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

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          Abstract

          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.

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          Most cited references50

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          Using thematic analysis in psychology

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            Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations.

            Standards for reporting exist for many types of quantitative research, but currently none exist for the broad spectrum of qualitative research. The purpose of the present study was to formulate and define standards for reporting qualitative research while preserving the requisite flexibility to accommodate various paradigms, approaches, and methods.
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              One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis?

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Lisette.farias.vera@ki.se
                Journal
                Int J Equity Health
                Int J Equity Health
                International Journal for Equity in Health
                BioMed Central (London )
                1475-9276
                11 September 2024
                11 September 2024
                2024
                : 23
                : 180
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, ( https://ror.org/056d84691) Huddinge, 141 83 Sweden
                [2 ]Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institutet, ( https://ror.org/056d84691) Huddinge, 141 83 Sweden
                [3 ]Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, ( https://ror.org/056d84691) Solna, 171 77 Sweden
                [4 ]The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Department of Physical Activity and Health, ( https://ror.org/046hach49) Lidingövägen 1, Stockholm, 114 33 Sweden
                [5 ]Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, ( https://ror.org/056d84691) Stockholm, 171 77 Sweden
                Article
                2271
                10.1186/s12939-024-02271-8
                11389329
                39261839
                4bddfa4f-0630-48df-9323-b7a1d1bab1f8
                © The Author(s) 2024

                Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

                History
                : 7 June 2024
                : 9 September 2024
                Funding
                Funded by: Karolinska Institute
                Categories
                Research
                Custom metadata
                © BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2024

                Health & Social care
                disadvantaged populations,family intervention,health equity,segregation,migrants,physical activity,thematic analysis

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