title: Feasibility of increasing childhood outdoor play and decreasing television viewing through a family-based intervention in WIC, New York State, 2007-2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Active Families is a program developed to increase outdoor play and decrease television viewing among preschool-aged children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Our objective was to assess its feasibility and efficacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We implemented Active Families in a large WIC clinic in New York State for 1 year. To this end, we incorporated into WIC nutrition counseling sessions a community resource guide with maps showing recreational venues. Outcome measures were children's television viewing and time playing outdoors and parents' behaviors (television viewing, physical activity), self-efficacy to influence children's behaviors, and parenting practices specific to television viewing. We used a nonpaired pretest and posttest design to evaluate the intervention, drawing on comparison data from 3 matched WIC agencies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the children at baseline, the children at follow-up were more likely to watch television less than 2 hours per day and play outdoors for at least 60 minutes per day. Additionally, parents reported higher self-efficacy to limit children's television viewing and were more likely to meet physical activity recommendations and watch television less than 2 hours per day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that it is feasible to foster increased outdoor play and reduced television viewing among WIC-enrolled children by incorporating a community resource guide into WIC nutrition counseling sessions. Future research should test the intervention with a stronger evaluation design in multiple settings, with more diverse WIC populations, and by using more objective outcome measures of child behaviors.
authors.affiliation: University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Kirsten K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.forename: Lynn S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Edmunds
authors.forename: Brett A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Wyker
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Vanessa S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Sarfoh
authors.forename: Jackson P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sekhobo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015444:Exercise; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009518:New York; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult