TY - JOUR
T1 - Nutritional needs of children with disabilities in the UAE
T2 - understanding predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices
AU - Opoku, Maxwell Peprah
AU - Moustafa, Ashraf
AU - Anwahi, Noora
AU - Elhoweris, Hala
AU - Alkatheeri, Fatima
AU - Al Housani, Najwa Mohamed
AU - Alameri, Anwar
AU - Belbase, Shashidhar
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: There is a high estimated prevalence of obesity and poor eating habits among children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the extent of parental and teachers’ awareness of the dietary needs and nutritional requirements of children with disabilities has been understudied. This study aims to explore the predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices among parents and teachers of children with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using Nutbeam’s hierarchical health literacy model as a framework to test three hypotheses. Methods: A total of 149 parents and teachers were recruited from rehabilitation centres in two of the seven Emirates in the UAE. The revised Food and Nutritional Literacy Scale (FNLIT) was used for data collection. The revised scale was validated and its reliability was assessed using SPSS and AMOS version 28 to compute exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis), respectively. Results: The results confirmed a four-factor structure for FNLIT, and all three hypotheses were supported by the study findings. We confirmed a relationship between understanding and practical nutritional skills (Hypothesis I), and found that two practical nutritional skills, functional and interactive, combined to predict the understanding of nutritional needs of children with disabilities (Hypothesis II). Hypothesis III was partially supported in that participant type mediated the relationship between functional, interactive, and understanding factors. The convergent and discriminant validities of the scale were confirmed, and path analysis showed the ability of practical skills to predict knowledge. Conclusion: The study concludes on the need for public education on nutritional needs as well as developing the capacity of teachers and parents to implement appropriate eating programmes for children with disabilities.
AB - Background: There is a high estimated prevalence of obesity and poor eating habits among children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the extent of parental and teachers’ awareness of the dietary needs and nutritional requirements of children with disabilities has been understudied. This study aims to explore the predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices among parents and teachers of children with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using Nutbeam’s hierarchical health literacy model as a framework to test three hypotheses. Methods: A total of 149 parents and teachers were recruited from rehabilitation centres in two of the seven Emirates in the UAE. The revised Food and Nutritional Literacy Scale (FNLIT) was used for data collection. The revised scale was validated and its reliability was assessed using SPSS and AMOS version 28 to compute exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis), respectively. Results: The results confirmed a four-factor structure for FNLIT, and all three hypotheses were supported by the study findings. We confirmed a relationship between understanding and practical nutritional skills (Hypothesis I), and found that two practical nutritional skills, functional and interactive, combined to predict the understanding of nutritional needs of children with disabilities (Hypothesis II). Hypothesis III was partially supported in that participant type mediated the relationship between functional, interactive, and understanding factors. The convergent and discriminant validities of the scale were confirmed, and path analysis showed the ability of practical skills to predict knowledge. Conclusion: The study concludes on the need for public education on nutritional needs as well as developing the capacity of teachers and parents to implement appropriate eating programmes for children with disabilities.
KW - Children with disabilities
KW - Health literacy
KW - Nutrition
KW - Parents
KW - Teachers
KW - UAE
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U2 - 10.1186/s40795-022-00605-9
DO - 10.1186/s40795-022-00605-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85139531173
SN - 2055-0928
VL - 8
JO - BMC Nutrition
JF - BMC Nutrition
IS - 1
M1 - 109
ER -