title: Design and rationale for NOURISH-T: a randomized control trial targeting parents of overweight children off cancer treatment.
abstract: Approximately 40% of off-treatment pediatric cancer survivors (PCS) are overweight or obese, which increases their risk for negative long-term physical health complications. Consistent with the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) emphasis on patients transitioning from treatment to cancer survivorship and increasing long-term healthy behaviors in these survivors, we plan to conduct a pilot RCT to address the increasing overweight/obesity rates among PCS by targeting their caregivers as agents for PCS behavior change. We plan to focus on parents' behaviors, attitudes and roles in promoting healthier eating and physical activity (PA) in PCS and adapt an evidence-informed, manualized parent intervention - NOURISH - found to be effective for parents of overweight and obese children and adolescents in reducing child and adolescent BMI. We plan to adapt NOURISH for caregivers of 5-12 year old PCS (6 months-4 years off active cancer treatment). Our pilot feasibility RCT - NOURISH-T (Nourishing Our Understanding of Role modeling to Improve Support for Healthy Transitions) evaluates: 1) the preliminary efficacy of NOURISH-T for PCS, compared with an Enhanced Usual Care (EUC) control condition, and 2) factors to consider to improve future adaptations of the intervention. The project will enroll caregivers of PCS at two pediatric oncology clinics into the 6-week intervention (or EUC) with assessments occurring pre- and post-6 weeks of intervention, and at a 4-month follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States. Electronic address: mstern1@usf.edu.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ewing
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davila
authors.affiliation: Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, United States.
authors.forename: Amanda L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: All Children's Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medical Center, St. Petersburg, FL, United States.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzeo
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009369:Neoplasms; D050177:Overweight / Q000628:therapy; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors
keywords: Parent training; Pediatric cancer; Pediatric obesity; Randomized clinical trial