Participants stories about long-term achievement 60-months after attending a Healthy Life Centre programme (the VEND-RISK study) - a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Background

Experiences of long-term achievement in participants attending programs for changing health habits including diet and physical activity interventions aiming for weight reduction is lacking. This study aimed to explore how participants experienced their own achievement of healthy habits 60 months after attending a Healthy Life Centre programme in the Norwegian primary healthcare.

Methods

An explorative qualitative design with an inductive approach was employed. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed with 20 participants attending a Healthy Life Centre programme 60 months ago. They were aged 30–72 years, and 55% were females. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using systematic text condensation.

Results

Two main themes emerged from the interviews with three subthemes each. The first theme “Changes over time” includes “Nutritional changes”, “Physical activities adjusted to own presumptions” and “Health habits incorporated into life with manageable goals”. The second theme “Barriers to fulfil changes” includes ”Life circumstances with health issues influences the continuity to adjust to changes”, “a busy everyday life” and “a lack of external drive when not having commitment to the Healthy Life Centre”.

Conclusions

Focusing on changes adjusted to participants' own everyday lives and having an approach with small goals can facilitate long-term changes in health habits.

KEYWORDS:

• Health habits
• primary healthcare
• dietary changes
• physical activities
• qualitative research

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the informants for sharing their stories and Monica Devle and Lillian Hernes for their help in recruiting participants and facilitate the interviews in the Municipalities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors’ contributions

ISF and A-SH had the research idea. The study was designed by ISF and A-SH in collaboration with KJ. KJ performed most of the data collection, with ISF performing the first interviews. ISF was mainly responsible for the analysis. All authors took part in the analyses and worked out the main results together. KJ first wrote a Norwegian study report, not published, and ISF drafted the manuscript in collaboration with KJ and A-SH. All authors have critically commented on the manuscript and given the final approval to the manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

The raw data supporting the findings in this article can be found at the Centre for Obesity Research (ObeCe), St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway. Due to the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics in Central Norway regulations, we have to secure the anonymity of the participants. In the raw data, it is possible to identify the participants, and restrictions therefore apply to the availability of these data.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All participants received oral and written information to enable them to make an informed choice about participating in the present study, and all participants signed an informed consent form. The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health research in central Norway (REK).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Centre for Obesity Research and Innovation (ObeCe), St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim.

Notes on contributors

Ingrid S Følling

Ingrid Sørdal Følling PhD, Associate Professor at the Department for Clinical and Molecular Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU and Researcher at St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.

Karen Joramo

Karen Joramo MSc, Student at Department for Clinical and Molecular Medicine at NTNU.

Anne Helvik

Anne-Sofie Helvik Professor at the Department for Public Health and Nursing at The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU, and at Norwegian Advisory Unit on Aging and Health.