Parent and Child Perceived Barriers to Health Behavior Change in a Family-Centered Obesity Intervention

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Behavioral Science
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Childhood overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns requiring effective family-centered interventions.
• Understanding barriers to health behavior change is crucial for intervention success.
• Previous research has primarily focused on parent-reported barriers, potentially overlooking child perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate perceived barriers to weight-related health behavior change in parent-child dyads.
• To compare parent and child perspectives on these barriers.
• To inform the development of family-centered interventions for pediatric weight management.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 499 parent-child dyads.
• Barriers to weight-related health behavior change were assessed using surveys at baseline, 6, and 12 months.
• Statistical analyses included frequencies, McNemar's, and Bowker's tests to compare parent and child reported barriers.

Main Results:

• Significant disagreement existed between parents and children regarding behavior change barriers, with up to 30% of dyads disagreeing at baseline.
• Discrepancies in reported changes to barriers were also noted, with up to 37% of dyads not aligned at 6 months.
• These findings highlight a lack of shared perception within dyads regarding obstacles to health behavior change.

Conclusions:

• Integrating both parent and child perspectives in barrier assessment is vital for effective intervention design.
• Family-centered interventions should acknowledge and address differing viewpoints on health behavior change barriers.
• Tailoring interventions based on dyadic perceptions can enhance engagement and outcomes in pediatric weight management programs.