Process Evaluation of an Early Care and Education Intervention: The California Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study (CA-CORD)

Abstract

Given the widespread use of out-of-home child care in the United States, early care and education (ECE) providers offer ideal settings to promote health behaviors among Hispanic/Latino children whose obesity prevalence remains high. This study details the process evaluation of ECE intervention strategies of a childhood obesity research demonstration study (California Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration [CA-CORD]) to prevent and control obesity among Hispanic/Latino children aged 2 to 12 years. Participating ECE providers received the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) materials and action planning sessions with a trained interventionist; Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) physical activity (PA), health behavior, and body mass index assessment trainings; and health behavior toolkit, cooking kit, water dispensers, and posters to promote healthy eating, PA, water consumption, and quality sleep. Intervention logs and director/lead teacher interviews evaluated how well 14 center-based and 9 private ECE providers implemented policy, system, and environmental changes. NAP SACC was implemented with higher fidelity than other strategies, and participation in SPARK trainings was lower than health behavior trainings. ECE directors/lead teachers reported that the intervention activities and materials helped them promote the targeted behaviors, especially PA. Results demonstrated that the use of NAP SACC, trainings, and toolkit had high fidelity and were potentially replicable for implementation in ECE settings among Hispanic/Latino communities.

Implementation Monitoring of a Promotora-Led, Home-Based Obesity Prevention Pilot Study With Latino Preschool Children and Their Mothers

“…15 Several studies have published the process evaluations of obesity intervention efforts with Latino preschool children and their families, documenting overall high levels of protocol implementation fidelity. [16][17][18][19] However, three of these studies were delivered primarily in the childcare setting, [17][18][19] while only one of these studies was delivered in the home setting. 16 In that home-based study, the authors focused on the contextual factors associated with program implementation, which they assessed qualitatively with patient navigators and parents.…”

The Effects of a Multisector, Multilevel Intervention on Child Dietary Intake: California Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study

“…Healthy eating intervention strategies are summarized in Table 1, and intervention strategies used to promote other health behaviors are described elsewhere [23]. Examinations of factors affecting implementation of the CA-CORD study across sectors [32] and caregiver engagement in the FWP [31] were reported elsewhere, as were process evaluation results for the ECE sector [33].…”

Validation of the Chinese Non‐pharmacological Therapy Experience Scale in persons with intellectual disability

“…More importantly, they will be better able to identify the value and reach of that intervention (Milliron et al, ). This will allow the targeted outcomes, such as behaviours (Lin et al, ), physical activity levels (Driediger et al, ) and a healthy lifestyle (Heim, Stang, & Ireland, ) to be promoted with the intervention.…”