Online Videos and New Feeding Content to Enhance a Current EFNEP Program
Condition: Obesity, Childhood
MeSH terms: Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The goal of this study is to further increase the impact of a validated and widely-used
      Eating Smart • Being Active EFNEP curriculum by teaching parents responsive feeding practices
      resulting in the development of healthier patterns of child eating behavior and food intake.
      Additionally, the effectiveness of two delivery strategies for adding feeding video-based
      content will be examined (in-person versus online lessons).
    

Detailed description: 
      During Phase I of the project (first two years), the leadership team composed of both
      research and extension investigators will work with the media production team to edit the
      SEEDS videotapes to meet the needs of the current project and to develop the website and
      activities for use in the online condition. Phase II (second three years) will be a large
      scale evaluation of this program. In this phase, classes of EFNEP participants in Colorado
      and Washington will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) Eating Smart • Being
      Active alone (control); 2) Eating Smart • Being Active plus feeding videos at the weekly
      EFNEP sessions, plus facilitated group discussion (in-person); or 3) Eating Smart • Being
      Active plus online videos and activities, (online). Pre- and post-program assessments, 6- and
      12-month follow ups will be conducted to assess responsive feeding, providing structure, food
      exploration, child eating behaviors, parent knowledge, and child dietary intake. Child
      dietary intake will be obtained on a sub-sample of 90 participants. In Phase III, the
      investigators will begin dissemination.

      A total of 543 participants were recruited in five locations to participate in the project:
      262 from three counties in Colorado and 281 from three counties in Washington (English and
      Spanish participants). A total of 4 to 10 mothers were recruited for each group. After
      recruitment, groups were randomly assigned to the three conditions ensuring a relatively
      equal number of participants per condition.

      Data from children who have any kind of food allergies or diabetes or are on special diet
      will be excluded from the analyses.

      To ensure program fidelity, program educators will complete implementation checklists, and
      20% of the sessions will be attended by an additional grant staff member to conduct
      implementation observations and assess participant engagement. Detailed records of
      participant attendance will be collected to assess dosage effects and attrition. All
      assessments will be conducted by grant project staff blind to the group status of the
      participants. Retention of participants will be maximized using strategies such as obtaining
      multiple phone numbers for each family; obtaining external contact information for siblings
      and close friends; sending interim reminders with the goal of fostering contact should the
      family move; and phone calls, emails or letters between data collection points to each
      family.
    

Intervention name(s): Nutrition program with in-person parental feeding content; Nutrition program with online parental feeding content
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will attend the nutrition program (Eating Smart • Being Active) and be provided with in-person parental feeding content.; Participants will attend the nutrition program (Eating Smart • Being Active). They will access parental feeding content online.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) Nutrition Program (Eating Smart • Being Active) alone (control); 2) Nutrition program with parental feeding content (In-person); or 3) Nutrition program with parental feeding content (online).
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: preschool; eating behaviors; family