycare pre-school setting.