'For me it's just the conversation:' responsive feeding influences among early childhood educators.

Objective: Early learning and childcare (ELCC) programmes play an important role in shaping children's eating behaviours and long-term health by establishing a responsive feeding environment that encompasses not only mealtime behaviours but also extends to play activities and language used throughout the day. Despite their potential benefits, many ELCC centres do not consistently implement responsive feeding behaviours, facing challenges with organisational and behavioural changes within these environments. This study aims to identify influences on responsive feeding behaviours among early childhood educators prior to an intervention.

CELEBRATE Feeding: A Responsive Approach to Food and Feeding in Early Learning Settings.

Early learning and child care (ELCC) settings in Canada follow nutrition standards that outline food provisions, with many also encouraging responsive feeding practices that help to create a supportive environment for children. Caregivers who lack confidence in children's ability to regulate their own intake, or those who feel stressed about mealtime, may unknowingly engage in less responsive feeding practices. The CELEBRATE Feeding Approach is a flexible framework, driven by behaviour change theory, that builds on previous definitions and concepts of responsive feeding in ELCC environments.

Uncovering the wider impact of COVID-19 measures on the lives of children with complex care needs and their families: A mixed-methods study protocol.

Existing barriers to care were exacerbated by the development and implementation of necessary public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children with complex care needs and their families represent a small portion of the paediatric population, and yet they require disproportionately high access to services. Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 public health measures on this population.

Advancing assessment of responsive feeding environments and practices in child care.

Child care environments offer an ideal setting for feeding interventions. CELEBRATE Feeding is an approach implemented in child care environments in two Maritime Provinces in Canada to support responsive feeding (RF) to foster children's self-efficacy, self-regulation, and healthy relationships with food. This study aimed to describe RF in child care using established and enhanced scoring frameworks.

Lack of Publicly Available Documentation Limits Spread of Integrated Care Innovations in Canada.

As healthcare in Canada is provincially operated, the program innovations in one jurisdiction may not be readily known in other jurisdictions. We examine the availability of implementation-specific data for 30 innovative Canadian programs designed to integrate health and social services for patients with complex needs. Using publicly available data and key informant interviews, we were able to populate only ∼50% of our data collection tool (on average).

Looking through the lens: a photovoice study examining access to services for newcomer children.

Purpose: Canadian new immigrant families (also known as newcomers) encounter challenges navigating systems when trying to access programmes critical for their children's healthy development. The purpose of this study is to understand how newcomer families find and use early childhood programmes and services from the perspective of families and early childhood educators (ECEs) working within a settlement organization.

Methods: Using photovoice methodology, newcomer family members ( = 8) with young children and ECEs ( = 6) participated in a series of virtual workshops to share photos and reflect on their experiences.

Anti-Black racism in the early years: the experiences of Black families and early childhood educators in Nova Scotia.

Introduction: Anti-Black racism is a social determinant of health that has significantly impacted Black children and families. Limited research has examined anti-Black racism during the early years-a critical period of development. In this study, we sought to understand the manifestations of anti-Black racism in early childhood and explore its impact on Black children and families.

Relative Importance of Well-Being Determinants in Atlantic Canadian Families During the Pandemic.

Framed by the socio-ecological model of well-being, we examined the relative importance of factors contributing to three dimensions of well-being (child, parent, and family) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 536 participants from the Atlantic provinces of Canada answered a cross-sectional survey in 2021, covering experiences during the pandemic (eg, changes in family life and well-being). Well-being was assessed with 3 single-item measures on positive change in the life of children, parents, and families during the pandemic.

An Environmental Scan of Existing Canadian Childcare Resources Targeting Improvements in Health Behaviours.

Unlabelled: The objective was to conduct an environmental scan of existing Canadian childcare resources targeting nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep. A comprehensive search plan was conducted that involved four search strategies: (1) grey literature databases, (2) customized Google search engines, (3) targeted websites, and (4) consultation with content experts. A resource (i.

Responsive Environments in Childcare Settings: A Scoping Review of the Factors Influencing Implementation and Sustainability.

Children benefit from responsive feeding environments, where their internal signals of hunger and satiety are recognized and met with prompt, emotionally supportive and developmentally appropriate responses. Although there is existing research on responsive feeding environments in childcare, there is little synthesized literature on the implementation practices using a behavior change framework. This scoping review sought to explore the factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of responsive feeding interventions in the childcare environment, using the behavior change wheel (BCW).

Comparison of Responsive Feeding Practices in Child Care and Home Environments in Nova Scotia.

The values, beliefs and practices between the family home and child care environment can play a role in shaping a responsive food environment for young children, but few studies have explored the differences across these settings. The purpose of this study was to compare responsive feeding practices in child care and home environments through the framework of the 2019 Canada Food Guide healthy eating recommendations. Nova Scotia families and child care providers completed an online survey on responsive feeding.

Early pandemic impacts on family environments that shape childhood development and health: A Canadian study.

Objectives: Changes to income and employment are key social determinants of health that have impacted many families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to understand how changes to employment and income influenced family environments that contribute to early childhood development and health.

Methods: A concurrent triangulation mixed method design was used through a cross-sectional survey on early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic involving families with young children in the Canadian Maritime provinces (n = 2158).

Programmes to support transitions in community care for children with complex care needs: a scoping review.

Objective: This scoping review aimed to map the range of programmes in the literature to support children and youth with complex care needs and their families during transitions in care in the community.

Design: A scoping review of the literature.

Context: This review included programmes that supported the transition in care to home and between settings in the community.

Programmes to support paediatric to adult healthcare transitions for youth with complex care needs and their families: A scoping review.

Background: An increasing number of children have complex care needs (CCN) that impact their health and cause limitations in their lives. More of these youth are transitioning from paediatric to adult healthcare due to complex conditions being increasingly associated with survival into adulthood. Typically, the transition process is plagued by barriers, which can lead to adverse health consequences.

Responsive feeding values and practices among families across the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Children benefit from responsive feeding practices where their internal signals of hunger and satiety are valued and met with prompt, emotionally supportive, and developmentally appropriate responses. Using an online survey, this study describes responsive feeding values and practices among parents of young children (0-5 years) ( = 1039) across 3 Canadian Maritime provinces. Independent-samples t-tests and 1-way ANOVA were performed to determine the differences in survey questions related to the responsive feeding practices and values.

Appetite for change? Facilitators and barriers to nutrition guideline implementation in Canadian recreational facilities.

As providers of community-based physical activity programs, recreation and sports facilities serve as an important resource for health promotion. Unfortunately, the food environments within these settings often do not reflect healthy eating guidelines. This study sought to describe facilitators and barriers to implementing provincial nutrition guidelines in recreation and sports facilities in three Canadian provinces with nutrition guidelines.

School quality of life: Cross-national comparison of students' perspectives.

Background: Cross-national comparisons of students' school quality of life (QoL) can support our understanding of factors that may affect students' health and well-being at school.

Objective: To compare Canadian and Israeli students' perception of their school QoL.

Methods: The Quality of Life at School Questionnaire (QoLS) was administered to 1231 students in 4th to 6th grades from Canada (n = 629) and Israel (n = 602), measuring: Physical Environment, Positive Attitudes, Student-Teacher Relationship, and Psychosocial.

Engaged scholarship and public policy decision-making: a scoping review.

Background: Engaged scholarship includes the coproduction and use of research by partnerships that blend research, policy and/or practice perspectives. This way of doing research attempts to bridge-the-gap between knowledge and its application. Recent reviews have described practices that support engagement and involve the community in research and patients in healthcare but there is less known about how to engage individuals working to inform public policy.

Educator perceptions on the benefits and challenges of loose parts play in the outdoor environments of childcare centres.

It is important to consider physical activity and movement in early life to ensure children establish and maintain healthy physical activity patterns. Recent evidence has highlighted the importance of outdoor play and the childcare environment. Active outdoor play, especially free play, supports independence, self-regulation and allows children to explore their world and make decisions.

Eat, play, live: a randomized controlled trial within a natural experiment examining the role of nutrition policy and capacity building in improving food environments in recreation and sport facilities.

Background: Recreation and sport facilities often have unhealthy food environments that may promote unhealthy dietary patterns among children. In response, some Canadian provinces have released voluntary nutrition guidelines for recreation and sport facilities, however implementation has been limited. Organizational capacity building may overcome barriers to implementing guidelines.

Food in Focus: Youth Exploring Food in Schools Using Photovoice.

Objective: As part of a study exploring school food environments, this study aimed to understand youth perspectives of school food.

Design: Photovoice, a qualitative visual methodology, was used to engage participants through photo-taking, with goals of enabling reflection, promoting dialogue, and facilitating change.

Setting: Participants were recruited through 2 youth-focused community organizations in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Association between Perceived Adequacy and Capacity for School Food Policy Implementation with Food Availability and Policy Adherence in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Supporting the implementation of school food and nutrition policies is an international priority to encourage healthier eating among children and youth. Schools are an important intervention setting to promote childhood nutrition, and many jurisdictions have adopted policies, guidelines, and programs to modify the school nutrition environment and promote healthier eating. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between perceived adequacy of facilities or equipment and capacity of staff to support policy implementation with food availability and policy adherence in the province of Nova Scotia (NS), Canada, one of the first regions in Canada to launch a comprehensive school food and nutrition policy (SFNP).

Understanding System-Level Intervention Points to Support School Food and Nutrition Policy Implementation in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Supporting the implementation of school food and nutrition policies (SFNPs) is an international priority to encourage healthier eating among children and youth. Such policies can improve equitable access, resources, and supports for healthy eating. However, despite the potential impact of SFNPs, several implementation barriers have been reported.

Voluntary nutrition guidelines to support healthy eating in recreation and sports settings are ineffective: findings from a prospective study.

Interventions to support healthy eating among populations are needed to address diet-related chronic disease. Recreation and sport settings are increasingly identified as ideal settings for promoting overall health, particularly for children, through creation of environments that support positive health behaviours. These publicly funded settings typically support health through physical activity promotion.

Describing Food Availability in Schools Using Different Healthy Eating Guidelines: Moving Forward with Simpler Nutrition Recommendations.

Purpose: Internationally, there is debate on whether a nutrient or a food-based approach to policy is more effective. This study describes the food/beverage availability in schools in Nova Scotia through a comparison of a traditional nutrient classification ("Maximum/Moderate/Minimum"), currently used in the provincial school policy and a simplified food-based system ("Core/Extra").

Methods: School food environment audits were conducted in schools (n = 25) to record the food and beverages available.