Healthy Kids & Families: Overcoming Social, Environmental and Family Barriers to Childhood Obesity Prevention

Abstract

Healthy Kids & Families, the applied research project of the UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center, is testing the impact of a community health worker (CHW)-delivered intervention aimed at helping families overcome barriers to childhood obesity prevention. The intervention addresses social, environmental, and family issues that may pose as barriers to healthy choices. The intervention is compared to a comparison condition consisting of a CHW-delivered intervention aimed at helping families improve positive parenting skills. The intervention and comparison condition are identical in format, Both use multiple delivery modalities to maintain novelty and prevent attrition/burden. These include home visits, telephone contacts, print (literacy sensitive newsletters), social media (Facebook), and community events. Parents and children will complete scheduled assessments at baseline, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month follow-up. Study participants are 240 parent-child dyads recruited from nine elementary schools. Inclusion criteria include: adult and their K-6th grade children attending a participating school, have access to a telephone, speak English or Spanish, and plan to live in the neighborhood for at least two years. Exclusion criteria include medical condition or advice from a doctor that precludes the child from walking or eating fruits and vegetables. Healthy Kids & Families is being implemented in racial/ethnically diverse underserved communities in Worcester, Massachusetts. Funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it involves a partnership between UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center of UMass Medical School, the Worcester Public Schools, and Oak Hill Community Development Corporation.