TY - JOUR
T1 - Automated Telephone Counseling for Parents of Overweight Children. A Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Estabrooks, Paul A.
AU - Shoup, Jo Ann
AU - Gattshall, Michelle
AU - Dandamudi, Padma
AU - Shetterly, Susan
AU - Xu, Stan
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Garfield Memorial Fund, an internal funding mechanism of Kaiser Permanente Health Plans (Project #50-227). Also, the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Weight Management Program, Michele Gilson, and Helen Seagle were integral in designing the study as a practical RCT and developing the original Family Connections content.
PY - 2009/1
Y1 - 2009/1
N2 - Background: Interactive technologies have the potential to increase the reach and frequency of practical clinical interventions that assist the parents of overweight and at-risk children to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors for their families. Design: A practical RCT evaluated the relative effectiveness of three interventions to support parents of overweight or at-risk children to change the home environment to foster more healthful child eating and activity behaviors, thereby reducing child BMI and BMI z-scores. A secondary purpose was to determine the patterns of use and potential dose effect for the highest-intensity intervention. Setting/participants: Parent-and-child (aged 8-12 years) dyads (N=220) who received care from Kaiser Permanente Colorado were assigned randomly to one of the three Family Connections (FC) interventions: FC-workbook, FC-group, or FC-interactive voice response (IVR) counseling. Main outcome measures: Child BMI z-scores, as well as symptoms of eating disorders and body image, were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Results: The BMI z-scores of children assigned to the FC-IVR intervention were the only ones that decreased from baseline to 6 months (0.07 SD) and from baseline to 12 months (0.08 SD, p<0.05). Children whose parents completed at least six of the ten FC-IVR counseling calls had decreased BMI z-scores to a greater extent than children in the FC-workbook or FC-group interventions at both 6 months (p<0.05) and 12 months (p<0.01). No intervention increased child symptoms of eating disorders or body dissatisfaction at any time point. Conclusions: This trial demonstrated that automated telephone counseling can support the parents of overweight children to reduce the extent to which their children are overweight. Trial registration: NCT00433901.
AB - Background: Interactive technologies have the potential to increase the reach and frequency of practical clinical interventions that assist the parents of overweight and at-risk children to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors for their families. Design: A practical RCT evaluated the relative effectiveness of three interventions to support parents of overweight or at-risk children to change the home environment to foster more healthful child eating and activity behaviors, thereby reducing child BMI and BMI z-scores. A secondary purpose was to determine the patterns of use and potential dose effect for the highest-intensity intervention. Setting/participants: Parent-and-child (aged 8-12 years) dyads (N=220) who received care from Kaiser Permanente Colorado were assigned randomly to one of the three Family Connections (FC) interventions: FC-workbook, FC-group, or FC-interactive voice response (IVR) counseling. Main outcome measures: Child BMI z-scores, as well as symptoms of eating disorders and body image, were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Results: The BMI z-scores of children assigned to the FC-IVR intervention were the only ones that decreased from baseline to 6 months (0.07 SD) and from baseline to 12 months (0.08 SD, p<0.05). Children whose parents completed at least six of the ten FC-IVR counseling calls had decreased BMI z-scores to a greater extent than children in the FC-workbook or FC-group interventions at both 6 months (p<0.05) and 12 months (p<0.01). No intervention increased child symptoms of eating disorders or body dissatisfaction at any time point. Conclusions: This trial demonstrated that automated telephone counseling can support the parents of overweight children to reduce the extent to which their children are overweight. Trial registration: NCT00433901.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=57649140626&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=57649140626&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.024
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 19095163
AN - SCOPUS:57649140626
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 36
SP - 35-42.e2
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
IS - 1
ER -