TY  - JOUR
AU  - Marsh, Samantha
AU  - Gerritsen, Sarah
AU  - Taylor, Rachael
AU  - Galland, Barbara
AU  - Parag, Varsha
AU  - Maddison, Ralph
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/04/02
TI  - Promotion of Family Routines and Positive Parent-Child Interactions for Obesity Prevention: Protocol for the 3 Pillars Study Randomized Controlled Trial
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e12792
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
KW  - screen time
KW  - family routines
KW  - parent-child relations
KW  - child, preschool
KW  - randomized controlled trial
KW  - health behavior
KW  - pediatric obesity
KW  - sleep
KW  - parenting
KW  - New Zealand
AB  - Background: Childhood obesity is a challenging public health issue, with 30% of children aged 2 to 4 years classified as being overweight or obese in New Zealand. This is concerning, given that up to 90% of obese 3-year-old children are overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence. Interventions that target this age range often fail to demonstrate long-term effectiveness and primarily focus on traditional weight-related behaviors, including diet and physical activity. However, research suggests that targeting nontraditional weight-related behaviors, such as sleep, screen time, and family meals, may be a more effective approach in this age group, given the immense challenges in changing traditional weight-related behaviors in the long term. Objective: The aim of the proposed study was to develop and pilot the 3 Pillars Study (3PS), a 6-week program for parents of New Zealand toddlers and preschoolers aged 2 to 4 years to promote positive parent-child interactions during 3 family routines, specifically adequate sleep, regular family meals, and restricted screen time. Methods: Screen time at the end of the 6-week program is the primary endpoint. The effects of the program on screen time, frequency of family meals, parent feeding practices, diet quality, and sleep duration will be piloted using a randomized controlled trial, with outcomes compared between the active intervention group and a wait-list control group at 6 weeks (at the end of the program) and 12 weeks (at final follow-up). We aim to recruit 50 participants (25 per arm). Eligibility criteria include parents of children aged 2 to 4 years who are currently exceeding screen use recommendations (ie, greater than 1 hour of screen time per day). The 3PS program involves a half-day workshop, run by a community worker trained to deliver the program content, and 6-week access to a study website that contains in-depth information about the program. All participants will also receive a study pack, which includes resources to encourage engagement in the 3 family routines promoted by the program. Study data will be collected in REDCap. All statistical analyses will be performed using SAS version 9.4 and have been specified a priori in a statistical analysis plan prepared by the study statistician. Results: Trial recruitment opened in July 2018. Final follow-up was completed in December 2018, with trial findings expected to be available in early 2019. Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study will provide relevant data to inform the design of a larger effectiveness study of the 3PS program. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12618000823279; https://www.anzctr.org. au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=375004 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/773CALeTK) International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/12792 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2019/4/e12792/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/12792
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30938692
DO  - 10.2196/12792
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/12792
ER  -