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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1383270
This article is part of the Research Topic How School Health and Nutrition Interventions are Reshaping the Global Public Health Narrative View all 3 articles

Parental Acceptance of Brain Health Programs for Preschool Children: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Barriers, Facilitators and Future Approaches

Provisionally accepted
Lily A. Montague Lily A. Montague 1Sue Hespos Sue Hespos 1Erin Mackenzie Erin Mackenzie 2Joyce Siette Joyce Siette 1*
  • 1 The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
  • 2 School of Education, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    For full guidelines please refer to Author Guidelines Background: Recent research proposes that as much as 40% of dementia risk is amendable. Promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours in early life through educational methods can cultivate habits that may decrease dementia risk in later life. This study explores parental acceptance of brain health programs tailored for preschool children, aiming to identify barriers and facilitators affecting parental and child engagement.Methods: Mixed-methods cross-sectional study. Urban and suburban parents (N = 187, Mage = 37.3 SD = 5.53, range = 29) of children aged three to five years across Australia. Parents participated in an online survey containing both open and closed questions exploring their personal views and opinions on brain health programs for their preschool children. Descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression analyses, and thematic analysis were used to explore sociodemographic factors associated with parental program acceptance.Results: Most participants accepted a brain health program with over 98% agreeing a program would be useful for their child(ren). Participants with younger aged children were more likely to exhibit acceptance of a program (β = -.209, p = .007). Three main categories emerged: dual home and preschool environments, the need for engaging brain health programs that were hands-on and screenfree, and addressing key barriers such as time and financial constraints to support implementation. Conclusion: Participants valued educating their children for a healthy life and viewed brain health programs favourably. This study contributes to early childhood education discussions, offering guidance for future generations' brain health and wellbeing.

    Keywords: Brain health, preschool, Parental acceptance, Dementia risk, Public Health

    Received: 07 Feb 2024; Accepted: 03 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Montague, Hespos, Mackenzie and Siette. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Joyce Siette, The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.