Digital technology to facilitate Proactive Assessment of Obesity Risk during Infancy (ProAsk): a feasibility study.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Health Technology

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
• Early identification of obesity risk is crucial for timely intervention.
• Digital health tools offer potential for scalable obesity prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Proactive Assessment of Obesity Risk during Infancy (ProAsk) digital tool.
• To assess the usability of ProAsk among UK health visitors (HVs) and parents of infants.
• To explore the potential of ProAsk in identifying infants at risk of overweight.

Main Methods:

• A multicentre, pre- and post-intervention feasibility study with process evaluation.
• ProAsk delivered via tablet, including a risk prediction tool and motivational strategies.
• Involved 66 parents and 22 HVs in rural and urban deprived UK settings.
• Qualitative interviews assessed acceptability and intervention fidelity.

Main Results:

• 29% of eligible infants were recruited; 40% of assessed infants were identified as above population risk for overweight.
• Health visitors could collect data and calculate overweight risk.
• Protocol adherence and intervention fidelity were challenging, though the therapeutic wheel information was acceptable.

Conclusions:

• Recruitment and protocol adherence were problematic, indicating challenges in implementing ProAsk.
• The ProAsk intervention was generally acceptable to parents and HVs, but intervention fidelity was low.
• Limited evidence supports ProAsk's feasibility without significant additional resources; a parent-led approach may be more viable.