Evaluation of an Interactive, Online Training for Child Care Providers on Healthy Beverages for Young Children (P16-039-19)

Abstract

ObjectivesEvaluate if a 30-minute interactive, online training with 6-months of ongoing technical assistance (TA) for early care and education (ECE) providers improves beverage nutrition for young children. The training, developed by health professionals and child development experts, teaches implementation of California’s Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act (AB2084) to 1) serve no beverages with added sweeteners, 2) serve no more than one age-appropriate daily serving of 100% juice, 3) serve unflavored nonfat or low-fat milk to children 2 years and older, and 4) make water readily available at all times. We hypothesize that ECE providers who complete the training will exhibit improved knowledge of and compliance with beverage standards than the control group. MethodsProviders offering care to children age 2–5 years old were recruited from three California counties and randomized to receive the training intervention or no training. Providers complete online and paper surveys at four time-points over six months to assess their training experience, knowledge of healthy beverages, and compliance with AB2084 based on self-reported beverage provision practices. ResultsProviders (N = 66) were mostly English-speaking (97%), female (98%), white (58%), Hispanic or Latino (20%), Asian or Pacific Islander (18%), with a minimum of some college education (97%). Preliminary results of 33 providers who received the training, with no comparison group, show improved compliance with AB2084 at the first time-point, one month post training, compared to baseline for serving no beverages with added sweeteners (100% vs 95%), serving 100% juice no more than once per day (100% vs. 86%), serving only unflavored nonfat or low-fat milk to children 2 years and older (82% vs. 61%), and making water readily available at all times (82% vs. 75%). Providers reported satisfaction with the training (90%), learned something new (95%), understood the training (100%), reported the training length was appropriate (83%) and that the accompanying online resources were helpful (95%). ConclusionsPreliminary analysis suggests that online training and TA can improve ECE provider’s compliance with healthy beverage standards for young children (AB2084). Final process and outcome evaluation results from both groups will be available at the conference. Funding SourcesUC Agriculture & Natural Resources.