Mutual Experiences of Japanese Parents and Their Children When Late School-Age Children Engage in Meal-Related Family Routines: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent and Child Dyads

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to identify the type of experiences that parents and their children have with each other when late-school age children take on roles in family routines related to daily meals. Methods: A grounded theory approach was used. The participants were children in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades of elementary school and their main caregivers. First, 10 parent and child dyads were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule. Next, online group interviews were conducted for 17 parent and child dyads to deductively confirm the categories. Results: The average age of the subjects was 41.9 years for parents and 10.4 years for children in parent-child interviews, and 41.1 years for parents and 9.6 years for children in group interviews. Six categories emerged with nineteen subcategories. Conclusions: Experiences mutually nurtured by parents and their children included experiences in which children used negotiation and conversation skills to consensually engage in family routines related to meals. It also included experiences that socialized the children in family life and fostered good communication. The six categories will be useful for healthcare professionals and school authorities in providing health guidance that addresses health functions of late school-age children and their families.

I must eat what I want: A roadblock to type 2 diabetes management

Globally,type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)is considered as one of the most common diseases,which is associated with irreversible risk factors such as age,gene,race,ethnicity,and reversible factors such as diet,physical activity,and smoking.Noncompliance to dietary regimen is the major factors for rapidly rising incidence of T2DM among developing countries.Recently,elevated HbA1c level has also been considered as one of the leading risk factors for developing microvascular and macrovascular complications.Improvement in the elevated HbA1c level can be achieved through diet management;thus,this study found that improvement in patients’dietary knowledge,attitude toward,and compliance to diet regimen will promote a better control of the disease.In conclusion,the stakeholders(health-care providers,health facilities,agencies involved in T2DM care)should educate the patients on the importance of dietary modification in the disease management.Similarly,there is a need for nurses and other health care professionals to advocate and promote a better holistic management that will encourage patients participation and family involvement in the care.