Health promotion, physical activity, nutrition and participation for children with special healthcare needs and their families

Background: Approximately 14% of children in the US are children with special health care needs (CSHCN). A majority of CSHCN, (57.4%) have difficulty with bodily function, 49.3% have activity limitations and 41.9% have emotional or behavioral difficulties. CSHCN have decreased physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors. CSHCN often have difficulty eating. This project aims to describe CSHCN on: 1) physical activity (PA) 2) eating habits; 3) weight status; and 4) community resources. Methods: A convenience sample of parent-child pairs (n=17) were recruited from a clinic for CSHCN. Most children were boys (71%), mean age 9.9 years (SD=4.7). Most were diagnosed with asthma, autism or CP. Interviews were conducted to inform PA, eating habits and community resources. Blood pressure, heart rate, waist-hip circumference and body mass index (BMI) age-for-sex percentile and BMI z-scores were measured on children. Results: Preliminary data analysis suggests that on average, girls are obese (BMI-percentile = 93, BMI z-score = 2.46) but boys have healthy weight (BMI percentile = 66, BMI z-score = 0.98). CSHCN achieve 60 minutes of PA on an average of 5.13 (SD=1.8) days/week and spend 4.75 hours of screen time/weekday. Preliminary data on eating habits show CSHCN consume a high-fat, high-sugar diet. Some parents (29%) do not perceive their neighborhood as a good place to raise a child and many identified needing more playgrounds, after school programs, and healthier food stores. Conclusion: Future research is indicated to understand health behaviors, community resource needs to promote PA, and healthy eating for CSHCN.