HEART at Head Start Pilot (Healthy Eating, Activity, Relaxation Trial)

Health and Wellness Apps can reduce barriers and increase access to health information. Supplemental coaching and support to set goals and work towards them may increase the likelihood of achieving physical activity and nutrition goals. This model of access to an App with supplemental support can be applied to improve the health and wellness of Head Start educators.

Head Start is the largest federally funded early childhood education program which provides an array of services to families in an early childhood care setting. The impact of Head Start on school readiness and nutritional outcomes of families has been examined extensively. There is growing awareness of the importance of supporting Head Start educators with their own health and wellness needs. There is a large volume of research that supports the use of Health and Wellness Apps.

The USDA awarded Tufts University a grant to develop, test, and evaluate an innovative health and wellness program for Head Start educators. Tufts University selected ABCD Head Start, which includes 19 Centers and approximately 250 educators in the greater Boston area. The team at Tufts University is leading the implementation and evaluation of the intervention, in collaboration with the National Head Start Association (NHSA) with ABCD Head Start as a community partner.

HEART at Head Start aims to generate evidence to inform how an innovative program can support the health and wellbeing of Head Start educators at the intervention centers compared to those at delayed intervention centers. Study participants will be provided access to the health and wellness app, which can either be downloaded onto mobile phones or accessed via the web. Users will be able to use a variety of health and wellness resources, webinars, as specialized coaching through this app. Additionally, Tufts guides will work closely with study participants to facilitate individual goal setting and to support work towards these set goals.

Evaluation findings will inform stakeholders about the feasibility of using a Health and Wellness App in conjunction with a guide to support Head Start educators with their health and wellness goals.

Inclusion criteria

• Educator at ABCD Head Start Center in the Greater Boston area
• Ability to speak, read, and write in English fluently
• Ability to download and use the Health and Wellness App on their mobile phone or computer
• Residing in the US at the time of enrollment
• Able to attend the baseline health fair at a ABCD Head Start Center

Study participants will be educators at ABCD Head Start centers where either the Health and Wellness App is offered at the onset of the study (intervention) or six months after the onset of the study (delayed intervention.

Exclusion criteria

None