Exploring the relationship between breastfeeding and the incidence of infant illnesses in Ireland: evidence from a nationally representative prospective cohort study.

Background: Ireland has one of the lowest BF rates in the world. This study investigates the association between breastfeeding and infant health in Ireland.

Methods: A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of data collected from Growing Up in Ireland (GUI): the National Longitudinal Study of Children was conducted.

Preferences for support in managing symptoms of an asthma flare-up: a pilot study of a discrete choice experiment.

Information on the preferences of people with asthma for support in managing a flare-up can inform service design which may facilitate appropriate help-seeking. To date, little is known about support preferences for managing a flare-up. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit the preferences of people with asthma with regards to support in managing a flare-up.

The preferences of people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for self-management support: A qualitative descriptive study.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the self-management support (SMS) preferences of adults with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Background: Self-management support interventions have had beneficial outcomes for people with asthma and people with COPD, though challenges remain in their implementation. Increased understanding of the support preferences of people with asthma/COPD can help inform the development of future interventions to address patients' preferences.

Exploring healthcare professionals' views of the acceptability of delivering interventions to promote healthy infant feeding practices within primary care: a qualitative interview study.

Objective: Early-life nutrition plays a key role in establishing healthy lifestyles and preventing chronic disease. This study aimed to (1) explore healthcare professionals' (HCP) opinions on the acceptability of and factors influencing the delivery of interventions to promote healthy infant feeding behaviours within primary care and (2) identify proposed barriers/enablers to delivering such interventions during vaccination visits, to inform the development of a childhood obesity prevention intervention.

Design: A qualitative study design was employed using semi-structured telephone interviews.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: An overview of the health service and economic policy response.

Objectives: To outline the situation in Ireland with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Analyse the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Review the key public health and health system responses.

Influence of providing information to participants about development of trial outcomes on response rates and attitudes to questionnaire completion: Protocol for a study within a trial.

Issues with questionnaire completion introduce bias and limit examinations in trials. Improving communication with participants about trial processes, such as outcome and questionnaire development, may improve questionnaire completion and response rates. Providing information about the involvement of stakeholders in the development of core outcome sets (COS) measured in trials may improve responding by tapping into subjective norms and behaviour change mechanisms.

A collaborative approach to developing sustainable behaviour change interventions for childhood obesity prevention: Development of the Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) intervention and implementation strategy.

Objectives And Design: There is growing recognition of the need for effective behaviour change interventions to prevent chronic diseases that are feasible and sustainable and can be implemented within routine health care systems. Focusing on implementation from the outset of intervention development, and incorporating multiple stakeholder perspectives to achieve this, is therefore essential. This study explores the development of the Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) childhood obesity prevention intervention and implementation strategy to improve infant feeding behaviours.

A core outcome set for trials of infant-feeding interventions to prevent childhood obesity.

Background: Standardisation of outcomes measured and reported in trials of infant-feeding interventions to prevent childhood obesity is essential to evaluate and synthesise intervention effects. The aim of this study is to develop an infant-feeding core outcome set for use in randomised trials of infant-feeding interventions, with children ≤1 year old, to prevent childhood obesity.

Methods: Core outcome set development followed four stages: (1) systematic review of outcomes reported in the extant literature; (2) meeting with national and international stakeholders to discuss and clarify identified outcomes; (3) e-Delphi study with national and international stakeholders to prioritise outcomes; (4) meeting with national and international stakeholders to reach consensus on outcomes.

Preferences for Weight Loss Treatment Amongst Treatment-Seeking Patients with Severe Obesity: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Background: Treatment options for weight loss vary considerably with regard to risks and benefits, but the relative importance of treatment characteristics in patient decision-making is largely unknown, particularly amongst patients with severe obesity. Developing such services requires insight into the preferences of recipients for service attributes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify, using a discrete choice experiment, the preferences of treatment-seeking patients with severe obesity within the Irish population regarding different attributes of various obesity treatments.

Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) study: protocol for a feasibility study.

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a public health challenge. There is evidence for associations between parents' feeding behaviours and childhood obesity risk. Primary care provides a unique opportunity for delivery of infant feeding interventions for childhood obesity prevention.

Behaviour change techniques and theory use in healthcare professional-delivered infant feeding interventions to prevent childhood obesity: a systematic review.

The conceptual basis of early childhood feeding interventions for obesity prevention is poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review is to characterise these interventions' use of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and psychological theory, focusing on interventions delivered by healthcare professionals for children ≤ 2 years. We searched seven electronic databases from inception to January 2019 and identified 12 trials.

Do mothers accurately identify their child's overweight/obesity status during early childhood? Evidence from a nationally representative cohort study.

Background: Maternal recognition of overweight/obesity during early childhood is a key determinant in achieving healthy weight status in children. The aim of this study is to 1) investigate maternal perceptions of their child weight, focusing on whether or not mothers accurately identify if their child is overweight or obese at three years old and five years old; 2) identify the factors influencing maternal misperceptions regarding their child's weight at three years old and five years old, 3) ascertain if a failure to recognize overweight/obesity at three years old is associated with the likelihood of doing so at five years old.

Methods: Using two waves of the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study data regarding child, maternal, and household characteristics as well as healthcare access and utilization variables were obtained for mothers when their children are three and five years old respectively.

Intervention Fidelity Within Trials of Infant Feeding Behavioral Interventions to Prevent Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review.

Background: Intervention fidelity refers to whether an intervention has been implemented as intended. Trials of infant feeding behavioral interventions to prevent childhood obesity show inconsistent evidence of effectiveness. However, intervention fidelity has not been previously explored within these trials, limiting interpretation of findings.

Development of an infant feeding core outcome set for childhood obesity interventions: study protocol.

Background: Childhood obesity is a significant public health challenge that affects approximately one in five children worldwide. Infant feeding practices are implicated in the aetiology of childhood obesity. Infant feeding interventions for childhood obesity are increasingly popular but outcome reporting is inconsistent across trials.

The impact of childhood overweight and obesity on healthcare utilisation.

Rising levels of childhood overweight and obesity represent a major global public health challenge. A number of studies have explored the association between childhood overweight and obesity and healthcare utilisation and costs. This paper adds to the literature by estimating the causal effect of child overweight and obesity status on use of general practitioner (GP) and hospital inpatient stays at two time points using instrumental variable (IV) methods The paper uses data from two waves of the Growing Up in Ireland survey of children when they are 9 and 13 years respectively and uses the biological mother's body mass index (BMI) as an instrument for the child's BMI.

Low expectations: Do teachers underestimate the ability of overweight children or the children of overweight mothers?

Using the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland Survey of nine year old children we examine whether a teacher's assessment of their pupil's academic ability is influenced by the weight status of the child and/or the child's mother. Multivariate regression analyses of the teacher's assessment, controlling for the child's actual test performance, their BMI, their mother's BMI, other socio-demographic and teacher characteristics were undertaken. The study highlighted that child BMI was not a significant determinant but that children whose mother was obese were more likely to be rated as below average in reading and in maths compared to those whose mother was leaner, after adjusting for their measured ability.

An examination of the relationships between service use and alternative measures of obesity among community-dwelling adults in Ireland.

Obesity has received increased attention arising from its increasing prevalence and the implications of obesity-related problems for society and the wider economy. To estimate healthcare and non-healthcare obesity impacts, many studies rely on body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity. However BMI is considered to be a noisy measure of total body fat that unlike some other measures does not capture fat distribution.