ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9488-8121
Current Organisation
Sydney Local Health District
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-05-2202
DOI: 10.1002/HPJA.351
Abstract: Support for broad policies to prevent childhood obesity is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the level of support for state government health promotion policies among mothers with infants and its associated factors. This secondary analysis of data from 1155 mothers in NSW assessed approval for six policy options derived from public health approaches to obesity. Descriptive statistics were used to show the extent of policy approval across the cohort. Logistic regression models tested associations between perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of childhood obesity and approval of each policy option. The proportion of mothers who felt these policy options were ‘about the right amount’ (56%‐68%) or ‘not going far enough’ (24%‐36%), collectively represented 89%‐95% approval of government intervention. In comparison, 5%‐11% felt that these policies were ‘going too far’. Factors associated with their levels of support varied between each policy option, based on mothers’ characteristics and perceptions of childhood obesity. These findings indicate high support for government intervention to prevent obesity among mothers in NSW and support health promotion advocacy in this area. Governments should give due consideration to implementing each of the six policy options and prioritise the implementation of restrictions on fast food advertising in publicly owned or controlled areas.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1155/2015/546925
Abstract: Parents play a critical role in developing and shaping their children’s physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours, particularly in the early years of life. The aim of this systematic review is to identify current literature investigating associations of parental influences with both PA and screen time in young children. This systematic review was conducted in November 2013 using 6 electronic databases covering research literature from January 1998 to November 2013. Thirty articles that met inclusion criteria were identified. These studies covered five important aspects of parenting: (1) parenting practices (2) parents’ role modelling (3) parental perceptions of children’s PA and screen viewing behaviours (4) parental self-efficacy and (5) general parenting style. Findings suggest that parents’ encouragement and support can increase children’s PA, and reducing parents’ own screen time can lead to decreased child screen time. Improving parenting practices, parental self-efficacy or changing parenting style may also be promising approaches to increasing PA time and decreasing screen time of young children.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-09-2022
DOI: 10.1002/OBY.23547
Abstract: This study aimed to conduct an economic evaluation of the Communicating Healthy Beginnings Advice by Telephone (CHAT) trial to prevent childhood obesity. Cost‐effectiveness analyses were conducted for the telephone and short message service (SMS) delivery of Healthy Beginnings advice, compared with usual care, which included child health services unrelated to Healthy Beginnings. Costs were valued in 2018 Australian dollars, and costs and outcomes were discounted at 5% per year. The costs of upscaling both delivery modes to all yearly births in New South Wales, Australia, were estimated and compared with the original Healthy Beginnings home‐visiting intervention. At child age 2 years, the SMS delivery was more cost‐effective ($5154 per unit BMI and $979 per 0.1 BMI z score units avoided) than the telephone delivery ($10,665 per unit BMI and $2017 per 0.1 BMI z score units avoided). The costs of upscaling the SMS ($7.64 million) and the telephone delivery modes ($37.65 million) were lower than the home‐visiting intervention ($108.45 million). SMS delivery of Healthy Beginnings advice was more cost‐effective than telephone delivery but less cost‐effective than the original home‐visiting approach ($4230 per unit BMI avoided, as calculated in an earlier study). Both the SMS and telephone interventions were more affordable than the home‐visiting approach.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/BIRT.12578
Abstract: Breastfeeding practices are determined by complex multilevel factors. This study assessed pregnant women's knowledge of breastfeeding and intention to breastfeed and investigated modifiable predictors for breastfeeding status (exclusive or any breastfeeding) and duration at 6 and 12 months postpartum. Longitudinal data were extracted from a trial in Sydney, Australia, 2017‐19. Women (n = 1155) were recruited from antenatal clinics and followed up for telephone interviews at baseline (third trimester), then at 6 and 12 months postpartum. Data collected included mothers’ demographics knowledge of breastfeeding and intention to breastfeed work status support from caregivers breastfeeding environment breastfeeding status and duration. Multiple logistic and Cox regression models were built to identify predictors for breastfeeding. At baseline, most mothers knew the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed until 6 months (66%) and the benefits (65%). The modifiable predictors for breastfeeding duration at 12 months included the following: mothers’ knowledge of the recommendation (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60‐0.90) and the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (AHR 0.68, 95% CI 0.55‐0.82), intention to meet the recommendation (AHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.63‐0.93), and intention to breastfeed for two years (AHR 0.38, 95% CI 0.27‐0.52) measured at baseline mothers not working or studying (AHR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55‐0.89), having support from other caregivers (AHR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43‐0.96), and having breastfeeding women around (AHR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65‐0.98) measured at 6 months. Support for women to meet the breastfeeding recommendations should commence during pregnancy and focus on breastfeeding education and enabling environments.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2022
DOI: 10.1002/HPJA.521
Abstract: Early obesity prevention research interventions in Australia generally expect participants to be able to communicate in English, but do not account for other languages. This study aimed to investigate engagement, satisfaction, retention and behavioural outcomes of linguistically erse participants from a mainstream early childhood obesity prevention trial. Healthy Beginnings is a nurse‐led intervention based in Sydney, supporting families with optimal infant feeding and active play via telephone. This secondary analysis assessed participant engagement in the nurse telephone calls (call completions), satisfaction and behavioural outcomes (6‐ and 12‐month survey data) and retention (survey completions), in the first year of life according to participants’ language spoken at home (English or other language). Of 1155 mothers, 533 (46%) spoke a language other than English at home. Significantly fewer mothers speaking a language other than English completed the 6‐month survey (79%) compared to those speaking English (84%), yet mothers speaking a language other than English who completed the program were more satisfied with the program overall. Significantly fewer mothers speaking a language other than English completed the final four nurse calls (of six) (56%‐65%) compared to those speaking English (70%‐80%). Adjusted odds ratios showed selected behavioural outcomes were significantly more positive for participants speaking English at home. Healthy Beginnings trial participants who spoke a language other than English at home had less favourable engagement, retention and behavioural outcomes compared to those who spoke English. So what? Early obesity prevention interventions should consider cultural adaptations to improve engagement and effectiveness among culturally and linguistically erse families.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-05-2020
DOI: 10.1002/HPJA.279
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-11-2022
DOI: 10.1111/IJPO.12875
Abstract: Few randomized controlled trial (RCT) interventions targeted children's early risk behaviours using telephone or short message service (SMS) support. To evaluate the effectiveness of telephone or SMS early intervention focusing on mothers' behaviours starting from late pregnancy to improve BMI, and eating and screen time behaviours of children aged 2 years in comparison with the control group. A 3‐arm RCT was conducted in Australia, 2017–2019. Two arms involved the interventions using nurse‐led telephone or SMS support, delivered in nine stages from late pregnancy to age 2 years. The third arm was control. The primary outcome was children's objectively measured BMI and BMI z ‐score at 2 years. Secondary outcomes included child eating and screen time behaviours as reported by parents at 2 years. At 2 years, 797 mother–child dyads (69%) completed the telephone survey with 666 (58%) completing weight and height measurements. The study found no statistically significant difference in BMI between the groups. The mean BMI for telephone support was 16.93 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.13), for SMS 16.92 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.11) or for control 16.95 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.16) with a difference of −0.02 (95% CI: −0.31 to 0.27, p = 0.907) in telephone versus control, and a difference of −0.03 (95% CI: −0.30 to 0.24, p = 0.816) in SMS versus control. Telephone support was associated with higher odds of no bottle at bedtime (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.99 95% CI: 2.01 to 4.47), family meals (AOR: 2.05 95% CI: 1.26 to 3.33), drinking from a cup (AOR: 1.89 95% CI: 1.24 to 2.88), less screen time ( h/day) (AOR: 1.56 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.23) and not eating dinner in front of the TV (AOR: 1.50 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.06). SMS support was also associated with higher odds of no bottle at bedtime (AOR 2.30, 95% CI: 1.58 to 3.33) than the control. The telephone or SMS support intervention had no significant effects on BMI, but was effective in increasing no bottle use at bedtime. Telephone support showed more effects than SMS on reducing screen time and eating behaviours.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-08-2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 16-10-2023
No related grants have been discovered for Huilan Xu.