Improving child weight management uptake through enhanced National Child Measurement Programme parental feedback letters: A randomised controlled trial

Sallis, Anna; Porter, Lucy; Tan, Kaixuan; Howard, Rachel; Brown, Laura J; Jones, Angela R.; Ells, Louisa; Adamson, Ashley J.; Taylor, Rod S; Vlaev, Ivo; Chadborn, Tim

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.01.023

Cited by 20 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Greater knowledge regarding the impacts of excess weight specifically in childhood, alongside more moderate images of excess weight, could also help parents to understand the prevalence of the issue and its relevance to their own children. While outcomes are yet to be published, early indications from the ‘Map Me’ intervention, a tool which provides parents with visuals of age- and gender-specific body image scales of known BMI alongside supporting information about the health risks of childhood overweight, suggests it may help improve parental recognition of excess weight and consequently increase likelihood of behaviour change ( 43 ) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A little bit offended and slightly patronised’: parents’ experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback

Gainsbury¹,

Dowling²

2018

Public Health Nutr.

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Our study provides an insight into parents' experiences of NCMP feedback, including how they relate to and understand that experience within a social context. By doing so, it makes a unique contribution to the existing body of evidence. Recommendations for practice based on the findings include further efforts to raise parents' and communities' awareness of childhood obesity, risks associated with childhood excess weight and obesity prevalence as a mainstream issue.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A little bit offended and slightly patronised’: parents’ experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback

Gainsbury¹,

Dowling²

2018

Public Health Nutr.

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“…There is wider evidence from the behavioural science literature showing that the content of letters can have an important impact on behavioural outcomes, such as increasing tax compliance [19], reducing household energy consumption [20], reducing GP antibiotic prescribing [21] and increasing enrolment at family weight-management services [22]. These letters used descriptive social norms, based on the idea that individuals are more likely to do something if they believe that others are also doing it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-notification and reminder SMS text messages with behaviourally informed invitation letters to improve uptake of NHS Health Checks: a factorial randomised controlled trial

et al. 2019

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Background: The NHS Health Check (NHS HC) is a cardiovascular risk assessment to prevent cardiovascular disease. Public Health England (PHE) wants to increase uptake. Methods: We explored the impact of behaviourally informed invitation letters and pre-notification and reminder SMS on uptake of NHS HCs. Patients at 28 General Practices in the London Borough of Southwark who were eligible to receive an NHS HC between 1st November 2013 and 31st December 2014 were included. A double-blind randomised controlled trial with a mixed 2 (pre-notification SMSyes or no) × 4 (letternational template control, open-ended, time-limited, social norm) × 2 (reminder SMSyes or no) factorial design was used. The open-ended letter used simplification, behavioural instruction and a personalised planning prompt for patients to record the date and time of their NHS HC. The time-limited letter was similar but stated the NHS HC was due in a named forthcoming month. The social norms letter was similar to the open-ended letter but included a descriptive social norms message and testimonials from local residents and no planning prompt. The outcome measure was attendance at an NHS HC. Results: Data for 12, 244 invites were analysed. Uptake increased in almost all letter and SMS combinations compared to the control letter without SMS (Uptake 18%), with increases of up to 12 percentage points for the time-limited letter with pre-notification and reminder (Uptake 30%; Adjusted Odds Ratio AOR 1.86; 95% CI 1.45-2.83; p < 0.00); 10 percentage points for the open-ended letter with reminder (Uptake 27%; AOR 1.68; 95% CI 1.31-2.17; p < 0.00) and a 9 percentage point increase using the time-limited letter with reminder (Uptake 27%; AOR 1.61; 95% CI 1.25-2.10; p < 0.00). The reminder SMS increased uptake for all intervention letters. The pre-notification did not add to this effect. Conclusions: This large randomised controlled trial adds support to the evidence that small, low cost behaviourally informed changes to letter-based invitations can increase uptake of NHS HCs. It also provides novel evidence on the effect of SMS reminders and pre-notification on NHS HC attendance. Trial registration: Retrospectively Registered (24/01/2014) ISRCTN36027094.

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“…They have found a small effect between the intervention (4.33% chance of uptake) and control group (2.19% chance of uptake) among 2642 parents (14) . In other work examining the impact of behaviour change from the parent feedback from the NCMP, Viner et al reported that feedback has a positive effect on parental intentions to change behaviour; however, it often does not translate into the actual behaviour change (15) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In 2019, Sallis and Colleagues (14) conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial to investigate whether the uptake to children's weight management services can be increased by modifying the result letters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delivery of the National Child Measurement Programme in England

Čadek

Flint

Tench

2020

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is a mandatory initiative delivered in England to children in Reception and Year 6. To date, no research has explored the methods used to deliver the NCMP by Local Government Authorities (LGA) across England. Design: An online survey was administered between February 2018 and May 2018 to explore the delivery of the NCMP across the 152 LGA in England and disseminated using non-probability convenience sampling. Setting: LGA received an anonymous link to the survey. Participants: A total of 92 LGA participated in the survey. Results: Most LGA who responded provide result feedback (86 %), a proactive follow-up (71 %) and referrals to services (80 %). Additionally, 65 % of the authorities tailor Public Health England specimen result letters to suit their needs, and 84 % provide attachments alongside. Out of 71 % of LGA who provide proactive follow-up, 19 (29 %) provide the proactive follow-up only to upper weight categories and only 4 (6 %) include Healthy Weight category with other categories in proactive follow-up. Regarding the service availability for children, out of 80 % of LGA who indicated that services are available, 32 (43 %) targeted solely upper weight categories, while the other 42 (57 %) offered services across all weight categories. Finally, most LGA (88 %) commission providers to manage various parts of the NCMP. Conclusions: The results show that LGA in England localise the NCMP. Further guidance regarding standards of best practice would help LGA to find the most suitable localisation out of various options that exist across other LGA.

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Improving child weight management uptake through enhanced National Child Measurement Programme parental feedback letters: A randomised controlled trial

Cited by 20 publications

References 19 publications

‘A little bit offended and slightly patronised’: parents’ experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback

‘A little bit offended and slightly patronised’: parents’ experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback

Pre-notification and reminder SMS text messages with behaviourally informed invitation letters to improve uptake of NHS Health Checks: a factorial randomised controlled trial

Delivery of the National Child Measurement Programme in England

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