title: Treating rural paediatric obesity through telemedicine vs. telephone: Outcomes from a cluster randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the current study was to examine the feasibility of telemedicine vs. telephone for the delivery of a multidisciplinary weekly family-based behavioural group intervention to treat paediatric obesity delivered to families living in rural areas using a randomized controlled trial methodology.
  
  
  METHODS
  103 rural children and their families were recruited. Feasibility measures included participant satisfaction, session attendance and retention. Treatment outcome measures included child Body Mass Index z-score (BMIz), parent BMI, 24-hour dietary recalls, accelerometer data, the child behavior checklist and the behavioral pediatrics feeding assessment scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants were highly satisfied with the intervention both via telemedicine and via telephone. Completion rates were much higher than for other paediatric obesity intervention programmes, and both methodologies were highly feasible. There were no differences in telemedicine and telephone groups on primary outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both telemedicine and telephone intervention appear to be feasible and acceptable methods of delivering paediatric obesity treatment to rural children.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, USA Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, USA adavis6@kumc.edu.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, USA University of Kansas, Department of Clinical Child Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sampilo
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine Steiger
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, USA.
authors.forename: Kelsey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.affiliation: Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: M Baby
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Saroja
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Biostatistics, USA.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Biostatistics, USA.
authors.forename: Jianghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Department of Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sporn
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012424:Rural Population; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D013689:Telephone
keywords: Obesity; randomized controlled trial; weight management