Dataset Information

"I'm Still on Track": A Qualitative Exploration of Participant Experiences of a Weight Loss Maintenance Program.

ABSTRACT: Qualitative evidence of participants' experiences of real-life weight loss maintenance programs is important for ongoing participant engagement and can inform program improvements. The purpose of this study was to understand how participants account for their engagement with a weight loss maintenance program and the role of the program in their weight management. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 17 participants of a weight loss maintenance program was conducted; common themes were identified using a thematic inductive approach. Many participant narratives incorporated recurrent descriptions of their program experiences as a weight management journey. Our analysis generated four themes: returning to real life as a threat, the personal responsibility imperative, the program supporting agency and the program supporting self-regulation. The program, which provides external support and strategies, overlapped with the context of returning to real life and the personal responsibility imperative. Participant accounts of their journey at this intersection include the program supporting both agency and self-regulation which influences ongoing weight management. The interplay between themes identified and the maintenance program services allows compatibility between participants' sense of personal responsibility and the program components to help participants to 'stay on track' or 'get back on track'. In providing sufficient structure, opportunities to revisit successful strategies, and accountability, participants are empowered to overcome real-life threats and make positive health choices.

SUBMITTER: McGill B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7151193 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

"I'm Still on Track": A Qualitative Exploration of Participant Experiences of a Weight Loss Maintenance Program.

McGill Bronwyn B O'Hara Blythe J BJ Phongsavan Philayrath P Bauman Adrian A Lawler Luke L Grunseit Anne C AC

Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) 20200116 1

Qualitative evidence of participants' experiences of real-life weight loss maintenance programs is important for ongoing participant engagement and can inform program improvements. The purpose of this study was to understand how participants account for their engagement with a weight loss maintenance program and the role of the program in their weight management. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 17 participants of a weight loss maintenance program was conducted; common t ...[more]

PMID: 31963312

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundResidential weight-loss programs aim to help persons with obesity lose weight and maintain a long-term healthy lifestyle. Knowledge is needed on the different actors' perceptions and experiences from such programs. The aim of this study was to describe how personnel argued for and perceived a residential weight-loss program, to investigate how the participants experienced the program, and to contrast these perspectives.MethodsThis qualitative study took place in an 18-week residential weight-loss program. Exercise, diet, and personal development were the main components in the program. Data was collected through participant observation and individual and focus group interviews with participants and personnel.ResultsProgram personnel characterized persons with obesity in specific terms, and these formed the basis of the educational aims, teaching principles, and content of the program. According to personnel, persons with obesity typically had problems acknowledging their own resources, lived unstructured lives, had a distorted relationship to food, experienced a range of social problems and featured a lack of personal insight. Program participants reported enthusiasm about their experiences of exercise and appreciated measures of success with the exercise program. They had, however, very different experiences regarding the usefulness and appropriateness of the parts of the program focused on social and personal development. Some felt that weight loss required an engagement with personal development while others viewed it as unnecessary and inappropriate.ConclusionThe reliance in personnel accounts on particular characteristics of persons with obesity as a rationale for the program might lead to stigmatizing and stereotyping. Program activities focused on social and personal development need to be better understood by participants if they are to be viewed as helpful. To achieve this personnel must carefully consider how these parts of the program are communicated and conducted.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Habit-based weight-loss interventions have shown clinically important weight loss and weight-loss maintenance. Understanding why habit-based interventions work is therefore of great value, but there is little qualitative evidence about the experiences of participants in such programmes. We explored the perspectives of individuals who completed two habit-based weight-management programmes, Ten Top Tips and Do Something Different. DESIGN:One-on-one, face-to-face, semistructured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. SETTING:Participants from the community were interviewed at Bond University, Australia. PARTICIPANTS:Using a maximum variation design, we recruited 15 participants (eight men, seven women) aged 39-69 years (mean 53.3 years, SD 10.3) with a range of education levels (no high school to university degree) and percentage weight change on the programmes (+4.0% to -10.4%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:(1) The general experience of participants who completed the Ten Top Tips or Do Something Different intervention, (2) whether and how the interventions affected the participants' lifestyle postintervention, and (3) participants' views regarding the acceptability and practical application of Ten Top Tips and Do Something Different. RESULTS:Participants reported positive experiences of the two programmes, both during and after the interventions. Participants particularly enjoyed the novelty of the interventions as they shifted focus from diet and exercise, to practical everyday habit changes. They also reported indirect health benefits such as increased energy levels, increased confidence and improved self-awareness. Accountability throughout the programmes and convenience of the interventions were identified as key themes and facilitators for weight-loss success. CONCLUSIONS:This study offers insight into how and why habit-based interventions might work. Overall, Ten Top Tips and Do Something Different are practical and convenient to implement, and are viewed favourably by participants when compared with conventional lifestyle programmes for weight control. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:ACTRN12615000114549.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To explore women's experiences of breastfeeding beyond infancy (>1?year). Understanding these experiences, including the motivators, enablers and barriers faced, may help inform future strategies to support and facilitate mothers to breastfeed for an optimal duration. DESIGN:An exploratory qualitative study using an interpretive approach. Nineteen semistructured interviews were conducted (in person, via phone or Skype), transcribed and thematically analysed using the framework method. SETTING:Participants drawn from across the UK through online breastfeeding support groups. PARTICIPANTS:Maximum variation sample of women currently breastfeeding a child older than 1?year, or who had done so in the previous 5?years. Participants were included if over 18, able to speak English at conversational level and resident in the UK. RESULTS:The findings offer insights into the challenges faced by women breastfeeding older children, including perceived social and cultural barriers. Three core themes were interpreted: (1) parenting philosophy; (2) breastfeeding beliefs; (3) transition from babyhood to toddlerhood. Women had not intended to breastfeed beyond infancy prior to delivery, but developed a 'child-led' approach to parenting and internalised strong beliefs that breastfeeding is the biological norm. Women perceived a negative shift in approval for continued breastfeeding as their child transitioned from 'baby' to 'toddler'. This compelled woman to conceal breastfeeding and fostered a reluctance to seek advice from healthcare professionals. Mothers reported feeling pressured to breastfeed when their babies were young, but discouraged as children grew. They identified best with the term 'natural-term breastfeeding'. CONCLUSIONS:This study suggests that providing antenatal education regarding biological weaning ages and promotion of guidelines for optimum breastfeeding duration may encourage more women to breastfeed for longer. Promoting the concept of natural-term breastfeeding to mothers, and healthcare professionals, employers and the public is necessary to normalise and encourage acceptance of breastfeeding beyond infancy.

Dataset Information

"I'm Still on Track": A Qualitative Exploration of Participant Experiences of a Weight Loss Maintenance Program.

Publications

"I'm Still on Track": A Qualitative Exploration of Participant Experiences of a Weight Loss Maintenance Program.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets