FirstStep2Health Intervention

Summary

This project will determine the preliminary efficacy of an innovative intergenerational intervention among Head Start preschoolers, aged 3-5 years, and their caregivers. A two-group cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted. Six Head Start centers will be randomly assigned to the intervention (n=3) or control group (n=3), and an average of 6 caregiver-preschooler dyads will be recruited from each class (N=144 dyads from 16 classes). Grounded in an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the 16-week intervention has 3 components: 1) a caregiver component, including 1a) a Facebook-based program with weekly electronic retrievable flyers providing health information and behavioral change strategies and 4 weekly habit-formation tasks to improve parenting practices and home environment for preschoolers; and 1b) 3 face-to-face or virtual meetings (weeks 1, 8, \& 16) to establish personal connections and communication networks among caregivers, discuss strategies, and share community resources to support preschoolers' behavioral changes at home; 2) a caregiver-preschooler learning component via Facebook messenger to send preschooler letters to each caregiver privately by the research team twice per week to 2a) share the preschooler's experiences of learning at school and his/her interests for a healthy diet and physical activity at home, and 2b) elicit caregivers' response to the letters; and 3) a Head Start center-based preschooler component to help preschoolers establish healthy habits via weekly healthy diet and physical activity participatory learning.

Conditions

• Pediatric Obesity
• Risk Reduction Behavior
• Early Intervention
• Intergenerational Relations

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Caregiver Component.

Facebook-based program including four new habit-formation tasks/week. Three face-to-face or virtual caregiver meetings: Meeting 1: Study orientation and healthy cooking education will be offered, and each family will receive a small bag of groceries to facilitate preparation of a recipe at home. Each caregiver will also receive an intervention cookbook containing affordable slow-cooking recipes, quick-fix recipes, and healthy snack ideas. Meeting 2: Study interveners will demonstrate how to spend less and shop healthy and how to read nutrition fact labels to promote healthy purchasing behaviors. Meeting 3: Study interveners will present healthy eating and PA community resources (e.g., farmer's markets, community gardens, nearly parks or other free or affordable PA facilities) and provide caregivers a resource booklet.

BEHAVIORAL

Caregiver-Preschooler Learning.

Preschoolers, using stickers, will create two letters each week regarding a food or activity presented in the center-based program that they liked or want to try at home. Letters will be sent by the PM privately to each caregiver via Facebook messenger on two weekdays. Caregivers will be asked to answer two Facebook multiple-choice questions related to the letters each week by Sunday midnight (e.g., what foods listed in the their child's letter did the participant provide? and what activities listed in the their child's letter did the participant's family try?). Caregiver responses to the questions will be summed to indicate caregiver responses to child requests. Each preschooler's letters will be kept in his/her intervention binder with other intervention materials to present to his/her caregiver at Meeting 3. Weekly preschooler activities, with pictures or videos, will be shared with caregivers via the Facebook private group every week.

BEHAVIORAL

Center-based Preschooler Component.

Built on previous research, preschoolers will receive weekly, age-appropriate, participatory learning co-delivered by teachers and MSU student educators. Session duration will be 20 minutes because children's normal attention span is 3-5 minutes per year of age, and 20 min/session is recommended for preschoolers. The already developed "Eat \& Walk My ABCs" curriculum will be implemented. The curriculum includes four components: healthy eating learning, taste-testing activities, movement skill training, and fun physical activity.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Michigan State University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

3 Years

Max Age

5 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-09-20

Primary Completion

2023-08-31

Completion

2023-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations