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Preventing and Addressing At-obesity-Risk Early Years INtervention with Home Visits in Toronto (PARENT): a Pragmatic RCT

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Child Obesity
Interventions
Behavioral: Parenting education program
Registration Number
NCT03219697
Lead Sponsor
The Hospital for Sick Children
Brief Summary

The PARENT Trial aims to determine if the Parents Together program consisting of parent workshops, home visits and coaching calls, will result in better health outcomes for children. The program which is facilitated by a Public Health Nurse seeks to encourage healthy lifestyle, help build strong family relationships, and promote child mental health.

Detailed Description

This study will determine whether a primary care based intervention that combines group based parenting skills training and public health nurse home visits with a focus on healthy nutrition, activity and sleep, compared to regular health care will lead to improved weight status in 18 months- 4 year old children.

Healthy children at risk for obesity will be identified through primary care practices participating in TARGet Kids!. Families who participate in this study will be randomly assigned (having an equal chance of being in either group) to one of the two study groups that will run for 6-months:

Group A: Receive 8 weeks of group parenting education sessions, 2 additional group sessions, with 2-4 public health nurse home/virtual visits Group B: Receive regular health care

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
99
Inclusion Criteria
  • Children at risk for childhood obesity (meeting any of the risk factors below):
  • birth weight greater than 3500g
  • weight gain in first year of life (crossing of at least 1 percentile line of weight for age or weight for length percentile)
  • maternal or paternal obesity,
  • gestational smoking at birth
  • low median household self-reported income
  • availability of at least one caregiver to participate in trial
Exclusion Criteria
  • Young children with Prader-Willi syndrome or severe developmental delays
  • obesity or severe obesity (defined as zBMI >2 for all ages)
  • families not fluent in English
  • children with a sibling already enrolled in the study
  • families who reside beyond the Toronto Public Health catchment areas

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Parenting education programParenting education program8 weeks of group parenting education sessions followed by two optional booster sessions. 2 public health nurse home/virtual visits and 4 coaching calls over a period of 6 months.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
zBMIat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Measure the difference in age and sex-standardized BMI z-score (zBMI)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Mental healthat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Assess mental health by Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

sociodemographic, maternal and child characteristicsat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

parent self-reported income, maternal education, ethnicity, immigration status, and marital status, questions about parents health, exposures during pregnancy, family medical history - captured by the Nutrition and Health Questionnaire (NHQ).

Physical ActivityAt 12 months post-randomization

Direct measures of physical activity using accelerometry

Parentingat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Parenting (using the Parenting Scale)

blood pressure6 and 12 months post-randomization

measurement of diastolic and systolic blood pressure in children 3 years of age and older

Feasibility of interventionat 12 months post randomization

1. feasibility of study design (i.e., recruitment, outcome assessment)

2. feasibility of intervention (i.e., intervention fidelity)

3. acceptability of study design (i.e., randomization),

4. acceptability of intervention (i.e., attendance, parent satisfaction).

Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, Sleep Durationat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Parent reported measures of physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep duration (based on the Canadian Community Health Survey),

Psychosocial Healthat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

family psychosocial health (using the Parental Stress Index)

Eating behaviour and dietary intakeat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Assess eating behaviour and dietary intake using the Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Preschooler (NutriSTEP)

ZBMIat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

Measure the difference in age and sex-standardized BMI z-score (zBMI)

Maternal Mental Healthat 6 months and 12 months post-randomization

maternal mental health (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire)

Waist circumference6 and 12 months post randomization

measured waist circumference using a tape measure

laboratory measures of cardiometabolic riskAt 12 months post-randomization

laboratory measures of cardiometabolic risk (cholesterol, insulin, glucose), iron and vitamin D status

Cost effectiveness analysisat 12 months post-randomization

to determine the incremental costs of the intervention

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

St Michael's Hospital

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Hospital for Sick Children

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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