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Primary care interventions to reduce television viewing in African-American children
B Sophia Ford1, Tiffany E McDonald, Ayisha S Owens
1School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Insights
Primary care interventions can reduce children's screen time. A behavioral intervention showed promise for increasing physical activity in low-income African-American children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric primary care
- Behavioral interventions
- Public health
Background:
- Limited data exist on primary care interventions to decrease children's television viewing.
- Low-income African-American children exhibit higher television consumption rates compared to peers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate two primary care-based interventions for reducing screen time in children.
- To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of counseling versus counseling plus a behavioral intervention.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled pilot trial involving 28 families of African-American children (ages 7-12).
- Interventions included counseling alone or counseling with an electronic television time manager.
- Outcomes measured children's media use, physical activity, and mealtime habits.
Main Results:
- Both groups achieved similar reductions in children's television, videotape, and video game use.
- The behavioral intervention group demonstrated significantly greater increases in organized physical activity.
- Trends favored the behavioral intervention for increased outdoor play and reduced television-related meals, though not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Primary care interventions show potential for reducing screen time in young children.
- The behavioral intervention, incorporating a time management tool, appears more effective in promoting physical activity.
Background:
Data are lacking on primary care interventions to reduce children's television viewing. Low-income African-American children watch greater amounts of television than their peers.
Design/Methods:
A randomized controlled pilot and feasibility trial was conducted. Twenty-eight families with 7- to 12-year-old African-American children receiving primary care at an urban community clinic serving a low-income population were randomized to receive counseling alone or counseling plus a behavioral intervention that included an electronic television time manager. The main outcome was hours of children's television, videotape, and video game use. Parents/guardians and children completed baseline and 4-week follow-up self-report surveys. Additional outcomes included overall household television use, time spent in organized physical activity and playing outside, and meals eaten by the child while watching television.
Results:
Both intervention groups reported similar decreases in children's television, videotape, and video game use (mean changes of -13.7, SD=26.1 and -14.1, SD=16.8 hours per week). The behavioral intervention group reported significantly greater increases in organized physical activity (changes of +2.5, SD=5.9 and -3.6, SD=4.7 hours per week; p =0.004) and nearly significant greater increases in playing outside (changes of 1.0, SD=5.9 and -4.7, SD=9.4 hours per week; p <0.06). Changes in overall household television use and meals eaten while watching television also appeared to favor the behavioral intervention, with small to medium effect sizes, but differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
This small pilot and feasibility study evaluated two promising primary care-based interventions to reduce television, videotape, and video game use among low-income African-American children. The effects on physical activity suggest that the behavioral intervention may be more effective.