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A randomized controlled trial examining an exam room poster to prompt communication about weight
Author(s) -
Brown Callie L.,
Howard Janna B.,
Perrin Eliana M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pediatric obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.226
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 2047-6310
pISSN - 2047-6302
DOI - 10.1111/ijpo.12625
Subject(s) - medicine , growth chart , randomized controlled trial , logistic regression , demographics , weight loss , intervention (counseling) , family medicine , physical therapy , pediatrics , demography , obesity , nursing , surgery , sociology
Summary Background Recognition of childhood weight status is important to the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviours. Objectives We assessed whether an exam room educational poster addressing weight and healthy lifestyle behaviours was acceptable to parents, prompted parent‐provider communication or improved parental weight perception accuracy. Methods In this multi‐site randomized controlled trial, exam rooms were randomized to display the posters (English and Spanish) or not. Children ages 3 to 8 years (N = 965) attending well visits were weighed and roomed per usual clinic protocol. After the visit, parents completed a questionnaire assessing demographics, child weight status perceptions and whether they discussed weight status with provider or were shown growth charts. We used separate logistic regression analyses to examine associations between intervention status and: asking provider about child weight, being shown growth charts, and accuracy of weight perception, adjusting for covariates and clustering by exam room. Results Of the parents who saw the poster, 97% liked seeing it and reported greater understanding of weight status visualization (96%) and healthy lifestyle behaviours (94%). Parents who saw the poster were more likely to report being shown a growth chart (OR 1.87, 95% 1.06, 3.30) but were not more likely to ask about their child's weight status nor accurately report their child's weight status. Conclusions An educational exam room poster about healthy weight was well‐received by parents and prompted providers to show the child's growth chart but did not prompt parent‐initiated conversations about weight status nor improve parental weight perception accuracy.