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Abstract Background Only limited data are available on the development and feasibility piloting of school-based interventions to prevent and reduce obesity in children. Clear documentation of the rationale, process of development and content of such interventions is essential to enable other researchers to understand why interventions succeed or fail. Methods This paper describes the development of the Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP), a school-based intervention to prevent obesity in children, through the first 4 steps of the Intervention Mapping protocol (IM). The intervention focuses on the following health behaviours, i) reduction of the consumption of sweetened fizzy drinks, ii) increase in the proportion of healthy snacks consumed and iii) reduction of TV viewing and other screen-based activities, within the context of a wider attempt to improve diet and increase physical activity. Results Two phases of pilot work demonstrated that the intervention was acceptable and feasible for schools, children and their families and suggested areas for further refinement. Feedback from the first pilot phase suggested that the 9-10 year olds were both receptive to the messages and more able and willing to translate them into possible behaviour changes than older or younger children and engaged their families to the greatest extent. Performance objectives were mapped onto 3 three broad domains of behaviour change objectives - establish motivation, take action and stay motivated - in order to create an intervention that supports and enables behaviour change. Activities include whole school assemblies, parents evenings, sport/dance workshops, classroom based education lessons, interactive drama workshops and goal setting and runs over three school terms. Conclusion The Intervention Mapping protocol was a useful tool in developing a feasible, theory based intervention aimed at motivating children and their families to make small sustainable changes to their eating and activity behaviours. Although the process was time consuming, this systematic approach ensures that the behaviour change techniques and delivery methods link directly to the Programme's performance objectives and their associated determinants. This in turn provides a clear framework for process analysis and increases the potential of the intervention to realise the desired outcome of preventing and reducing obesity in children.

Abstract Background Over 300 therapies have been proposed for premenstrual syndrome. To date there has been only one survey conducted in the UK of PMS treatments prescribed by GPs, a questionnaire-based study by the National Association of Premenstrual Syndrome in 1989. Since then, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors have been licensed for severe PMS/PMDD, and governmental recommendations to reduce the dosage of vitamin B6 (the first choice over-the-counter treatment for many women with PMS) have been made. This study investigates the annual rates of diagnoses and prescribing patterns for premenstrual syndrome (1993–1998) within a computerised general practitioner database. Methods Retrospective survey of prescribing data for premenstrual syndrome between 1993–1998 using the General Practice Research Database for the West Midlands Region which contains information on 282,600 female patients Results Overall the proportion of women with a prescription-linked diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome has halved over the five years. Progestogens including progesterone were the most commonly recorded treatment for premenstrual syndrome during the whole study period accounting for over 40% of all prescriptions. Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors accounted for only 2% of the prescriptions in 1993 but rose to over 16% by 1998, becoming the second most commonly recorded treatment. Vitamin B6 accounted for 22% of the prescriptions in 1993 but dropped markedly between 1997 and 1998 to 11%. Conclusions This study shows a yearly decrease in the number of prescriptions linked to diagnoses for premenstrual syndrome. Progestogens including progesterone, is the most widely prescribed treatment for premenstrual syndrome despite the lack of evidence demonstrating their efficacy.

Objectives: To develop a school-based obesity prevention programme and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and the planned definitive cluster randomised trial. Design: This was a three stage pilot involving six schools (398 children) in South West England, including an exploratory randomised controlled trial and qualitative interviews and focus groups with teachers, parents and children. Intervention: The Healthy Lifestyle Programme uses a range of school-based activities including lessons, assemblies, parents' evenings, interactive drama workshops and goal setting to engage schools, children and their families. Results: Of the 398 eligible children in the three pilot phases, only four opted out and a further three withdrew from the exploratory trial. In the exploratory trial, baseline measurements (anthropometric and behavioural) were obtained for 202/204 eligible children in four schools and both 18- and 24-month outcome measurements for 193/204 and 187/204 participants, respectively. Qualitative data show that delivery of the intervention is feasible within schools and acceptable to teachers, children and families. In the exploratory trial, 18/80 children (24%) in the intervention schools and 31/122 (26%) in the control schools were overweight or obese at baseline, increasing, at 18-month follow-up, to 38/119 (32%) in the control schools compared with 18/74 (24%) in the intervention schools. At 24 months the proportion of overweight and obese children in the control schools remained at 32% (36/114), whereas the proportion in the intervention schools decreased slightly to 22% (16/73). Conclusion: The Healthy Lifestyle Programme is feasible to deliver and acceptable to schools, children and their families. We recruited, retained and obtained outcome measurements from 92% of eligible children in the exploratory trial, including measurements taken after transition to secondary school, suggesting that a definitive trial is likely to be deliverable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]