268494 HOP'N Home: Intervention description and process evaluation of a childhood obesity prevention project

Monday, October 29, 2012

Tanis Hastmann, PhD, MPH , School of Health Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Bronwyn Fees, PhD , Department of Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Richard Rosenkranz, PhD , Department of Human Nutrition, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
David Dzewaltowski, PhD , Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Background: Home environments are critical settings to prevent obesity in children. The Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition (HOP'N) Home project linked child care settings to home environments by developing children's asking skills for healthful home environmental change through curricular activities. Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to describe the intervention and process evaluation of the project-based learning HOP'N Home project in children 3-to-5 years-of-age. Methods: Informed by Social Cognitive Theory, HOP'N Home consisted of continuous teacher training to implement quality elements: group time activities, dramatic play, meal prompts, musical social narratives, and a weekly home connection activity. Two full-day preschool classrooms were randomized to receive the 12-week HOP'N program (n=12) or serve as control (n=12). Classrooms were observed four days, and teachers completed weekly checklists assessing implementation. Parental surveys evaluated receipt/use of intervention. Results: Teachers were successful at implementing quality elements. Parents reported making changes in their home (91%), being satisfied with HOP'N (91%), and receiving HOP'N materials (100%). Many parents reported children asked to do an active activity after school (55%), and eat healthy breakfast food (55%) at least three days per week. Fewer parents reported that children asked to do an inactive activity (36%), or to eat unhealthy food (18%). Parents reported providing healthy (100%) or unhealthy foods (36%), and active (82%) or inactive (46%) opportunities, after child asked. Conclusions: HOP'N Home was a novel intervention to impact home environments through preschool settings, and equipping children to influence parents toward environmental change at home.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the application of the Social Cognitive Theory to target preschool-aged children to increase healthy eating and physical activity opportunities at home. 2. Discuss the feasibility and applicability of impacting parents and home environments through the child care setting. 3. Identify activities to teach children how to ask their parents for healthy foods and active experiences/toys.

Keywords: Child Care, Family Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the project manager for this research project, and have overseen all aspects of this project, including: research design, formative research, intervention development and implementation, and data analysis. I have also worked on severally federally funded child obesity prevention research grants (healthy eating, physical activity, sedentary behavior and media literacy).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.