Examining unanswered questions about the home environment and childhood obesity disparities using an incremental, mixed-methods, longitudinal study design: The Family Matters study

Abstract

There are disparities in the prevalence of childhood obesity for children from low-income and minority households. Mixed-methods studies that examine home environments in an in-depth manner are needed to identify potential mechanisms driving childhood obesity disparities that have not been examined in prior research. The Family Matters study aims to identify risk and protective factors for childhood obesity in low-income and minority households through a two-phased incremental, mixed-methods, and longitudinal approach. Individual, dyadic (i.e., parent/child; siblings), and familial factors that are associated with, or moderate associations with childhood obesity will be examined. Phase I includes in-home observations of diverse families (n=150; 25 each of African American, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Hmong, Somali, and White families). In-home observations include: (1) an interactive observational family task; (2) ecological momentary assessment of parent stress, mood, and parenting practices; (3) child and parent accelerometry; (4) child 24-hour dietary recalls; (5) home food inventory; (6) built environment audit; (7) anthropometry on all family members; (8) an online survey; and (9) parent interview. Phase I data will be used for analyses and to inform development of a culturally appropriate survey for Phase II. The survey will be administered at two time points to diverse parents (n=1200) of children ages 5–9. The main aim of the current paper is to describe the Family Matters complex study design and protocol and to report Phase I feasibility data for participant recruitment and study completion. Results from this comprehensive study will inform the development of culturally-tailored interventions to reduce childhood obesity disparities.

Momentary Parental Stress and Food-Related Parenting Practices

“…Data for the current study are from Family Matters, a National Institutes of Health-funded study. 29 Family Matters is a 5-year incremental (Phase I = 2014-2016; Phase II = 2017-2019), mixed-methods (eg, video-recorded tasks, EMA, interviews, surveys), longitudinal study designed to identify novel risk and protective factors for childhood obesity in the home environments of racially and/or ethnically diverse and primarily low-income children. Phase I included an in-depth, mixedmethods, cross-sectional examination of the family home environment of diverse families (n = 150).…”

Compared to Pre-prepared Meals, Fully and Partly Home-Cooked Meals in Diverse Families with Young Children Are More Likely to Include Nutritious Ingredients

“…Data for the present study are from Family Matters, a National Institutes of Healthefunded study. 14 Family Matters is a 5year longitudinal observational study designed to identify novel risk and protective factors for childhood obesity in the home environments of racially/ethnically diverse children from primarily low-income families. Phase I of the study includes an in-depth 10-day examination of the family home environments of diverse families (n¼150), including collection of both quantitative assessments and qualitative observations.…”

“…The Family Matters Study collected many measures described elsewhere. 14 The measures used in this analysis (described in the section titled "Measures") come from direct measurement of height and weight of the study child and parent respondent by trained staff using a digital scale (Seca model 869) and stadiometer (Seca model 217) at the first home visit, 15 from a single online survey completed by the parent at the second home visit, and from mealtime ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys collected between home visits. 16 During the 8-day EMA observation period between home visits, parents filled out an EMA survey on a study-provided iPad after each meal (defined as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack) eaten with the study child.…”

Ecological Momentary Assessment of the Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Family Meal Environment in Racially/Ethnically Diverse and Immigrant Households

“…Data for the current study were from Family Matters, 30 a National Institutes of Healthfunded study. Family Matters is a 5-year incremental (Phase I = 2014-2016.; Phase II = 2017-2019), mixed-methods (e.g., video-recorded tasks, EMA, interviews, surveys) longitudinal study designed to identify novel risk and protective factors for childhood obesity in the home environments of racially/ethnically diverse and primarily low-income children.…”

“…In-depth details regarding both Phases of the Family Matters study have been published elsewhere. 30 Data in the current study were from Phase I of the Family Matters study. In Phase I, a mixed-methods analysis of the home environments of children ages 5-7 years old from six racial/ethnic groups including, African American, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Hmong, Somali, and White (n=25 from each racial/ethnic group) was conducted to identify individual, dyadic, and familial risk and protective factors for childhood obesity.…”