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We tested the cost-effectiveness of giving low-income parents childcare discounts contingent on their participation in the Chicago Parent Program, a 12-session preventive parent training (PT) program offered at their child's daycare center. Eight centers were matched and randomized to an experimental condition in which parents received a discount on their childcare bill (M = $8.92 per session attended) or a control group with no financial incentive. Participants (n = 174) consisted mostly of African American (55%) or Latino (42%) mothers, 62% reporting annual household incomes less than $20,000. Parents in the discount condition were 15.4% more likely to enroll than control parents, though this difference was not significant. There were no differences in PT attendance, parents' motivations for enrolling, or the degree to which parents were actively engaged in PT sessions by condition. Despite the added cost of the discounts, there was no difference in group costs by condition. Parent interviews revealed important challenges in implementing financial incentive programs in community-based agencies serving low-income families. Cost simulations show how low parent enrollment or low attendance negatively affect the economic efficiency of group-based PT. Implications for policies guiding financial incentive programs targeting low-income families and their participation in prevention programs are discussed.

Participants enrolled in a parent training study were interviewed to understand what motivated their participation and what led to drop out. Most enrolled to become better parents. Drop out was mostly due to schedule constraints. Retention was higher when parent's motivation matched program goals. Qualities of recruiter was cited as most important, while financial compensation was least important. (BF)

In Canada, approximately 30% of preschoolers aged 2 through 5 years are overweight and obese. (1,2) Research suggests that parents have a strong influence on their children's weight and related [...], OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impact of Parents and Tots Together (PTT), a family- based obesity prevention intervention, in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Canadian parents of preschoolers (aged 2-5 years). SETTING: Ontario Early Years centres in southwestern Ontario. INTERVENTION: A pilot randomized controlled trial involving 48 parents who received either the PTT intervention (n = 27) or an attention-matched control home safety intervention (n = 21). To evaluate the feasibility of PTT, we assessed participant retention and outcome evaluation completion rates. To evaluate acceptability, we assessed program attendance and parents' responses to program satisfaction surveys. To evaluate preliminary impact, we assessed children's body mass index (BMI) at baseline, after intervention (end of 9-week intervention) and at 9-month follow-up. As well, at each time point, parents completed surveys assessing stress and self-efficacy related to parenting, children's sleep, activity, TV viewing and diet. OUTCOMES: Retention rates were high in the intervention (93%) and control (84%) study arms, and 87% of parents reported that they would highly recommend PTT to a friend. At 9-month follow-up, intervention parents reported lower parenting stress ([??] = 15.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] -29.57, -2.07, p = 0.02) and greater self-efficacy in managing their child's behaviour ([??] = 0.16, 95% CI 0.002, 0.33, p = 0.05) than control parents. PTT had minimal influence on children's weight-related behaviours and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that PTT can feasibly be implemented and tested in the Canadian context. Preliminary impact results suggest that the program may be effective in changing general parenting; however, program content should be modified to adequately address children's weight-related behaviours. KEY WORDS: Childhood; obesity prevention; family-based intervention Can J Public Health 2015;106(8):e555-e562 doi: 10.17269/CJPH.106.5224 OBJECTIF: Tester la faisabilite, l'acceptabilite et l'impact preliminaire de Parents and Tots Together (PTT), une intervention de prevention de l'obesite menee aupres des familles au Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Des parents canadiens d'enfants d'age prescolaire (2-5 ans). LIEU: Les Centres de la petite enfance du Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario. INTERVENTION: Un essai pilote comparatif randomise aupres de 48 parents ayant recu soit l'intervention PTT (n = 27), soit une intervention-temoin sur la securite a domicile de meme niveau d'attention (n = 21). Pour determiner la faisabilite de PTT, nous avons evalue les taux de conservation des participants et leur taux de reponse aux questionnaires d'evaluation des resultats. Pour determiner l'acceptabilite, nous avons evalue la frequentation du programme et les reponses des parents aux sondages sur leur satisfaction par rapport au programme. Pour determiner l'impact preliminaire, nous avons evalue l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC) des enfants au depart, apres l'intervention (au bout de 9 semaines) et lors du suivi apres 9 mois. De plus, a chaque etape, les parents ont rempli des questionnaires evaluant leur stress et leur autoefficacite lies a leur role parental et au sommeil, a l'activite, a l'ecoute de la television et au regime des enfants. EFFETS: Les taux de conservation ont ete eleves pour l'intervention (93 %) et pour l'etude temoin (84 %), et 87 % des parents ont declare qu'ils recommanderaient vivement le programme PTT a un ami. Au suivi apres 9 mois, comparativement aux parents temoins, les parents de l'intervention ont fait etat d'un stress moins eleve lie au role parental ([??] = 15,83, intervalle de confiance [IC] de 95 %: -29,57, -2,07, p = 0,02) et d'une autoefficacite plus elevee dans la gestion du comportement de leur enfant ([??] = 0,16, IC de 95 %: 0,002, 0,33, p = 0,05). Le programme PTT n'a eu qu'une influence minime sur les comportements lies au poids et sur l'IMC des enfants. CONCLUSIONS: Les resultats montrent qu'il est faisable de mettre en oeuvre et de tester le programme PTT dans le contexte canadien. Les resultats sur l'impact preliminaire montrent que le programme peut etre efficace pour changer les competences parentales en general, mais qu'il faudrait en modifier le contenu pour aborder convenablement les comportements lies au poids chez les enfants. MOTS CLES: enfance; prevention de l'obesite; intervention familiale

Dating violence is a serious and prevalent public health problem that is associated with numerous negative physical and psychological health outcomes, and yet there has been limited evaluation of prevention programs on college campuses. A recent innovation in campus prevention focuses on mobilizing bystanders to take action. To date, bystander programs have mainly been compared with no treatment control groups raising questions about what value is added to dating violence prevention by focusing on bystanders. This study compared a single 90-min bystander education program for dating violence prevention with a traditional awareness education program, as well as with a no education control group. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with follow-up at 2 months, a sample of predominately freshmen college students was randomized to either the bystander (n = 369) or traditional awareness (n = 376) dating violence education program. A non-randomized control group of freshmen students who did not receive any education were also surveyed (n = 224). Students completed measures of attitudes, including rape myth acceptance, bystander efficacy, and intent to help as well as behavioral measures related to bystander action and victimization. Results showed that the bystander education program was more effective at changing attitudes, beliefs, efficacy, intentions, and self-reported behaviors compared with the traditional awareness education program. Both programs were significantly more effective than no education. The findings of this study have important implications for future dating violence prevention educational programming, emphasizing the value of bystander education programs for primary dating violence prevention among college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem Low enrollment and participation are common in face-to-face parenting interventions. Developing innovative delivery methods is one way to address participation barriers. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a Web-based delivery model for an evidence-based behavioral parent training program. Methods Parents ( n = 9) completed two Web-based prototype sessions of the Chicago Parent Program delivered on an Android tablet over 2 weeks, and then participated in a post-intervention focus group. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Findings The Web-based delivery adaptation was feasible and useful for low-income urban parents. Conclusions Our preliminary findings suggest that Web-based delivery is a feasible approach to integrating mental health prevention into systems of care. Translating interventions to alternative delivery platforms is promising for nursing to increase access to evidence-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conduct problems in preschool children are a significant mental health problem associated with later psychosocial and psychiatric disorders, pointing to the need for effective community-based preventive interventions with families of young children at risk. Group-based parent training has been described as one such intervention. This paper presents the nature of conduct problems in young children, the role of day care and preschools in gaining access to young children at risk, the theory and research underlying group-based parent training as one type of effective prevention strategy, and characteristics of effective parent training programs. Examples from the authors' experiences implementing parent training in day care centers in Chicago are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Establishing the feasibility and validity of implementation fidelity monitoring strategies is an Important methodological step in implementing evidence-based interventions on a large scale. Objectives: The objective of the study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Fidelity Checklist, a measure designed to assess group leader adherence and competence delivering a parent training intervention (the Chicago Parent Program) in child care centers serving low-income families. Method: The sample included 9 parent groups (12 group sessions each), 12 group leaders, and 103 parents. Independent raters reviewed 186 audiotaped parent group sessions and coded group leaders' fidelity on the Adherence and Competence Scales of the Fidelity Checklist. Group leaders completed self-report adherence checklists and a measure of parent engagement in the intervention. Parents completed measures of consumer satisfaction and child behavior. Results: High interrater agreement (Adherence Scale = 94%, Competence Scale = 85%) and adequate intraclass correlation coefficients (Adherence Scale = .69, Competence Scale : =.91) were achieved for the Fidelity Checklist. Group leader adherence changed over time, but competence remained stable Agreement between group leader self-report and independent ratings on the Adherence Scale was 85%; disagreements were more frequently due to positive bias in group leader self-report. Positive correlations were found between group leader adherence and parent attendance and engagement in the intervention and between group leader competence and parent satisfaction. Although child behavior problems improved, improvements were not related to fidelity. Discussion: The results suggest that the Fidelity Checklist is a feasible, reliable, and valid measure of group leader implementation fidelity in a group-based parenting intervention. Future research will be focused on testing the Fidelity Check-list with diverse and larger samples and generalizing to other group-based interventions using a similar intervention model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]