Abstract
Dietary and physical activity habits are developed early in life and are influenced
by family environments. We describe and evaluate an intervention for low-income families
to encourage healthy habits. The RD Parent Empowerment Program (http://www.eatright.org/programs/kidseatright/activities/content.aspx?id=6442477891) consists of four workshops centered on the 8 Habits of Healthy Children and Families
(Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation). Registered dietitian nutritionists
conduct the workshops in school and community settings using a structured leader guide
and tailor the communication and interactive activities to the audience. Participants
are parents of young children. Our goals were to use a phenomenologic approach to
elicit participant feedback, determine whether participants in the RD Parent Empowerment
Program made healthier choices for their families after attending the workshops, and
identify which elements of the program participants believed contributed most to its
success. The evaluation design used a pragmatic, mixed-methods approach utilizing
postintervention focus groups and pre–post intervention scores on the Family Nutrition
and Physical Activity (FNPA) survey. All workshop attendees aged 18 years or older
were eligible to participate in the evaluation. One hundred twenty-three parents participated
in the intervention across seven sites. Focus group results were analyzed using thematic
analysis methods to match themes to the main intervention goals. t Tests were used to compare pre- and postintervention FNPA scores and demographic
characteristics pooled across sites. FNPA scores significantly improved from pre-
to postintervention by a mean of 4.3 FNPA points (6.5%; P<0.01). Focus group participants reported behavior changes as a result of the program
and identified the site leaders as integral to the program’s success, triangulating
the results. The RD Parent Empowerment Program generates meaningful self-reported
behavior change in parents. Long-term sustainability of the changes must be investigated.
Keywords
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Biography
R. K. Hand is a senior manager, Dietetics Practice Based Research Network, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL.
Biography
A. S. Birnbaum is an evaluation consultant in Montclair, NJ.
Biography
B. J. Carter is director, Healthy Children, Healthy Futures, Healthy Directions, Huntington, NY.
Biography
L. Medrow is a Kids Eat Right Project specialist contractor, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, Chicago, IL.
Biography
K. Brown is national education director, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, Chicago, IL.
Biography
E. Stern is a clinical dietitian, Morrison Healthcare Foodservice at Mountain States Healthy Alliance, Johnson City, TN; at the time of the study, she was a master’s degree candidate, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 07, 2014
Accepted:
August 7,
2014
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation received an educational grant from MetLife Foundation to develop and evaluate the RD Parent Empowerment Program.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
