162761 7-3-3-1 Healthy Families Having Fun: A program to address childhood obesity in Montgomery County, Maryland

Wednesday, November 7, 2007: 3:00 PM

Robin Waite Steinwand, MPH , Center for Health Improvement, Primary Care Coalition, Silver Spring, MD
Denise Ann Benoit-Moctezuma, MPH , Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Mira Mehta, PhD , Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Maria Triantis, RN, MBA , Center for Health Improvement, Primary Care Coalition, Silver Spring, MD
           
7-3-3-1 Healthy Families Having Fun is a family-centered healthy lifestyle program for children who are overweight or at risk for overweight and their families. The program emphasizes healthy behaviors (nutrition and physical activity), not overweight, with the ultimate goal of reducing health risks associated with overweight/obesity.

The Primary Care Coalition (PCC) partnered with the University of Maryland/EFNEP to tailor an evidence-based curriculum and program for Latino children ages 7-11, enrolled in Care for Kids (CFK)--a safety net program for uninsured children in Montgomery County. A key strength of the program design is the link with primary care providers who refer the children into the program and provide follow-up and message reinforcement during their patient encounters. Kaiser Permanente and the Consumer Health Foundation funded a pilot phase of three series of six educational lessons.

Evaluation of pilot included pre and post test surveys, exit interviews, participant and provider phone interviews 6-12 months after program completion, CFK program data, and a partners' evaluation. The evaluation indicated that this program model (dual language, family-centered and interactive) is both appropriate for the target population and valued by the participating families. Eighty-three percent of enrolled participants completed the classes—a remarkable achievement for a voluntary program targeting a low-income population. Providers valued the program as a resource to refer overweight or at-risk patients. Although numbers in the community pilot were too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, self-reported behaviors from six months to one year after participation indicated behavior changes in core areas.

Learning Objectives:
1. Design nutrition and physical activity curriculum and a family-centered healthy lifestyle program for the target population of low-income uninsured Latino children in Montgomery County. 2. Primary Care Provider will identify and refer 12-15 children/session, who are overweight or at-risk (over 84% BMI/age) to participate with their families in the 6-week program. 3. Primary Care Provider will provide follow-up care and message reinforcement at 1 month and 6-12 months after the session. Provider panel will recommend co-morbid conditions and indicators for longitudinal tracking of child health after participation. 4. Six to twelve months after session completion, participants will report increased fruit and vegetable consumption, increased physical activity and decreased daily screen time. 5. Families (adults in household) will set limits on screen time (tv, video games, etc) for children in their household and will modify purchasing patterns after participation (lower fat milk; more fruits & vegetables; fewer sweet drinks and high fat snacks).

Keywords: Nutrition, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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