Online Feeding Education for Fathers of Children With Feeding Problems

August 16, 2026 updated by: Rukiye Begüm KOCA, Ankara Medipol University

**Examining the Effects of Online Awareness Training for Fathers on Parental Attitudes and Children's Eating Behaviors in Feeding Problems: A Pilot Study**

This pilot study aims to investigate the effects of a four-week online feeding awareness training program for fathers of typically developing children aged 3-6 years. The study will examine changes in fathers' parental self-efficacy and feeding attitudes, as well as their children's eating and mealtime behaviors.

The main research question is whether an online awareness training program for fathers can improve parental self-efficacy and feeding attitudes and contribute to positive changes in children's eating behaviors. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at a four-week follow-up.

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.

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.
12

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

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Study Locations

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Fathers aged 18 years or older who have a typically developing child aged 3-6 years.
  • The child has not previously received feeding therapy or occupational therapy intervention.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of a serious psychiatric condition or a condition that may affect cognitive functioning in either the father or the child.
  • Missing more than one session of the training program.
  • Lack of access to digital devices or the internet.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Online Feeding Awareness Training Group
Participants in this arm will receive a four-week online feeding awareness training program for fathers. The program consists of four weekly 60-minute group sessions covering: (1) motor, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial skills related to feeding; (2) sensory processing and sensory strategies for mealtimes; (3) parental feeding attitudes and behavioral strategies; and (4) parental self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and stress management. Each session includes educational content, discussion, a question-and-answer section, and recommendations for home practice.
Other: Online Feeding Awareness Training for Fathers
The intervention is a four-week online group-based feeding awareness training program developed for fathers of children aged 3-6 years. It consists of four weekly 60-minute sessions delivered via Google Teams. The sessions focus on: (1) motor, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial skills involved in feeding; (2) sensory processing differences and sensory strategies that can be used before mealtimes; (3) parental feeding attitudes, mealtime routines, positive reinforcement, and behavioral strategies; and (4) parental self-efficacy, emotion regulation, stress management, and brief relaxation and mindfulness strategies. Each session includes educational content, discussion, a question-and-answer section, and recommendations for home practice.

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
Parental Self-Efficacy Scale
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).
The Parental Self-Efficacy Scale is a 17-item, 7-point Likert-type measure used to assess parental self-efficacy. Each item is scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), resulting in a total score ranging from 17 to 119. Higher scores indicate greater parental self-efficacy.
Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).
Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS)
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).
The Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) is a parent-reported measure used to assess children's eating and mealtime behaviors. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The Turkish adaptation evaluates the 25 items related to the child's feeding behaviors. Higher scores indicate more problematic eating behaviors and greater feeding difficulties.
Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).
Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).
The Parental Feeding Style Scale is a 27-item, 5-point Likert-type measure used to assess parents' attitudes and behaviors related to feeding their children. Each item is scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with total scores ranging from 27 to 135. Higher scores indicate a greater presence of the corresponding parental feeding style. The Turkish version includes four feeding-style dimensions assessing parental control, guidance, and emotional responses during feeding.
Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after the 4-week intervention (Week 4), and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (Week 8).

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
Participant Satisfaction With the Online Feeding Awareness Training
Time Frame: Immediately after completion of the 4-week intervention (Week 4).
An investigator-developed numerical rating questionnaire will be used to assess participants' perceptions of the effectiveness, comprehensibility, and overall satisfaction with the online feeding awareness training. Each item is rated on a 10-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree).
Immediately after completion of the 4-week intervention (Week 4).

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.
Ankara Medipol University

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.
August 13, 2026

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.
August 25, 2026

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.
November 2, 2026

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).
August 12, 2026

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.
August 12, 2026

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.
August 17, 2026

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.
August 18, 2026

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.
August 16, 2026

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.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

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.
  • 17.03.2026-58

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared because participants did not provide consent for their individual-level data to be shared with external researchers. The data will be used only for the purposes described in the approved study protocol and will be kept confidential.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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