None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a promising setting for interventions targeting children’s nutrition behaviours. Web-based modalities may be a promising way of delivering childcare-based interventions whilst overcoming some of the challenges of previous approaches. As such, the primary aim of this study is to examine the impact of a web-based intervention together with health promotion officer support targeting childcare centre healthy eating practices on improving child dietary intake of fruit and vegetable serves in childcare. The intervention will target staff within childcare centres and support their implementation of healthy eating practices.
Interventions
The six month intervention will target nominated supervisors and staff within childcare centres and support their implementation of five healthy eating practices. Specifically, childcare centres will be asked to implement the following targeted healthy eating practices within the intervention period: 1. Supporting families to provide healthier foods consistent with dietary guidelines; 2. Provision of intentional learning experiences about healthy eating to children; 3. Use of feeding practices t
The six month intervention will target nominated supervisors and staff within childcare centres and support their implementation of five healthy eating practices. Specifically, childcare centres will be asked to implement the following targeted healthy eating practices within the intervention period: 1. Supporting families to provide healthier foods consistent with dietary guidelines; 2. Provision of intentional learning experiences about healthy eating to children; 3. Use of feeding practices that support children’s healthy eating; 4. Staff participation in professional development in healthy eating; 5. Comprehensive written nutrition policy that outlines key healthy eating. Childcare centres allocated to the intervention will receive support from health promotion officers (HPO) within the local health district with experience working with childcare centres. Support to implement the intervention (i.e. healthy eating practices) will include: 1. Audit and feedback: The web-based program includes a self-assessment of the implementation of targeted healthy eating practices. Following the completion of the self-assessment, the web-based program will immediately provide centres with feedback on practice performance. 2. Develop a formal implementation blueprint: Following the completion of the self-assessment, centres will then be encouraged to set goals and create an action plan within the web-based program to facilitate improvements in practice. 3. Distribution of educational materials: The web-based program will house relevant materials designed to assist centre implementation of healthy eating practices, and include: factsheets, email messages and newsletter snippets to facilitate communication with parents regarding children’s lunchbox contents alignment with guidelines; educational materials to improve staff knowledge of providing a positive healthy eating environment; example activities to demonstrate intentional nutrition learning experiences within the centre; directions to online learning opportunities, including webinars and eLearning modules to support staff professional development in nutrition; and nutrition policy templates. 4. Identify and prepare a centre champion: Centres will be asked by the HPO to identify and prepare a staff member from the centre who will dedicate themselves to supporting, marketing and driving implementation of the intervention. 5. Educational outreach visit from a HPO: Centre staff (nominated supervisor and centre champion) will receive one face-to-face training session of approximately two hours by a HPO to support implementation of the healthy eating practices and introduce the web-based program at the beginning of the intervention period. This will be a practical, hands-on training session to ensure staff are comfortable using the web-based program, accessing supporting resources and are aware of the key practices targeted by the intervention. 6. Mandate change: Centre nominated supervisors will be asked by the HPO to show support for implementing targeted healthy eating practices and use of the web-based program via a memorandum of understanding, which will outline the responsibilities and expected commitment from both the childcare centre and HPO in working to improve the implementation of healthy eating practices to improve child dietary intake in care. 7. Provide ongoing consultation and local technical assistance: Childcare centre staff will be provided with approximately two telephone calls pending childcare centre needs by the HPOs who conducted the educational outreach visit. The HPOs providing the support will identify centre barriers to implementing the intervention and web-based program, and discuss strategies address these barriers. Email support will be provided by HPOs upon request by the centre. An additional training session delivered via online modalities will be offered to centres, pending childcare centre needs. Adherence to the intervention will monitored via observations of centre implementation of healthy eating practices, google analytics regularly captured by the web-based program, and internal records detailing the provision of implementation strategies including selection of a centre champion, educational outreach visit, centre staff signatories on the memorandum of understanding, and provision of ongoing consultation and technical assistance, maintained by the research team.
Sponsors
University of Newcastle
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
2 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Centre-based childcare services (long day care services and preschools) To be eligible, childcare centres must: (1) enrol >20 children per day; (2) have internet access at the centre; (3) not provide meals or snacks to children (i.e. parents or caregivers must be required to provide food packed in lunchboxes); (4) not be currently participating in any other intervention to improve child healthy eating and/or physical activity; and (5) not be fully compliant with healthy eating practices specified in the NSW state obesity prevention program. Children In order for children to be eligible to participate, they must: (1) have prior written consent from a parent or guardian; (2) be between the ages of 2 and 5 years.
Exclusion criteria
Centre-based childcare services (long day care services and preschools) Mobile preschool, family day care centres, and centres that do not cater to children aged 2-5 years; cater exclusively for children requiring specialist care; or are run by the Department of Education and Communities Centre will be excluded due to differing operational characteristics. Children Children with dietary restrictions that require specialised tailoring of their diet (e.g. allergies, intellectual or physical disability).
Outcome results
None listed