Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure of parents of infants and young children and health professionals in New Zealand.

Von Hurst P; Mazahery H; Reynolds E; Thomson A; Franklin M; Conlon C

Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure of parents of infants and young children and health professionals in New Zealand.

dc.citation.volume	Ahead of Print
dc.contributor.author	Von Hurst P
dc.contributor.author	Mazahery H
dc.contributor.author	Reynolds E
dc.contributor.author	Thomson A
dc.contributor.author	Franklin M
dc.contributor.author	Conlon C
dc.coverage.spatial	England
dc.date.accessioned	2024-06-03T23:03:15Z
dc.date.available	2024-06-03T23:03:15Z
dc.date.issued	2023-07-02
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency may result in adverse long-term health consequences in adulthood if it occurs during fetal development, infancy and childhood. To effectively improve vitamin D status of infants/toddlers, there needs to be knowledge and awareness of vitamin D among parents and health professionals. AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate parents' and health professionals' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure over two timepoints. METHODS: The study was an ecological study over two timepoints (Parents 2009 and 2021; Health professionals 2010 and 2019) and used an online questionnaire. RESULTS: The analysis included 9834 parents (2009 n = 8032; 2021 n = 1802) and 283 health professionals (2010 n = 193; 2019 n = 90). Parents and health professionals had good knowledge of vitamin D sources, roles and risk factors for deficiency over two timepoints. There were however some confusions regarding the vitamin D content of breast milk, exclusive breastfeeding as a risk factor for deficiency, and ineffectiveness of sun exposure through glass windows in relation to vitamin D synthesis. In 2019, only 37% of health professionals indicated giving advice on supplements for infants/toddlers. Most parents and health professionals believed there was not enough information available to parents regarding vitamin D (>90%) and that skin cancer prevention messages make it difficult to get information about vitamin D across (>70%). CONCLUSION: Although parents and health professionals had good knowledge in most areas, knowledge of some specific sources and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency was poor.
dc.description.confidential	false
dc.format.pagination	2601060231185190-
dc.identifier.author-url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37394875
dc.identifier.citation	von Hurst P, Mazahery H, Reynolds E, Thomson A, Franklin M, Conlon C. (2023). Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure of parents of infants and young children and health professionals in New Zealand.. Nutr Health. Ahead of Print. (pp. 2601060231185190-).
dc.identifier.doi	10.1177/02601060231185190
dc.identifier.eissn	2047-945X
dc.identifier.elements-type	journal-article
dc.identifier.issn	0260-1060
dc.identifier.uri	https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69709
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications
dc.publisher.uri	https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02601060231185190
dc.relation.isPartOf	Nutr Health
dc.rights	(c) The author/s	en
dc.rights.license	CC BY	en
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	en
dc.subject	New Zealand
dc.subject	Vitamin D
dc.subject	attitudes
dc.subject	behaviours
dc.subject	children
dc.subject	health professionals
dc.subject	infants
dc.subject	knowledge
dc.subject	parents
dc.subject	sun exposure
dc.title	Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure of parents of infants and young children and health professionals in New Zealand.
dc.type	Journal article
pubs.elements-id	462413
pubs.organisational-group	College of Health