Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Supervisor

Burke, Shauna M.

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a major public health concern. Community-based childhood obesity treatment interventions have the potential to improve health behaviours and outcomes, but require effective evaluation to facilitate translation of research into practice. The purpose of the current study was to determine the feasibility of a parent-focused pilot intervention (“C.H.A.M.P. Families”) targeting childhood obesity using the RE-AIM framework, an evaluation tool for community-based health interventions.

Methods: A single-centre, single-group, non-randomized, repeated measure feasibility study was conducted over the course of 10 months. Participants (n = 16 parents/caregivers representing 11 children with obesity) completed a 13-week parent-focused education intervention. The five dimensions of RE-AIM—reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance—were assessed using various measures and data sources.

Results: Overall, C.H.A.M.P. Families had high reach in terms of participant representativeness and participation. Preliminary evidence also suggests that involvement in the program may be associated with improved health-related quality of life among children (i.e., effectiveness/individual-level maintenance). In addition, a number of community partnerships (n = 3) were established and maintained (adoption/setting-level maintenance). Finally, the intervention had high fidelity to protocol, attendance rates, and cost-effectiveness (implementation).

Conclusions: Based on RE-AIM evaluation, the parent-focused C.H.A.M.P. Families intervention appears to be a promising approach to the treatment of childhood obesity.

Summary for Lay Audience

C.H.A.M.P. Families was a 13-week parent-focused childhood overweight/obesity intervention delivered to 11 families (n = 16 parents representing 11 children) in London, Ontario. The RE-AIM framework, a health promotion planning and evaluation tool, was used to assess the feasibility of this unique community-based program. More specifically, the RE-AIM framework was used to assess the impact and potential sustainability of C.H.A.M.P. Families by evaluating and reporting on key items within five dimensions: reach (who), effectiveness (what), adoption (where), implementation (how), and maintenance (when).

Based on the analyses conducted using RE-AIM, C.H.A.M.P. Families shows promise as a feasible parent-focused childhood overweight/obesity program. Generally speaking, the intervention was well received by both parents and community partners, and it appears to have had a positive effect on children’s health-related quality of life. In the future, researchers and health professionals should consider and evaluate the optimal balance of child and/or parent involvement in such programs, and provide parents with information and strategies to address broader socio-environmental influences on child health within the community (e.g., the school environment) in addition to the home environment.

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