Page Contents
Overview
Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time
Intervention Type: Direct Education
Intervention Reach and Adoption
Setting: Child care (Learn), Community (Live), Faith-based community, Health care, School (Learn), Worksite (Work)
Target Audience: Parents/Mothers/Fathers, Other: Caregivers
Race/Ethnicity: All
Intervention Components
Intervention Materials
Materials are available once training has been delivered (all are available in English or Spanish):
- Curriculum
- 2 large posters
- Paths to Success (key behaviors)
- Keys to Success (parenting skills)
- 9 parenting skills posters
- Participant Toolkits
- Participant Self-reported behavior change checklist (pre/post)
- HCHF training guides for educators
Initial training is essential for new educators as the session content builds from week to week, and within each session itself. Due to the potentially sensitive nature of parenting content, educators need additional support in order to feel prepared to address potential questions and concerns of participants. An in-person training is provided to new educators and the curriculum is scripted to increase comfort with material and ease of delivery. An online training is underdevelopment.
Additionally, the curriculum has a set of supporting materials that need to be printed and organized. Once the supplied materials are sorted into kits, educator preparation is minimal – primarily gathering recipe ingredients and copying session handouts. Additional resources to gather include sweetened beverage containers and recipe ingredients. Time and cost for tracking and evaluation depend on program requirements.
Intervention Costs
Evidence Summary
Practice-based evaluation of participant outcomes in unusual program context was conducted with parents and caregivers in New York State (n=210). The 16-item self-reported behavior checklist assessed various adult and child behaviors pre- and post-HCHF attendance. Significant improvements were found in 14 of the 16 individual items. The greatest change was found in low-fat dairy consumption, adult fruit and vegetable intake (2 items), and reducing the availability of unhealthy snacks of fast foods.
Published research on HCHF includes the following:
- Developing a Measure of Behavior Change in a Program to Help Low-Income Parents Prevent Unhealthful Weight Gain in Children
- Practice-Based Evidence of Effectiveness in an Integrated Nutrition and Parenting Education Intervention for Low-Income Parents
- Adapting the Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) approach to explore the acceptability and feasibility of nutrition and parenting recommendations: what works for low-income families?
- Healthy Children, Healthy Families: Parents Making a Difference! A Curriculum Integrating Key Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Parenting Practices to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity
Evidence-based Approach: Research-tested
Evaluation Indicators
Readiness and Capacity – Short Term (ST) | Changes – Medium Term (MT) | Effectiveness and Maintenance – Long Term (LT) | Population Results (R) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual | MT1, MT3 | |||
Environmental Settings | ||||
Sectors of Influence |
- MT1: Healthy Eating:
- Frequency and availability of fruit and vegetables and parent and child
- Drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages
- Consuming low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products
- Frequency of physical activity for 60 minutes/day for children
- Eating fewer high-fat or high-sugar snacks and sweets
- Eating meals together -Frequency of eating meals out and fast food
- MT3 Physical Activity and Reduced Sedentary Behavior:
- Television viewing/Computer and video games
Evaluation Materials
Additional Information
Contact Person:
Annette O’Hara
Office Manager, Cornell University
Phone: (607) 255-7715
Email: fnec-admin@cornell.edu
*Updated as of August 7, 2023