Tracking Change in HomeStyles: Developing a Goal Tracker for Parents of Preschool‐aged Children
Authors: Delaney Colleen , Martin‐Biggers Jennifer T , Lozada Carolina , Povis‐Alleman Gayle , Hongu Nobuko , Worobey John , Byrd‐Bredbenner Carol 
Published: June 2021

Putting a desired goal in writing, monitoring progress, and rewarding progress promotes long‐term lifestyle behavior changes. Thus, goal tracking sheets were developed to support the health behavior changes promoted in the colorful 4‐page mini‐magazine‐style informational guides designed to improve the weight‐related home environment and lifestyle practices in families with preschool children participating in the HomeStyles randomized controlled trial. Stages of development were: 1) drafting goal tracker content [i.e., instructions, encouraging/inspirational messages, fun ideas for rewarding the whole family when goals were reached] and layout design; 2) parent ranking of reward idea acceptability and preferences; 3) iterative cognitive testing and refinement of tracker content and design; 4) in‐culture translation to Spanish and iterative cognitive testing and refinement; 5) alignment of English and Spanish tracker design to ensure consistency. During cognitive testing, 26 English and 94 Spanish‐speaking parents of preschool children were asked to read the goal tracker aloud and provide feedback to ascertain comprehension, usefulness, and suggestions for improvement. Parents gave feedback on tracker purpose, graphic elements and layout, writing style, likes and dislikes, and their overall opinion. Parents understood tracker purpose, the process of using it, and felt it would be easy for others to use. They stated the tracker would be useful for organizing and tracking their goals 3.97±0.64SD (1=least effective, 5=most effective). Many reported they would place the tracker in a visible location to motivate them to continue progressing through their goals. Most felt the reward ideas were appropriate, easy to do, and would help them to be successful in reaching their goals. Parents indicated that the tracker's bright colors were appealing and they liked filling in circles as a method to monitor their progress toward goals. Parents liked having a large space to write their goal and requested at least 2 goals be included in a tracker so they could choose another or start over. A key challenge with the Spanish tracker was that a term equivalent to “tracker” used in this context does not exist, thus numerous terms were tested for acceptability and comprehension with Spanish‐speakers and resulted in the selection of the term “plan de metas.” Finding an appropriate name was key because some Spanish‐speaking parents were unfamiliar with the concept of a goal tracker and were unsure how to use them; the selected name helped parents more quickly grasp how the tracker functions. Parents rated effectiveness of the final draft of the tracker highly (i.e., 5±1.0SD on a 5‐point scale). The goal tracker has the potential to assist parents in making lifestyle changes by establishing goals, tracking their progress, and rewards for their family for achieving goals.

Support or Funding Information

USDA NIFA #2011‐68001‐30170