Addressing the Social Needs of Children With Obesity

Addressing the Social Needs of Children Attending a Weight Management Program: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to improve the treatment of a common, chronic health concern for children: obesity. It has the potential to improve the care we provide by testing an intervention that addresses social needs and the important upstream factors that influences health outcomes.

Addressing the social needs of children attending a weight management program. The specific aims of this pilot randomized controlled trial are the following:

1. To determine the feasibility of implementation and delivery of a screening-referral intervention versus usual care to address social needs of children with obesity enrolled in a pediatric weight management program at McMaster Children's Hospital, which will include recruitment rates, uptake of the intervention, and follow-up of participants.
2. To understand impact on health outcomes of a screening-referral intervention versus usual care to address social needs of children with obesity enrolled in a pediatric weight management program including change in i) body mass index z score (zBMI); ii) change in body composition; and iii) change in health-related quality of life.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that health outcomes of children with obesity are connected to the social determinants of health, and that an intervention which screens for and refers to community supports will improve child obesity outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Enrollment in the weight management program

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children in the care of child protection services and/or living in group or foster care. Children in these settings will not be living within typical family-systems to have social needs addressed by this intervention.
• Parents who cannot read and write in English