Successful Virtual Delivery of a Group Childhood Healthy Weight Program

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Digital Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated adaptations in established pediatric health programs.
• The Get Up & Go program is a 10-week, free healthy weight intervention for children aged 6-14 years.
• Synchronous virtual delivery was introduced as an alternative to in-person sessions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a synchronous virtual delivery model for the Get Up & Go healthy weight program.
• To compare outcomes between virtual and in-person program delivery.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 3 cycles of the program with virtual and in-person delivery options.
• Assessments included parental questionnaires on child health behaviors and objective measurements of child weight and height.
• Participant data from virtual (n=116) and in-person (n=107) cohorts were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Virtual delivery attracted more Spanish-speaking families (41.4% vs. 22.6%, p=0.01).
• Attendance rates were 60.3% for virtual and 78.5% for in-person (p=0.003).
• Improvements in Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile were comparable, with a trend towards greater reduction in the virtual group (-3.71 vs. -1.95, p=0.06). Health behavior improvements did not differ significantly between groups (p=0.51).

Conclusions:

• Synchronous virtual delivery of the Get Up & Go program demonstrated good effectiveness, comparable to in-person delivery.
• The virtual format may be a viable and effective option for pediatric weight management programs, even outside of pandemic circumstances.
• This approach can potentially increase accessibility for diverse populations.