Partnering for prevention in under-resourced communities: a randomized pilot study

BACKGROUND: Promoting health early in life is crucial to obesity prevention, but families in under-resourced communities face barriers to establishing healthy routines. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility and preliminary effects of two dietary interventions for families in under-resourced communities. METHODS: Fifty-one caregivers of young children (aged 0–5 years) were recruited from six community centers located in heavily populated neighborhoods with high poverty rates (i.e., under-resourced neighborhoods) in southwestern Pennsylvania. A longitudinal pilot study was conducted to examine feasibility as a primary outcome and change in dietary variety (24-Hour Recall), risk of nutritional problems (Nutrition Screen for Every Preschooler), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form) over time and between groups as secondary outcomes. Six sites were randomized to receive Cooking Matters for Parents, Mealtime PREP, or a combined program (Cooking Matters + Mealtime PREP). Cooking Matters for Parents is a six-week nutrition education program designed to help parents of young children plan and cook healthy meals on a budget. Mealtime PREP is a six-week routine-based intervention designed to promote healthy dietary variety among young children. We predicted that we could feasibly deliver both programs and the combined program as determined by a priori benchmarks (ability to recruit ≥ 8 participants per site; achieving an 80% intervention completion rate; being rated as an acceptable intervention by 95% of intervention completers, and treatment fidelity of ≥ 90%). Descriptive statistics and individual growth models were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Of 51 recruited participants, 49 were eligible, randomized by site, and included in the analyses. Fourteen were randomized to Cooking Matters, 13 to Mealtime PREP, and 22 to the combined program. Three of 4 feasibility benchmarks were met. Over time, improvements were observed in child dietary variety (p < 0.01, SE = 0.99), child nutrition risk (p = 0.01, SE = 0.61), and parenting stress (p = 0.04, SE = 1.33). An additive benefit of the combined intervention was observed for dietary variety (p = 0.03, SE = 0.79). No adverse events were observed or reported. CONCLUSIONS: Offering complementary dietary interventions in under-resourced communities is feasible and shows promise to improve child and parent health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03559907).