The Good Start Matters - Parenting Program

January 10, 2025 updated by: Louise Masse, University of British Columbia

A Good Start Matters for Parents and Children: an MHealth Parenting Intervention to Promote a Healthy Child Development

Early childhood is an important period where the family can support the development and maintenance of healthy eating and active behaviors to prevent or reduce childhood obesity. With this ultimate goal, we designed the Good Start Matters - Parenting program, which aims to engage families in positive parenting practices that support healthy child behaviors, and aim to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention with a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). The Good Start Matters - Parenting program is a 2-month mobile-Health (mHealth) parenting intervention which promote positive parenting (primary outcome) and support children's healthy nutrition, physical activity, and decrease screen-time (secondary outcomes).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Early childhood is an important learning period where dietary, physical activity and sedentary habits are forming, and developing unhealthy habits will set children up for obesity and other health risks later in life. Moreover, during early childhood the familial environment plays a key role in shaping children's behaviors through their parenting practices, which altogether illustrate the potential of the early years as a developmental period with opportunities for obesity prevention. This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluates the efficacy of the Good Start Matters - Parenting intervention, a mobile-Health (mHealth) aimed at improving parenting and co-parenting practices and child health behaviors among British Columbian families of preschoolers. Participating families complete measurement tools at baseline and after 10 weeks. Families randomized into the intervention condition receive immediate access to the app, and control families receive access to the app after the completion of the second assessment. We expect that compared to control group families, intervention group families significantly improve their parenting and co-parenting practices and improve child health behaviors after 2 months of app use.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
118

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6H 3V4
        • Recruiting
        • University of British Columbia / BC Children's Hospital Research Institute
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

2 years to 5 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Children must be:

  • Attending a childcare center invited to participate in the Good Start Matters study.
  • Older than 2.5 and younger than 6 years

Parents must:

  • Be the primary caregiver/legal guardian of an eligible child OR share childrearing responsibilities with an already enrolled primary caregiver/legal guardian of an eligible child
  • Be fluent in English
  • Have a cellphone number and smartphone device where they can receive text messages and download and access the app

Exclusion Criteria:

Parents and children:

- Currently participating in a pediatric weight management program or in a nutritional program are not eligible.

Children:

  • With severe dietary restrictions that limit their ability to follow general nutritional guidelines for toddlers and preschoolers are not eligible.
  • With severe physical limitations that limit their ability to follow general movement behavior guidelines for toddlers and preschoolers are not eligible.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Good Start Matters Parenting intervention
The intervention group will receive immediate access to the app where the Good Start Matters - Parenting intervention will be delivered over a 2-months period.
Behavioral: Good Start Matters - Parenting intervention
The Good Start Matters - Parenting intervention is a 2-month mobile-Health (mHealth) parenting program that aims to improve parenting practices and child health behaviors among British Columbian families of preschoolers. This intervention uses a familial approach and blends the best practices and evidence to promote positive parenting regarding 3 main areas: nutrition, physical activity, and screen-time; which altogether aim to support the development of healthy habits among young children. The mHealth app releases new material on a weekly basis and participants' engagement with the app takes about 30 minutes per week.
No Intervention: Control
The control group will not receive access to the intervention until they complete the follow-up measures (after 10 weeks).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Parenting practices (parent outcome)
Time Frame: Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Questions adapted from the "Food and Physical Activity Item Banks" (Masse et al 2020) to specifically assess parenting practices related to food, physical activity and screen time. The scale ranges from 1-5 in most items, and higher scores indicate greater endorsement of each parenting practice.
Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Co-Parenting practices (parent outcome)
Time Frame: Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Questions adapted from the "Coparenting Relationship Scale" from Feinberg et al (2012) to measure co-parenting agreement specifically regarding the child eating and movement behaviors. The scale ranges from 1-4 and all items will be coded in the same direction to have greater scores representing greater coparenting agreement.
Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Change in Eating and dietary behaviors (child outcome)
Time Frame: Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Questions from the "Children´s Eating Behaviors Questionnaire" (CEBQ) (Wardle et al, 2001), questions based on "Canada´s Food Guide" recommendations, and questions created for the current study to assess a variety of children´s eating behaviors around food (e.g., fussiness, emotional overeating) and intake of key food markers (e.g., vegetables, fruits, sugary drinks). Specifically for the CEBQ scale, response options range from 1-5, and all items will be recoded in the same direction to have greater scores representing greater frequency of each child behavior.
Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Change in Physical activity (child outcome)
Time Frame: Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Questions adapted from Burdette et al. (2004) to examine child physical activity through active play and outdoor play. Greater scores indicate greater active play and outdoor play time.
Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Change in Screen time (child outcome)
Time Frame: Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)
Questions created for this study to examine children's time in front of screens. Greater scores indicate greater screen time.
Two time points (baseline and 10 weeks post intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of British Columbia

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Louise Masse, PhD, University Of British Columbia & BC Children's Hospital Research Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 2, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 15, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 26, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 6, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 10, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • H18-01434(2)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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