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Updated: Jun 7, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Addressing unmet social needs of children with obesity: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Gita Wahi1,2,3, Stacey Marjerrison4,5,6, Simrat Gill4
1Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. wahig@mcmaster.ca.
Insights
A pilot study found that while a community navigator intervention had high uptake in pediatric weight management, recruitment and follow-up acceptability were challenging. Addressing social needs in childhood obesity care requires further refinement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health Interventions
- Health Equity
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue with disparities linked to social inequities.
- Clinical guidelines emphasize addressing social determinants of health in pediatric obesity management.
- This study assessed a community navigation intervention within a pediatric weight management clinic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of a community navigation intervention in a pediatric weight management setting.
- To determine recruitment rates, intervention uptake, and follow-up acceptability.
- To inform future strategies for addressing social needs in children with obesity.
Main Methods:
- A single-center pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted.
- Families were recruited from a tertiary hospital's pediatric weight management program.
- Feasibility was measured by recruitment rates, intervention uptake, and follow-up completion.
Main Results:
- 52.5% of participants screened positive for unmet social needs.
- Recruitment rate was 45% (18/40) in 6 months, with full recruitment in 12 months.
- Intervention uptake was 95% (20/21), but follow-up acceptability was 48% (10/21).
Conclusions:
- The community navigator intervention demonstrated feasibility in terms of uptake.
- Recruitment of participants and acceptability of follow-up present challenges for this intervention.
- Further research is needed to optimize community navigation for pediatric weight management.
Background:
Childhood obesity is an ongoing public health crisis, and recent clinical practice guidelines identify addressing the role of social inequities in the disparity of health among children with obesity as an area to address. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a community navigation intervention in a pediatric weight management clinic.
Methods:
A single-center pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) recruiting families from a tertiary hospital pediatric weight management program to evaluate the feasibility of a community navigation intervention. The primary feasibility outcomes were recruitment rates (goal to recruit 80% of the sample in 6 months), uptake of the intervention (goal > 80% of participants in the intervention group to have a visit with the navigator), and acceptability (goal > 90% of families in the intervention group complete all follow-up).
Results:
Eighty participants completed the social needs screening, and 42 (52.5%) participants screened positive for an unmet social need. In the first 6 months of recruitment, 18 participants were recruited out of a goal of 40 participants (the recruitment rate was 45% vs. the goal of 80% in 6 months), and complete recruitment was achieved in 12 months. Of the 21 participants randomized to the intervention arm, 20 completed the intervention (uptake of intervention was 95% vs. goal 80%). Ten participants in the intervention arm completed all four planned follow-up study visits (the acceptability of follow-up was 48% vs. the goal of 90%).
Conclusion:
We completed a pilot RCT of implementing a community navigator program in a pediatric weight management program. We found feasibility in the intervention's uptake but limited feasibility in recruiting participants and the acceptability of the follow-up.
Trial Registration:
Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04711707, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04711707.
