Abstract
Previous efforts to involve parents in implementation of childcare-based health promotion interventions have yielded limited success, suggesting a need for different implementation strategies. This study evaluated the efficacy of an enhanced implementation strategy to increase parent engagement with Healthy Me, Healthy We. This quasi-experimental study included childcare centers from the second of two waves of a cluster-randomized trial. The standard approach (giving parents intervention materials, prompting participation at home, inviting participation with classroom events) was delivered in 2016–2017 (29 centers, 116 providers, and 199 parents). The enhanced approach (standard plus seeking feedback, identifying and addressing barriers to parent participation) was delivered in 2017–2018 (13 centers, 57 providers, and 114 parents). Parent engagement was evaluated at two levels. For the center-level, structured interview questions with providers throughout the intervention were systematically scored. For the parent-level, parents completed surveys following the intervention. Differences in parent engagement were evaluated using linear regression (center-level) and mixed effects (parent-level) models. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.025 for two primary outcomes. There was no difference in parent engagement between approaches at the center-level, β = −1.45 (95% confidence interval, −4.76 to 1.87), p = 0.38l. However, the enhanced approach had higher parent-level scores, β = 3.60, (95% confidence interval, 1.49 to 5.75), p < 0.001. In the enhanced approach group, providers consistently reported greater satisfaction with the intervention than parents (p < 0.001), yet their fidelity of implementing the enhanced approach was low (less than 20%). Results show promise that parent engagement with childcare-based health promotion innovations can positively respond to appropriately designed and executed implementation strategies, but strategies need to be feasible and acceptable for all stakeholders.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-23-2021
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010106
Funding Information
This research was supported by funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health R01HL120969 and conducted at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a member of the Prevention Research Centers Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U48-DP000059. This work was also supported in part by the National Cancer Institute P50CA244431, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases P30DK092950, and Cooperative Agreement number U48DP006395 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Related Content
Data can be made available by contacting the corresponding author.
Repository Citation
Luecking, Courtney T.; Neshteruk, Cody D.; Mazzucca, Stephanie; and Ward, Dianne S., "Efficacy of an Enhanced Implementation Strategy to Increase Parent Engagement with a Health Promotion Program in Childcare" (2021). Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications. 45.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/foodsci_facpub/45
Notes/Citation Information
Published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 19, issue 1, 106.
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).