Content related with preschool children's health on Facebook: a study of parental informational needs

Background

Little is known how Lithuanian mothers use social networks to seek information about preschool children's health. This study aimed to identify health topics of the posts, characteristics of the most engaging posts, and practices shared in the comments.

Methods

This study included all accessible posts published in 2021 on one Facebook group with more than 21 000 Lithuanian mothers. In total, 1674 posts and 3192 comments on the most engaged group of posts (gastrointestinal disorders) were analysed. Number and type of reactions to posts, categories of health topics, aim, form, tone, and structure of the posts, also practice type on comment were registered.

Results

Among all posts, 72.9% were related to children's health. The most common health topics included injuries (17.1%), healthcare (15.1%), gastrointestinal disorders (9.7%), allergies and skin diseases (9.7%), nutrition, physical activity and health promotion (9.3%), nurture (8.9%). The most common form was text only (48.7%), repetitive aim was to ask about personal experience (47.5%), and recommendations (35.5%). Larger numbers of reactions achieved posts with sensitive tone, including appeal, child's health description, gratitude in advance, and written in Lithuanian (p < 0.05). Comments with healthy lifestyle recommendations, recommendations for medication, also recommendations to treat children by themselves, to visit physicians accounted for 73.6%, 26.4%, 36.0% and 10.8% respectively.

Conclusions

Main topics of children's health on Facebook for Lithuanian mothers are injuries, healthcare, gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, skin diseases, nutrition, physical activity, health promotion, nurture. Posts with sensitive tone, appeal, situation description, gratitude, written in Lithuanian achieve the largest number of reactions. Comments most frequently include advices to treat children at home, also healthy lifestyle recommendations.

Key messages

• Lithuanian mothers most frequently seek advices regarding preschool children’s injuries, healthcare, gastrointestinal issues, allergies and skin diseases, and nurture.

• Publication of posts including text only, sensitive tone, greetings, situation description, and gratitude might help to promote health more effectively.

Differences in consumption of sugar and sweeteners in two neighbor countries: Lithuania and Poland

Background

In connection with attempts to reduce consumption of added sugar, consumption of non-nutritive (or low caloric) sweeteners (NNS) is likely to increse in many countries. In addition to variety of NNS, limited evidence on public health effects related to NNS exist. Thus, it remains important to monitor consumption of added sugar and sweeteners in our societies. As Lithuania and Poland are neighbor countries with similar culture and nutritional habits, the objective of this study was to compare consumption of sweeteners among adults in Lithuania and Poland.

Methods

A representative sample of Lithuanian population of adults aged 18 to 75 years was formed. A total number of 1008 residents from Lithuania participated. Distribution of them by answers about consumption of added sugar and sweeteners was assessed with respect to results of the survey conducted in central part of Poland where a group of 2000 adult respondents was investigated.

Results

Majority of respondents in both countries declared consumption of added sugar: 79.3% and 87.4% of Lithuanian and Polish respondents, respectively (p-value less than 0.05). Apart from sugar, majority of the respondents in Lithuania declared consumption of honey or fructose (respectively, 78.1% and 43.4%), consumption of other sweeteners such as saccharin, stevia, corn syrup, aspartame and sucralose were less prevalent (respectively, 30.9%, 18.2%, 9.5%, 9.0%, 3.4%). In Poland, 41.8% of respondents declared consumption of products containing stevia. Distribution of Poles by answers to the question which sweetener they used most often was 26.6%, 23.6%, 15.6%, 12.3% for stevia, xylitol, aspartame and fructose, respectively. Honey, acesulfame K, thaumatin and other substances were used by a lower percentage of Polish respondents.

Conclusions

Despite cultural similarities consumption of added sugar and sweeteners among adults differed significantly in two neighbor counties: Lithuania and Poland.

Key messages

In comparison to Lithuania, consumption of added sugar, xylitol and natural non-nutritive but intense sweetener stevia was more prevalent in Poland. In comparison to Poland, consumption of added sugar was less prevalent, but non-intense and high in calories sweeteners were more prevalent in Lithuania.

Well-being of families of people with psychosocial disabilites in context of deinstitutionalization

Background

A large part of disabled people have psychosocial disabilities. Importance of their inclusion is stated in many strategic documents. However, this group of people still faces many barriers in societies. Currently, deinstitutionalization is carried out in Lithuania. Well-being of people with psychosocial disabilities and their family members is affected by this process. Thus, we aimed to assess changes in well-being of family members of people with psychosocial disabilities during deinstitutionalization in Lithuania.

Methods

Data was collected during two stages of deinstitutionalization, in 2016 and 2019. Family members living with people with psychosocial disabilities answered anonymously to questions of Lithuanian psychological well-being scale. Respectively, 334 and 391 adults participated (13.8% of males and 86.2% of females each time). T scores and levels of well-being were calculated and compared according to socio-demographics of respondents and stage of deinstitutionalization.

Results

Generally, distribution of the participants did not differ by level of overall well-being between the stages of deinstitutionalization (p-value more than 0.05). Differently, place of residence, younger age, higher income and employment were associated with higher well-being. In the second phase, rural, younger, employed and full-time employed respondents had higher estimates of overall well-being (p-value less than 0.05). Also, younger and employed population had higher satisfaction with physical health, income, employment and life in Lithuania (p-value less than 0.05). In most counties of Lithuania, overall well-being of family members of people with psychosocial disabilities was in line with the average level.

Conclusions

Although distribution of family members of people with psychosocial disabilities by level of overall well-being had not changed from 2016 to 2019, an increase in well-being among rural, younger, employed and those with higher income was observed.

Key messages

Generally, overal well-being of family members of people with psychosocial disabilities had not changed during the process of deinstitutionalization in Lithuania from 2016 to 2019. Living in rural areas, younger age, higher income and employment were associated with an increase in well-being of family members of people with psychosocial disabilities.

Personal cell phones among children: attitudes of parents of primary school pupils

Background

A large number of primary school children have personal smartphones which enable them to communicate with lots of people and use social networks. However, social networking should not be accessible to primary school pupils due to existing age restrictions. Studies show that cell phones can be used to send offensive or sexual content to children or by them. This might have long-term effects on child's mental health and even provoke suicidal thoughts. While parents are able to control many aspects of children's life, we aimed to disclose parental attitudes towards use of mobile phones among children.

Methods

A total number of 619 parents of primary school children from middle-sized town of Lithuania participated in this study. Parents anonymously expressed their opinion to questions about personal cell phones usage among children. Distribution of participants was assessed according to social and demographic characteristics.

Results

Most of the respondents (79.8%) indicated that use of mobile phones might be harmful to children's health, 56.0% indicated that their children use social networks and every second child was registered by their parents (49.5%). Minority of the respondents (8.1%) thought that children (including children from other families) receive messages from strangers and communicate with them (2.1%). Similarly, very few of the respondents thought that children receive offensive (15.0%) or sexual (4.8%) content. Younger and lower educated parents registered their children to social networks more frequently (p-value less than 0.05). Lower educated parents more frequently indicated that offensive or sexual content can reach children via smartphones (p-value less than 0.05).

Conclusions

Majority of parents of primary school children thought that cell phones might be harmful to children's health but most of them did not pay attention to threats such as communication with strangers or transmission of sexual content.

Key messages

Only minority of parents of primary school children indicated communication with strangers or transmission of sexual content as threats induced by use of smartphones among children. Regardless that lower educated parents indicated awareness of content-related threats to children more frequently they registered their children to social networks more frequently as well.

Google Trends and forecasting of influenza epidemics in Lithuania

Background

Influenza epidemics are a major public health concern, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. Studies suggest a possible beneficial use of online activity monitoring in influenza epidemics surveillance and forecasting. Until the present time Google search user activity has not been assessed for forecasting of influenza epidemics in Lithuania. Though this country has 2.8 million residents and mother language of majority of them is Lithuanian. Thus, we assessed a possible use of Google Trends for forecasting of influenza epidemics in Lithuania.

Methods

We translated Google queries most commonly analyzed for forecasting of influenza epidemics by other researchers to Lithuanian language and used Google Trends to retrieve data about frequency of their usage in Google Search during the period of last 5 years. We assessed cross-correlation between usage frequency of each query with an incidence rate of acute upper respiratory tract infections (AURTI) and influenza. Providing data available 2 weeks before the first announcement of influenza epidemic, for the query with the strongest correlation we constructed the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and used it to make a forecast for upcoming 9 weeks. Then we assessed the cross-correlation between the forecast and incidence rate of AURTI and influenza.

Results

We found the strongest correlation with an incidence rate of AURTI and influenza for a keyword ‘gripas’ (correlation coefficients were 0.805 and 0.803 for lags of 0 and 1, respectively, p = 0.001). 75% true values of the query usage frequency fell into 95% confidence interval of the forecast by ARIMA(1,0,0)(0,1,0)[52] model. Incidence rate of AURTI and influenza correlated with the forecast having coefficients of 0.902 and 0.733 for lags of 0 and 1, respectively (p = 0.007).

Conclusions

Query ‘gripas’ demonstrated the possible beneficial use in forecasting influenza epidemics 2 weeks before their onset.

Key messages

Google Trends has a potential to be used for forecasting influenza epidemics in Lithuania. Google Search query ‘gripas’ proved the most beneficial for forecasting incidence rate of upper respiratory tract infections and influenza in Lithuania.