The Caregiver's Perspective

The Caregiver's Perspective: A Qualitative Study is the case study on the growing concerns of overweight and obesity, especially in children, in the Cayman Islands. Local health officials acknowledge the need to urgently address the problem and are constantly improving their efforts. However, the local research literature on the topic is nonexistent, indicating the need for further studies to better inform intervention strategies. Findings from this research indicated that caregiver perception of the factors surrounding this problem is comprehensive, a positive sign as it relates to the potential effectiveness of intervention strategies. This qualitative research has added value to the knowledge of the factors impacting overweight and obesity on an international level, in that caregivers' perceptions of these factors and their effects are similar all over the globe. This highlights the importance of the decision to incorporate a caregiver perception into the effort to tackle this problem (Pocock et al., 2009; Towns and D'Auria, 2009). Caregivers' perceptions, behavior and an environment conducive to weight gain are seen as largely responsible for the problem of overweight and obesity in children (WHO, 2013; Zhoa et al., 2013; Dehghan et al., 2005; UNICEF, 2004; Anderson, 2013). Their perception is significant to the success or failure of any effort to control the factors influencing children's weight. This perception is guided not just by culture, but also by available information which can sometimes be inadequate or, where adequate, may be conflicting, resulting in ineffective, late or no response to the issue. This book concluded thousands of hours of reading, researching, and writing and re-writing. It goes beyond fulfilling the requirements for a degree to the creation of a rounded public health practitioner.