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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Janine Bishop, MPH and Lisa Chamberlain, MD, MPH. General Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, 750 Welch Road, Suite 325, Palo Alto, CA 94304, 650-725-0923, jbishop@stanford.edu

Background: In 2004, Head Start (East Palo Alto, CA) identified approximately 34% of the enrolled children as overweight.

Objective: A children's hospital supports Head Start parents as they design an effective and culturally appropriate healthy weight program to improve nutrition and physical activity behaviors of their preschool age children and families.

Methods: Parents participated in bilingual focus and working groups to design their program. Sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed. A comprehensive list of national, state and/or county best practice obesity prevention models for preschool aged children was compiled through literature review and web based searches.

Results: 1) Initial focus groups (N=19) examined strategies and barriers for promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity. Parents reported: concern for family diet and children's fast food cravings; challenges preparing healthy meals; neighborhood safety and lack of home space are large barriers to children's physical activity. 2) Follow up focus groups (N=12) evaluated/modified best practice prevention models for their program. Parents preferred: parent only education; interactive parent/child classes; healthy cooking classes for traditional recipes; and multicultural physical activities for children. 3) During 4 working group sessions, parents developed a basic framework for a 24-week culturally appropriate prevention program (N=7). 4) Parents presented program plan to other Head Start parents and received overwhelming support and interest in participating. 5) Two pediatric residents received a $3,000 CATCH grant to develop the program curriculum.

Conclusion: Parents successfully collaborated with a children's hospital to design a unique obesity prevention program to be implemented in the Fall of 2006.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how to facilitate a parent driven obesity prevention program planning process.
• Identify tools to mobilize parents to develop their own health promotion program.
• List key lessons learned from working with Head Start parents to develop their own family-based obesity prevention program.

Keywords: Obesity, Head Start

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation