title: Promoting health equity in European children: design and methodology of the prospective EPHE (Epode for the Promotion of Health Equity) evaluation study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reducing health inequalities is a top priority of the public health agendas in Europe. The EPHE project aims to analyse the added value of a community-based interventional programme based on EPODE methodology, adapted for the reduction of socio-economic inequalities in childhood obesity. The interventions that will be implemented by this project focus on four energy balance-related behaviours (fruit and vegetable consumption, tap water intake, physical inactivity, sleep duration) and their determinants. This article presents the design of the effect evaluation of the EPHE project.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective two-year follow-up evaluation study, which will collect data on the energy balance-related behaviours and potential environmental determinants of 6-8 year olds, depending on the socio-economic status of the parents. For this purpose a parental self-reported questionnaire is constructed. This assesses the socio-economic status of the parents (5 items) and the dietary (12 items), sedentary (2 items) and sleeping (4 items) behaviour of the child. Alongside potential family-environmental determinants are assessed. The EPHE parental questionnaire will be disseminated in schools of a selected medium-sized city in seven European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Portugal, Romania, The Netherlands).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study will evaluate the effects of the EPHE community-based interventional programmes. Furthermore, it will provide evidence for children's specific energy balance-related behaviours and family environmental determinants related to socio-economic inequalities, in seven European countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands. k.mantziki@vu.nl.
authors.forename: Krystallia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mantziki
authors.forename: Achilleas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vassilopoulos
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Radulian
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Borys
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: du Plessis
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gregório
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Graça
authors.forename: Stefaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Henauw
authors.forename: Svetoslav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Handjiev
authors.forename: Tommy L S
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Visscher
authors.forename: Jacob C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Seidell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity; D010290:Parents; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires