Progress 03/01/23 to 02/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience:A total of eight early childhood educators (ECEs) consented to participate in the first of three study cohorts. At the time of the submission of this report, the Cohort 1 final analytical sample included 7 early childhood educators (ECEs), 83 preschool-aged children, and 25 parents. Attrition is due to: (1) one ECE leaving their classroom mid-year and the replacement ECE choosing not to participate, (2) children being unenrolled from the classroom, and (3) children being lost to follow up. Both children and parents are dropped from the study when ECEs leave or children unenroll from participating classrooms. Children Children were assessed in both the Fall (baseline) and the Spring (post-intervention). Children's ages ranged from 3 to 5 years (mean age at baseline = 4.2 years). Approximately 60% of the sample were male. All children participated in the "Eating the Alphabet" (ETA) curriculum, the standard food literacy curriculum used in all SNAP-Ed funded classrooms (control). Out of a total of 109 available children in classrooms, 100 (61 intervention, 39 control) had baseline assessments completed and 83 (43 intervention, 40 control) had post-intervention assessments completed. Parents Out of a total of 108 parents/caregivers (referred to as parents here on), 46 consented to participate in the parent portion of the study in Cohort 1, which included completing surveys (all parents) and nine web-based educational lessons (parents randomized to intervention classrooms). A total of 25 parents (16 intervention classroom and 9 control) completed the baseline survey. Approximately 76% of caregivers were mothers, with the remaining 24% reported as fathers or another relative guardian.Parents, on average, were approximately 37 years of age, Caucasian (76%), and married (60%).Approximately 40% of caregivers did not hold post-secondary degree, and 68% were either unemployed or working part time.Forty-eight (48) percent of caregivers reported a total family income of $45,000 or less. Of the 16 caregivers in the intervention condition, 7 completed all 9 nutrition education lessons.Post-intervention surveys are currently being completed, with 10 completions at the time of the submission of this report. Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) A total of seven ECEs participated in Cohort 1 of the study. ECEs completed a baseline survey in the Fall that included demographic information. The survey also included baseline ratings of child food exposures and preferences for all participating children in the study. All ECEs are female and Caucasian with a mean age of approximately 46 years. Over 70% of ECEs reported holding a Bachelor's Degree or higher and ECEs reported a variety of relevant college courses and trainings. On average, ECEs held approximately 17 years of experience in childcare centers, 10 years as a lead ECE, and 7 years at their current center. At the time of submission of this report, all classroom lessons were implemented/completed, including 27 ETA lessons and 11 Healthy Eating (HE) lessons, for those ECEs in the intervention condition. Additionally, 5 of 7 ECEs completed their post-intervention surveys and child ratings. ECEs received coaching/mentoring visits from certified early education development specialists broken down as follows: 1) All ECEs received two visits for the ETA curriculum, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. 2) Intervention ECEs also received four visits for the HE curriculum in the Spring. Additionally, the 4 intervention ECEs completed a professional development course on Food Literacy (See Products Section to follow). Changes/Problems:Our primary roadblock with Cohort 1 involved significant delays in our proposed timelines. We did not receive initial grant funds until May 2023. Further, our Institutional Review Board underwent a substantial restructuring, and our primary IRB analyst was replaced In the midst of our protocol review, causing significant delays in receipt of human subjects approval. This delayed ECE and parent recruitment until late Summer/early Fall 2023 and resulted in a smaller Cohort 1 sample than originally projected. We aim to make up for this sample deficiency by recruiting larger samples in Cohorts 2 and 3, and we are on track to do so, having started recruitment early for Cohort 2. There were some minor adjustments made to the protocol. At the outset of the study, we discovered that all classrooms in Cohort 1 followed state-mandated regulations for meals served in the centers. As such, our proposal to offer children two additional sides during lunch was not feasible. We pivoted and incorporated a snack choice task instead. Children were offered two energy-dense (e.g., potato chips, cookies) and two nutrient-dense (e.g., baby carrots, grapes) snacks at baseline and post-intervention. The development of the BKC Food Literacy course also took much longer than anticipated or originally projected. Cohort 1 intervention ECEs completed the course during the intervention window in March. Future cohorts will complete this course in the Fall, immediately following the baseline ECE survey. Lastly, due to feasibility concerns, we dropped the mid-intervention child assessments and follow-ups.We also dropped mid-intervention parent and ECE surveys. We did, however, complete the mealtime environment and classroom observation at mid-intervention, to have an additional timepoint for comparison. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Research Assistant/Data Collector Training and Certification Several research staff completed a 2-day training and certification with trained research staff. Data collectors were certified after having achieved 95% assessment fidelity. Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Training All teachers, regardless on experimental condition, received a pre-recorded training webinar,led by research staff. The training described each lesson in detail. ECEs in intervention classrooms received additional training on implementing the Healthy Eating lessons, modifying the classroom food and mealtime environment and engaging parents in the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Recruitment of new preschools/agencies for Cohort 2 began in May 2024.At the time of the submission of this report, 12 ECEs have responded to the recruitment e-mail indicating interest in the study. Of these 12 ECEs, 6 have consented to participate and 4 have scheduled meetings to learn more about the study, immediately after which the consent form will be shared. Preliminary data from the Cohort 1 sample will be available by the next reporting period.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
All baseline data for Cohort 1 has been collected, as well as the majority of post-intervention data. We are in the process of collecting the remaining post-intervention ECE surveys, ECE ratings of children, and parent surveys. Progress towards goals 1 and 2 All ETA lessons, providing children with experiential learning and repeated taste exposures, were delivered in all Cohort 1 study classrooms.HE lessons, aimed at enhancing children's nutrition knowledge, were also delivered in intervention classrooms. Baseline child assessments were completed in November 2023 and post-intervention child assessments were completed in April 2024. Preliminary data to address Goals 1 and 2 will be available by Fall 2024, once data entry, cleaning, and analysis are complete. Progress towards goal 3 We have refined nine web-based lessons packaged in two education units for caregivers; lessons are in online video format.At the time of submission of this report, seven participating caregivers completed all lessons.Preliminary data to address Goal 3 will be available by Fall 2024, once data entry, cleaning, and analysis are complete. Progress towards goal 4 While the majority of data have been collected for Cohort 1, at the time of the submission of this report, there were still outstanding parent and ECE post-intervention surveys. Additionally, trained research assistants (RAs) observed each participating classroom and associated caregivers at baseline and post-intervention.RAs made observations of (1) the classroom mealtime environment, and (2) the level of chaos in the classroom.The mealtime environment instrument measures the built environment available to support healthy eating behaviors during lunch; this includes caregiver behaviors, portion sizes, positive food talk, etc. (RAs also observed the mealtime environment at mid-intervention.) The Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) is a home environment measurement of confusion and disorganization that was modified for use in childcare centers. Data to address Goal 4 will be available by Fall 2024, once data entry, cleaning, and analysis are complete. Progress towards goal 5 Cohort 1 ECEs taught the proposed nutrition education curricula and intervention ECEs completed the professional development course focusing on Food Literacy. Preliminary data to address Goal 4 will be available by Fall 2024, once data entry, cleaning, and analysis are complete.
Publications
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