Effect of integrating a video intervention on parenting practices and related parental self-efficacy regarding health behaviours within the Feel4Diabetes-study in Belgian primary schoolchildren from vulnerable families: A cluster randomized trial

Background This study aimed to investigate the effect of integrating a video intervention “Movie Models” within the Feel4Diabetes-study on specific parenting practices and related parental self-efficacy regarding children’s physical activity, screen-time and eating behaviour in vulnerable families (i.e. families living in low socioeconomic municipalities and at risk for developing type 2 diabetes). Additionally, there was examination of how the intervention was perceived by the parents. Methods Within randomly selected low socioeconomic municipalities in Belgium, families were recruited through primary schools. Families at risk for developing type 2 diabetes were identified using the FINDRISC questionnaire (n = 457). Afterwards, the municipalities were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. At risk families assigned to the intervention group were invited to participate in six Feel4Diabetes counselling sessions in which families were encouraged to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The “Movie Models” videos were integrated within two sessions by using a face-to-face group discussion approach. Parenting-related factors were assessed before and after the integration of the videos, using a questionnaire. After integrating the videos, some extra evaluation questions were assessed. In total, 126 families were included in a per protocol evaluation and Repeated Measures ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate the potential intervention effects. Results Some favourable intervention effects were found on parenting practices and related parental self-efficacy regarding children’s eating behaviours, however almost no effects were found on parenting-related factors regarding children’s physical activity and screen-time. In total, 60.0% of the participants indicated that they applied tips regarding parenting practices and 52.0% indicated that discussions with other participants regarding the videos were useful for them. Conclusion The integration of “Movie Models” within the Feel4Diabetes-study was effective in improving some parenting-related factors regarding children’s health behaviours, however most parenting-related factors could not be improved. The implementation of “Movie Models” as a face-to-face group discussion approach was relatively well received and may be a promising way to improve parenting-related factors in vulnerable families. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02278809.