Health Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
parents, child, preschool, mHealth, mobile app, nutrition, physical activity
Brief summary
The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the Know-How program, a 10-week digital intervention for families of young children promoting healthy eating and activity behaviors and environments.
Detailed description
The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the KnowHow program, a 10-week digital intervention for families of young children promoting healthy eating and activity behaviors and environments. The KnowHow program, which provides parent education on the topics of mindful parenting, healthy eating, and physical literacy, consists of three components: 1) a custom mobile application (app), 2) virtual group discussions, and 3) child-centered support materials mailed to participating families. The study will include an intervention group and a delayed control group. Feasibility of the digital intervention will be assessed at post-test only by recruitment, retention, usability, and acceptability. Implementation outcomes include measures of digital engagement, enactment, and intention to sustain, and will be collected at post-test only. Theoretical mediators include parent self-efficacy and behavioral capability and will be collected pre- and post-test. Behavioral outcomes, also collected at pre- and post-test, include mindful parenting, parent-child feeding practices, and physical activity parenting practices. Study assessments for the theoretical mediators and behavioral outcomes will be collected at Baseline (Time 1, pre-intervention) and at Post-Test (Time 2, post-intervention) at the same time for both groups. No additional assessments will be collected for the delayed control group at the conclusion of implementation.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALKnowHow Program
The KnowHow intervention is a 10-week program that provides parent education on the topics of mindful parenting, healthy eating, and physical literacy. The intervention consists of three components: 1) a custom mobile application (app), 2) virtual group discussions, and 3) child-centered support materials mailed to participating families. (1) The KnowHow app will provide parent education using a variety of modalities The 'know' will provide parents with the core information on mindful parenting, healthy eating, and physical literacy, and the 'how' will give strategies to incorporate the information into daily routines and activities. To facilitate the transition from the 'know' to 'how', the app will have a 'Kid Zone' with content to engage in activities with the preschooler. KnowHow app content will be divided into five modules that include A) lessons (text, audio, video), B) activities, and C) assessments. (2) During the 10-week intervention, participants will also meet via Zoom for
Sponsors
Cornell University
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
University of Colorado, Denver
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
parallel pilot feasibility study
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Participants must have a preschool-aged child (3-5 years) with no disabilities or conditions that impact typical eating and activity behaviors. * Adult participants must have access to a smartphone, reliable internet at home, and can make video calls.
Exclusion criteria
* Adults who do not have a child aged 3-5 or child has a disability/condition that impact typical eating and activity behaviors. * Technology access is limited. * Adults who read, write or speak a language other than English.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment | Baseline (week 0) | Number of completed interest forms resulting in enrollment. |
| Retention | 10 weeks | Proportion of intervention activities (e.g., app modules and assessments) completed. |
| Usability | Post-Intervention (week10) | Mean scores using the System Usability Scale (SUS) to estimate ease of use, complexity, confidence in using, and likelihood of use (scale 0-5, with higher scores indicating higher rankings of usability) |
| Acceptability | 10 weeks | Mean ratings of information helpfulness, goal setting, liking of the program, willingness to recommend, and desire for additional information (scale 0-5, with higher scores indicating higher acceptibility) |
| Digital Engagement | Post-Intervention (week10) | Percentage of participants engaging with the app (i.e., engagement by topic, features, and temporal patterns), and by dosage (i.e., completion rates of modules and within-app activities). |
| Intention to sustain | Post-intervention (week 10) | Qualitatively capture, via individual interviews, intervention strategies relating to target behaviors which were implemented or adopted. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mindful Parenting | Baseline (week 0) and Post-Intevention (week 10) | Mean scores using the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting survey (I-MP) will assess five constructs of mindful parenting: parent/caregiver listening with full attention, emotional awareness of self and child, self-regulation, compassion of self and child, non-judgmental acceptance of self and child). Scale, 0-5, with higher scores indicating higher mindful parenting. |
| Parent-Child Feeding Practices | Baseline (week 0) and Post-Intervention (week 10) | Mean scores from the Food Parenting Inventory (FPI) will assess Autonomy (encourages exploration of new foods, offers new foods, repeatedly presents new foods) and Control (pressure to eat, food as reward). Scale, 0-5, with higher scores indicating more positive child feeding practices. |
| Physical Activity Parenting Practices | Baseline (week 0) and Post-Intervention (week 10) | Mean scores from teh PA Parenting Practices (PAPP) will assess three parenting domains: Structure (nondirective support, supportive expectation, restriction of physical activity inside), Autonomy (autonomy support, guided choice), and Control (coercive control). Scale, 0-5, with higher scores indicating more positive PA practices. |
| Perceived Parenting Self-Efficacy | Baseline (week 0) and Post-Intervention (week 10) | Mean scores of questions adapted from the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scales and will assess the offering of healthy foods, providing physical activity opportunities for their child, and engaging in positive interactions with their child related to healthy eating, physical activity, and modifying the home environment. Scale, 0-5, with higher scores indicating higher self-efficacy. |
| Behavioral capability skills | 10 weeks | Means scores of questions adapted from the Feeding Knowledge Questionnaire to assess parent feeding knowledge and misconceptions, and the PLAYshop instrument adapted for use in parents of preschool-age children to assess physical literacy knowledge and confidence. Scale, 0-5, with higher scores indicating more higher behavioral capability. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTLaura L Bellows, PhD, MPH, RDN
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORLaura L Bellows, PhD
Cornell University
Outcome results
None listed