A Family-Based Lifestyle Intervention Focusing on Fathers and Their Children Using Co-Creation: Study Protocol of the Run Daddy Run Intervention.

Julie Latomme,Greet Cardon,Marieke De Craemer,Ruben Brondeel,Philip J Morgan,Maïté Verloigne

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041830

Abstract

Fathers play a unique and important role in shaping their children’s physical activity (PA), independent from the mother. Lifestyle interventions focusing simultaneously on PA of fathers and their children (“co-PA”) are therefore a novel and promising way to improve PA of both. A theory-based lifestyle intervention was co-created with fathers (i.e., the Run Daddy Run intervention), using the behavior change wheel as a theoretical framework. The aim of the present study is to describe the protocol of the Run Daddy Run intervention study, focusing on improving (co-)PA of fathers and children, and the prospected outcomes. The developed intervention consists of six (inter)active father-child sessions and an eHealth component, delivered over a 14-week intervention period. Baseline measurements will be conducted between November 2019–January 2020, post-test measurements in June 2020, and follow-up measurements in November 2020, with (co-)PA as the primary outcome variable. Outcomes will be measured using accelerometry and an online questionnaire. To evaluate the intervention, multilevel analyses will be conducted. This study will increase our understanding on whether a theory-based, co-created lifestyle intervention focusing exclusively on fathers and their children can improve their (co-)PA behavior and has important implications for future research and health policy, where targeting fathers might be a novel and effective approach to improve (co-)PA and associated health behaviors of both fathers and their children.

Highlights

Low levels of physical activity (PA) can be found in many European primary-school aged children
This paper presents the study protocol for a co-created theory-based family-based lifestyle intervention whose main goal is to improvePA of fathers and their children, as well as other outcomes that are related toPA (i.e., its psychosocial determinants, sedentary behaviour (SB), parental practices, body Mass index (BMI), quality of the father-child relationship and the family health climate regarding PA)
The developed intervention consists of 6active father-child sessions and an eHealth component, delivered over a 14-week intervention period, which will start in February 2020 and will end in May 2020

Summary

Introduction

Low levels of physical activity (PA) can be found in many European primary-school aged children. 4.6% to 16.8% of the European primary school-aged children (10–12 years old) does not meet the international recommendation of at least 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA per day [1]. This is of concern, as low levels of PA are associated with negative physical and psychological health outcomes, including a higher risk of overweight and obesity [2]. Recent research indicates that fathers play a unique and important role in shaping their children’s health behaviors [10,11,12], especially PA.

Methods

Results

Conclusion