Your Child is Overweight, Now What? Understanding How Head Start Staff Communicate with Families about Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Abstract Background: In an effort to prevent childhood obesity, HS implemented a Body Mass Index screening program in 2012. This program provides opportunities for HS to engage families by communicating information about children’s weight status; however, limited research is available to describe the methods used to communicate this information to families. Objective: Explore common experiences of HS Health/Nutrition Managers when communicating information to families about children’s weight status. Study Design, Settings, & Participants: Researchers conducted 15 in-depth telephone interviews with Managers across North Carolina. Measurable Outcomes/ Analysis: Phenomenology was used to guide study design and analysis. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes focused “what” and “how” participants experienced the phenomenon. Results: Researchers identified four themes. Managers perceived Parents’ Backgrounds (socioeconomic status, education) as barriers to promoting a healthy lifestyle for their family. Programs described different methods for Communication and Education for Parents regarding children’s weight (e.g. letters, meetings, no communication). HS staff and community-based (e.g. WIC) Support and Counseling Strategies for families were identified as helpful to Manager efforts to communicate about children’s weight status. Finally, Family’s Response to children’s weight status often dictated communication methods chosen; negative reactions often resulted in limited communication. Conclusion: Participating HS programs acknowledged the importance of communicating with parents about their children’s weight status. However, findings also indicated parents’ reaction to their child’s weight status may influence the type of communication they receive and their willingness to utilize other educational/counseling opportunities. More research is needed to explore effective and sensitive strategies for engaging parents in communication about children’s weight status.