4. DISCUSSION
4.1. Overall Triangulation of Data
The process evaluation results are very positive from
both the staff and program participant perspective and
compare favourably when compared to other process
evaluations conducted by other projects [28,29]. The
close contact that program staff maintained with the participants,
may have assisted in increasing the accuracy
and hence the validity of the staffs’ perceptions of the
program. In turn the data collected from the participants
should substantiate that reported by the program staff.
This triangulation of data from both the program staff
and program participants strengthens the reported results
[28].
4.2. Home-Based Component
A pilot research project in playgroups conducted by
the researchers [30], along with formative data [10] informed
the development of the program, indicating that
the home based component should be the main focus of
the intervention, as all the resources that were provided
could be used by the women independently at home at a
suitable time. The home-based program especially the
flagship booklet were all reported to be useful and were
well received by the women. The other supporting resources
such as the pedometer, menu planner and shopping
list were also rated positively.
4.3. Workshops
The workshops were designed to complement and reinforce
the home-based resources while providing a
means of interacting with and engaging with the participant
population. Workshops can be problematic, especially
with this target group, as attendance can decline
over time due to competing priorities [10]. Attendance of
mothers at the workshops did drop off throughout the
program with 82% of mothers attending in the first
month, while in the sixth month only 51% attended. The
relatively short timeframe during playgroup meetings,
and the need to attend to children are recognised as barriers
to regular workshop attendance