Family perceptions of the Active Breed men's health program

Abstract

Introduction: Active Breed was a 12-week gender-tailored weight loss and health promotion program for men delivered through a professional National Rugby League club in South-Western Sydney, Australia. The intervention comprised 12 weekly 90-minute education and physical activity (PA) sessions delivered at the club’s home stadium. Education sessions focused on weight loss, PA, dietary intake, mental health, and domestic violence prevention, and PA sessions included training in the club’s gyms and rugby league-related games. Family members were invited to attend one ‘family night’ session in week 12. This study explored family members’ perceptions of the program and its broader impact on family health, wellbeing, and relationships.<br/ ><br/ >Methods: Upon completion of the 12-week intervention, partners and children of program completers were invited to participate in one-on-one interviews (n=6) or semi-structured focus groups (2x partner-only, 2x child-only). Participants were 17 family members (10 female partners, 7 children [5 male]) related to 10 men who completed the program. Family members were prompted to discuss their perceptions of the program, changes in their partner/father that they felt were attributable to program participation, and changes in their own health and lifestyle behaviours. Focus groups and interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed.<br/ ><br/ >Results: Five main themes were identified: improvement in lifestyle behaviours, awareness of domestic violence and mental health, positive impact on family relationships, other positive outcomes of the Active Breed program, and enablers and challenges to engaging men in health promotion programs. Family members observed multiple changes in their partners/fathers that they felt were attributable to their participation in Active Breed. These included weight loss, improved dietary habits, increased PA and health service engagement, and improved mood, confidence, and family relationships. Several family members reported engaging in more family PA, and as men started to make more healthful decisions about dietary intake, this positively influenced their family’s dietary choices. The mental health and domestic violence components resonated deeply with Active Breed participants, which led to ongoing conversations with partners and children about mental health and respectful relationships. Partners discussed the importance of family support for behaviour change and suggested actively engaging family members in future programs.<br/ ><br/ >Conclusions: The Active Breed program positively impacted the health, wellbeing, and family relationships for male participants and their families. The impact of the program may be maximised by engaging families more frequently during the intervention.