Marie Ezran1, Angela C B Trude1, Allison D Hepworth2, Maureen M Black3. 1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. 2. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. 3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC. Electronic address: mblack@som.umaryland.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate demographic differences in parent website engagement in a child care-based wellness intervention. DESIGN: Parent-reported demographic characteristics and observed website engagement were averaged by child care centers participating in the web-based intervention arm of a cluster randomized controlled trial of wellness interventions. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Parents of preschoolers in 17 Maryland child care centers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Website engagement: (1) webpage views, (2) average time on webpage, and (3) intervention activity completion. INTERVENTION: Parents received access to a website containing content on wellness-promoting topics (eg, parenting, nutrition, physical activity) and their child care center's activities. ANALYSIS: Cross-sectional differences in website engagement by demographic characteristics were assessed using ANOVA. RESULTS: Centers with a high proportion of parents who identified as other than non-Hispanic White and had less than a bachelor's degree had significantly fewer webpage views, and completed significantly fewer intervention activities compared with centers with parents who were predominantly non-Hispanic White and had more than a bachelor's degree. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Demographic differences in parents' child care center website engagement represent disparities that could contribute to health inequities in parents' access to wellness-promoting material. Future efforts could identify factors that eliminate demographic disparities in parent engagement in web-based interventions.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate demographic differences in parent website engagement in a child care-based wellness intervention. DESIGN: Parent-reported demographic characteristics and observed website engagement were averaged by child care centers participating in the web-based intervention arm of a cluster randomized controlled trial of wellness interventions. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Parents of preschoolers in 17 Maryland child care centers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Website engagement: (1) webpage views, (2) average time on webpage, and (3) intervention activity completion. INTERVENTION: Parents received access to a website containing content on wellness-promoting topics (eg, parenting, nutrition, physical activity) and their child care center's activities. ANALYSIS: Cross-sectional differences in website engagement by demographic characteristics were assessed using ANOVA. RESULTS: Centers with a high proportion of parents who identified as other than non-Hispanic White and had less than a bachelor's degree had significantly fewer webpage views, and completed significantly fewer intervention activities compared with centers with parents who were predominantly non-Hispanic White and had more than a bachelor's degree. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Demographic differences in parents' child care center website engagement represent disparities that could contribute to health inequities in parents' access to wellness-promoting material. Future efforts could identify factors that eliminate demographic disparities in parent engagement in web-based interventions.
Authors: Alan M Delamater; Elizabeth R Pulgaron; Sheah Rarback; Jennifer Hernandez; Adriana Carrillo; Steven Christiansen; Herbert H Severson Journal: Child Obes Date: 2013-01-11 Impact factor: 2.992