A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Nutrition and Dietary Intervention for Early Care and Education Providers.

Ru-Jye Chuang, Jill N Cox, Claudia C Mincemoyer, Shreela V Sharma

Journal: The Journal of school health 2021;90(11):859-868

PMID: 32959370

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary impact of the Create Healthy Futures program, a self-paced, 6-lesson, web-based intervention on promoting healthy eating for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers, using a group-randomized controlled trial design with 3 repeated measurements.

METHODS

Nine ECE facilities in Ohio were recruited and randomly assigned to intervention (N = 4) and comparison (N = 5). The 111 participants are mostly female (97.3%), college graduated (59.5%), and overweight or obese (75.2%). Nutrition-related psychosocial and environmental factors and individual behaviors were assessed at baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up. We used mixed model analyses to compare changes between time points, controlling for ethnicity, age, and center effect, and calculated effect size to assess the magnitude of change.

RESULTS

We observed significant between-group changes in improving nutrition knowledge (p = .003), increasing perceived support for staff wellness (p = .038), and reducing perceived barriers to eating fruits and vegetables (p = .004) and promoting nutrition in classrooms (p = .038), with small to medium effect sizes. The study demonstrated high feasibility with 94.1% enrollment rate, 87.5% intervention completion rate, and 83.8% retention rate.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study demonstrated high feasibility and acceptability of nutrition intervention programs using an online platform among ECE providers.

Address: Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, RAS E615, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.; Penn State Extension Better Kid Care, 2182 Sandy Drive, Suite 204, State College, PA, 16803, USA.; Penn State University, 2182 Sandy Drive, Suite 204, State College, PA, 16803, USA.; >Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, RAS E643, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.

DOI: 10.1111/josh.12951

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https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12951

MeSH Terms: Diet, Fruit, Health Education, Health Promotion, Humans, Obesity, Ohio, Overweight, Pilot Projects, School Teachers, Vegetables