Feasibility Trial of the iAMHealthy Intervention

Conduct a multisite feasibility trial for the iAmHealthy intervention with two randomized controlled recruitment options (consecutive recruitment and traditional recruitment). We will examine retention, dose, and blinding that will inform the development of a larger, treatment-outcome fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention in the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN).

The study team will perform the iAmHealthy trial will be performed in four ISPCTN site-awardee states. Specifically, the study team will perform the iAmHealthy trial in one clinic per state.

Randomization of recruitment options occurs at the clinic level. Each clinic, in a randomly ordered sequence, will implement two methods of recruitment. Recruitment of Participants, for more detail on the two methods of recruitment.

Randomization of participants into intervention arms will occur at the individual level.

Newsletter-only Intervention Arm

Child/caregiver pairs in the newsletter-only intervention arm will receive:

• usual care at their clinic for all issues, including overweight and obesity;
• a monthly newsletter that focuses on general child health. The child/caregiver pairs will receive six newsletters (one per month) during the six month intervention period.

iAmHealthy Behavioral Intervention Arm

Child/caregiver pairs in the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention arm will receive:

• usual care at their clinic for all issues, including overweight and obesity;
• a monthly newsletter that focuses on general child health. The child/caregiver pairs will receive six newsletters (one per month) during the six month intervention period (same newsletter provided to the newsletter-only intervention participants);
• weekly group sessions for the first three months, followed by monthly group sessions during the next three months, for a total of 15 group sessions. The trial's iAmHealthy behavioral intervention psychologist or social worker (one team per clinic) will deliver these group sessions via an electronic tablet that the trial sponsor will supply;
• 11 hours of individual "homework" sessions with the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention dietician.

The iAmHealthy behavioral intervention psychologists/social worker will individualize group sessions and the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention dietician will adapt individual sessions by focusing on local cultural, religious, and ethnic factors relevant to the recommended changes in eating and activity habits. The iAmHealthy behavioral intervention includes 26 contact hours (15 hours of group sessions and 11 hours of individual sessions).

This feasibility trial will provide information toward the implementation of a fully powered, multisite, randomized behavior intervention trial that will compare the effectiveness of the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention to a newsletter-only intervention for the treatment of obesity among rural and underserved children and their primary caregivers.

Inclusion criteria

• Child is rural. The child lives in a rural area, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes (greater than or equal to 4). We will calculate this using the 2010 Zip Code, RUCA Code crosswalk.
• Child is ages 6-11 years at the time of consent. At the time of consent, a child must be 6 to 11 years of age. A narrow age range is necessary to decrease developmental variability. Clinics may enroll a child no earlier than her or his sixth birthday (6 years, 0 months, 0 days), and may enroll a child up to her or his 12th birthday (11 years, 11 months, 30 days).
• Child BMI percentile is ≥85th. We will use the 85th percentile as a minimal cutoff for participation, as this is the minimal criteria for the definition of overweight. There is no upper limit on BMI percentile for inclusion.
• Child and primary caregiver speak English. For the initial feasibility pilot, we will ask that both the child and primary caregiver speak English. For the larger trial that will follow, we will accommodate Spanish-speaking participants.
• For the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention arm, the child and primary caregiver are available when the behavioral intervention team offers the intervention for the participating clinic. The child and primary caregiver must be available for most of the iAmHealthy behavioral intervention sessions when the behavioral intervention psychologist/social worker offers the group sessions at the participants' clinic. The behavioral team will conduct these sessions via video conference and families will attend via tablets.

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Exclusion criteria

• Child has a physical limitation or injury that substantially limits physical mobility or has a planned medical treatment during the course of the trial that will substantially limit physical mobility. Because this trial recommends physical activity, we will exclude children who cannot comply with this health behavior.
• Child has a known medical issue that could affect protocol compliance (e.g., cancer). If a child has a significant medical issue known to the clinic that could affect protocol compliance, we will exclude this child, as the protocol involves an intense intervention commitment.
• Child and/or primary caregiver has a developmental delay or cognitive impairment that could affect protocol compliance. We will exclude primary caregivers and/or children with a known developmental delay, as this could negatively affect participation and measurement completion.
• Child is enrolled in a weight-loss trial. If a child is enrolled in a weight-loss trial, we will exclude the child to avoid cross-pollination of trial interventions.
• Child has a sibling who has already enrolled in the trial. If multiple children from the same family attempt to enroll, the statistical team will randomly select one child for enrollment. We will always allow siblings to attend the intervention, but we will not officially enroll them.