Table 4 Focus group and interview findings on perceptions regarding maintenance in a community-based healthy lifestyle program
Maintenance of healthy change | |
|---|---|
Keeping them on track is really helpful, not just to go away and they forget all about it. (Researcher) | |
Barriers | Enablers |
Difficulty in sustaining change and keeping links to the program | Follow up |
• Following up with people…see how they’re going …keeps people a bit accountable and gives them a bit of motivation and reminders that we all need. (Allied Health Professional) | |
• The feedback from the kids and the parents is that they miss the regular contact and regular check in. I’ve had families specifically ring and say after a few weeks, ‘It’s not going well. I can’t do this and I need some support”. It’s like they need to set some goals and have someone else sit down with them and set some goals to keep going. (Researcher) | |
Positive changes are highlighted | |
• If they see positive changes in themselves, whether it’s weight loss or they just feel better, I think if they see those changes, they’re more likely to carry that on…, they’re seeing benefits then that’s the biggest motivator”. (Allied Health Professional) | |
Lack of services to support change | Online/electronic media |
• I think text. All kids have phones, most parents have got phones. That’s what they hang off. (School Health Nurse) | |
• There’s a lack of centres or activities for kids who don’t want to be into sport, who may want to do something not as physical but with some physicality, but not in team sports. (School Health Manager) | |
Transition into community | |
• Ways of linking them into community facilities as you kind of wean the program off. Looking at what’s available for them…So they’re exposed or it’s identified to them what opportunities are available in their environment so that there’s that potential for carry on. (Researcher) | |