\u201cSport can be used as a conduit to increase participation and build connections and relationships,\u201d Dr Matwiejczyk explains. \u201cIn this instance we\u2019re using hockey to engage the community, strengthen nutrition and healthy eating and improve health outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conducted across six sites in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, the program also aims to increase participation of women in the community and address concerning rates of domestic violence and noncommunicable disease.<\/p>\n
Dr Jackson, a highly experienced sports dietitian, is developing a culturally appropriate nutrition program to be delivered in the two countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough an online platform, I’m training the trainers to deliver the nutrition program to primary and secondary school students alongside the various hockey activities,\u201d she says. \u201cThe students get together; they train and play games while receiving practical information about staying healthy and active.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A separate program aimed at improving family nutrition through participation in a sport will be offered to the students’ mothers, known as the ‘Hockey Mamas’, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge is being culturally sensitive to their nutrition practices,\u201d Dr Jackson says. \u201cWe can\u2019t go in there and tell them what to eat. We have to work with the trainers, the local people, who then interact with the kids and parents.\u201d<\/p>\n Among other partners in the project, Family Planning NSW is also developing content around sexual and reproductive health to improve health literacy and elevate the role of women in the region.<\/p>\n Dr Matwiejczyk and Associate Professors Deb Agnew<\/a> and Shane Pill<\/a> from Flinders\u2019 College of Education, Psychology and Social Work are tasked with evaluating the program to measure its efficacy and make recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to see whether it makes a difference to the communities, how well it is received and whether it needs to be modified,\u201d Dr Matwiejczyk explains, adding the program may be scaled up and used in other Pacific nations in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a privilege to be involved with the program and to work with two very different cultures. It\u2019s interesting to see different ways of working and how the different communities engage with health. The sport for development model conceptually seems really effective.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hoped the program will eventually lead to improved health outcomes in both countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is about changing behaviours around diet, achieving gender equality, addressing sensitive issues around sexual health and respect and having females participate a lot more,\u201d Dr Matwiejczyk says.<\/p>\n The lead organisation for the project is Oceania Hockey Federation. Other partners include Vanuatu Hockey Federation; Wan Smolbag in Vanuatu; Cairns Hockey Association; Family Planning Australia (and local service partners) and Hockey Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How can taking part in sport improve health outcomes and help address gender imbalance and women\u2019s participation in developing countries in the Pacific? Flinders Caring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4261,"featured_media":760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3210,1840],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-start-to-life","category-our-research"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4261"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/95\/2022\/05\/Vanuatu-nutrition-session_girls-hockey.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/95\/2022\/05\/Vanuatu-Hockey-Mamas.jpg\")