Enhancing core components for a digital "healthy eating" resource in early childhood and care settings: staff's perceptions and needs

In response to the growing need for effective programmes to promote healthy eating habits among children in real-world settings, we conducted a qualitative study. Our aim was to explore the content-related needs of early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff regarding the core components of an upcoming digital "healthy eating" resource. This resource, designed for real-world implementation through the Nutrition Now project, seeks to enhance children's nutrition and health within ECEC settings. Twelve individual semi-structured interviews with ECEC staff in a Norwegian municipality were conducted. Subsequently, we conducted two focus group discussions, involving five participants, to encourage reflection on the preliminary findings from the individual interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using Nvivo software. Data from the interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically to identify and summarise staff's subjective experiences and reasoning. Six themes were identified for the development of the upcoming digital "healthy eating" resource: (1) A comprehensive recipe bank, and menu suggestions, (2) Tips for easy and quick cooking, simple hygiene and allergy management, (3) Age-appropriate food learning ideas, (4) Strategies for mealtime learning and engagement, (5) Alignment with the national ECEC curriculum, and (6) Parent-friendly access and content. This research provides valuable guidance and informs the adaptation of an expert-led digital "healthy eating" intervention to better suit ECEC staff and the ECEC context, consequently enhancing its feasibility and effectiveness. This study was not registered in a trial registry as it is not a clinical trial or intervention study but serves as a pilot for the Nutrition Now study, trial identifier ISRCTN10694967 (https//doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10694967), registration date 19/06/2022.