Advance-CTR

Advance RI-CTR Pilot Projects Program (Cycle 7)

"Pilot testing an innovative physical activity intervention for parent attending their children's sport practices"

MULTI-PI: Bess Marcus, PhD

Physical activity impacts risk for obesity and related chronic diseases, and racial/ethnic disparities exist. The proposed innovative physical activity intervention will be implemented in a community setting where parents regularly spend time for their child’s extracurricular activities, circumventing barriers commonly cited by racial/ethnic minority parents (e.g., other responsibilities, time barriers, transportation, and childcare), having the potential to impact physical activity in high-risk and hard to reach sample.

We will partner with the Mount Hope Cowboys, a local youth football and cheerleading organization in Providence, RI, that predominantly serves Black and Hispanic families, to pilot test a physical activity intervention for parents attending their child’s football/cheer practices. The innovative intervention capitalizes on the time parents already spend at the field for their child's practice and circumvents related commonly cited barriers to engaging in physical activity among racial/ethnic minority parents (e.g., transportation and childcare).The intervention will be adapted from an existing evidence-based theory guided aerobic and muscle strengthening physical activity intervention by our team with the help of a Community Advisory Board of parents and coaches from the organization.

The first specific aim is thus to  convene a Community Advisory Board to enhance participant acceptability and work through any feasibility issues with implementation. Intervention components will include in-person training sessions (during practice), goal setting, and individually tailored print-based materials (e.g., brochures and tip sheets). We will then conduct an open pilot trial with 45 parents to assess feasibility and acceptability (Specific Aim 2a), and examine the effects of the intervention on parent physical activity behaviors at the end of  the 8-week intervention and at 1-month follow-up (Specific Aim 2b).

Data from this pilot study will be used to write subsequent grants with the long-term objective of increasing physical activity, an important health behavior that impacts risk for obesity and related chronic diseases (e.g., Type II diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers), in a high-risk and hard to reach sample (i.e., Black and Hispanic/Latino parents).

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