[Family-based obesity prevention - Process evaluation of a Motivational Interviewing Intervention in a Deprived...

Families are an important setting for the prevention of childhood overweight and obesity, as they are one of the key places where healthy behaviors are learned and reinforced. However, involving families in prevention programs, especially those affected by social disadvantage, has proved to be difficult.

To evaluate the implementation process of a family-based motivational interviewing intervention to promote healthy weight development in a socially disadvantaged neighborhood.

The study included families with at least one child aged 3 to 10, at least 50% of whom were expected to meet one or more of the following criteria for social disadvantage: (i) immigrant background, (ii) low educational attainment, (iii) social isolation, (iv) single-parent household, and (v) financial difficulties. The process evaluation included the analysis of household questionnaires (n=23), intervention logbooks (n=82 visits) and feedback questionnaires (n=14), qualitative interviews with the intervention staff (n=3) and focus group discussions with the participating parents (n=10) and stakeholders (n=9).

A total of 23 families with 33 children participated in the intervention, 20 of which were demonstrated at least one indicator of social disadvantage. Nineteen of the 23 families completed the intervention and reported a high level of satisfaction in the feedback questionnaires. The outreach approach was perceived by the intervention staff and families as an important method for minimizing dropouts during the intervention. Stakeholders and intervention staff identified reaching families and overcoming language barriers as key challenges.

The outreach approach and flexibility of the intervention were rated very positively by the participating families and professionals. Future research should focus on how motivational interviewing can be applied in accordance with the methodology despite existing language barriers.