A cluster randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a Parents Plus group-based parenting program to promote healthy lifestyles among children and their families

Abstract

Abstract Background Childhood obesity is a global public health concern. In Ireland, the age standardized prevalence rates for obesity in children and adolescents are about 1% higher than the average for countries in the WHO European Region. The Parents Plus Healthy Families program (PP-HF), an 8-week, group-based, multicomponent parent training intervention, was designed to prevent childhood obesity by helping parents promote healthy habits within their families. Methods A multisite cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the PP-HF program across 16 community-based and clinical settings. Sixty-eight parents were assigned to the PP-HF group and 70 were assigned to the treatment as usual (TAU) control group. Parents completed measures assessing healthy habits, child lifestyles behaviors, parental lifestyle-specific self-efficacy, parental satisfaction, family dysfunction, and child behavior problems at baseline and post-intervention. Parents in the PP-HF group completed measures at 6-weeks follow-up. Results Multi-level modelling analyses demonstrated that post-intervention, compared to the control group, parents in the PP-HF condition reported significant improvements on measures of healthy habits, parental satisfaction, family-functioning, and child behavior problems. Gains were maintained at 6-weeks follow-up. No change was observed on measures of child lifestyle behaviors, or parental lifestyle specific self-efficacy compared to the control group. Conclusion The PP-HF program may be effective in improving healthy habits, parental satisfaction, family functioning, and child behavior problems among families with children aged 2–12 across both clinical and community settings. Trial registration This trial was retrospectively registered on Open Science Framework on 11.th April 2023. Registration DOI: https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4PY63