Family Diabetes Prevention Program Pilot Study

This study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of a family-oriented augmentation of the Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention (DPP), called the Family DPP. It will also preliminarily examine adult and child health and health behavior outcomes. The DPP is a 12-month, group-based lifestyle intervention for adults at high-risk for type 2 diabetes, in which adult participants learn skills and strategies to achieve the program's goals of 5% weight loss and 150 minutes/week of moderate-vigorous physical activity. The Family DPP will consist of all elements of the evidence-based DPP, along with augmentations including additional child-focused sessions in which adult participants will learn about principles and strategies for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors in children, ages 5 through 12 years. Children may participate in certain child-focused sessions, too. The non-randomized pilot feasibility study will consists of 2 arms/groups: 1) the concurrent "control" group, consisting of adults who are enrolled in the DPP; and 2) the "intervention" arm, in which the adult participants will engage in the Family DPP (and children may participate in certain aspects of the Family DPP focused on children). The study will recruit 10-15 adult-child dyads, for the "intervention" groups, and 10-15 adults for the concurrent control group. In addition to data collected from adult participants as a routine part of the DPP, the study will examine additional adult health behaviors and health outcomes and child health outcomes (change in body mass index z-score) and health behaviors at baseline, 6 months and 12 months (program end) among participants in the "intervention" group.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: PreDiabetes; Type 2 Diabetes; Obesity, Childhood; Overweight and Obesity; Lifestyle, Healthy; Overweight, Childhood
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Intervention (DPP); Behavioral: Family Diabetes Prevention Program (Family DPP)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 34
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
      • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 5 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria for the Intervention Arm:

• For ADULT participants, inclusion criteria are:

  1. Meeting eligibility criteria for the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention, which are:

     1. 18 years of age and older;
     2. not pregnant at time of enrollment;
     3. body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 (≥23 kg/m2 , if of Asian race);
     4. meet one of the following: a) have prediabetes (defined as fasting glucose of 100-125 mg/dL; plasma glucose measured 2 hours after 75 gm glucose load of 140 to 199 mg/dL, or A1c of 5.7% to 6.4%); b) history of clinically diagnosed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during a previous pregnancy; c) high risk for diabetes based on CDC or American Diabetes Association (ADA) Diabetes Screening Test).

     AND

  2. being a primary caregiver of at least one eligible child aged 5 through 12 years at time of recruitment (defined as caring for the child, with a responsibility for the child's food, sleep and activity habits, at least 3 days out of the week)

• For CHILD participants, inclusion criteria are:

  1. being aged 5 through 12 years at time of recruitment;
  2. not having a medical condition which leads to inability to comply with general pediatric dietary or physical activity goals; AND
  3. not concurrently enrolled in a structured weight management program.

Exclusion Criteria for Intervention Arm:

• For ADULT participants, exclusion criteria include

  1. Conditions that would exclude their participation in the DPP lifestyle intervention which include:

     1. pregnancy;
     2. having end-stage renal disease;
     3. having type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
  2. They will also be excluded if they are concurrently enrolled in a structured weight management program.

• For CHILD participants: exclusion criteria include:

  1. having a medical condition which leads to inability to comply with general pediatric dietary or physical activity goals;

  2. being enrolled in a structured weight management program.

     For the Control Arm/Concurrent Control Group, this will only enroll ADULT participants.

• The inclusion criteria are:

  1. Being a participant in the Brancati Center's Diabetes Prevention Program, in a group that has started within 6 months of Intervention Arm group start
  2. Lives with a child less than 18 years of age in their household

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP); Adult participants who are engaged in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention (DPP) as delivered by the Johns Hopkins Brancati Center; this is a 12-month long, group-based lifestyle intervention, delivered by a certified lifestyle coach using a CDC-approved curriculum. This "concurrent control" group will consist of adults who are enrolled in the Brancati Center's DPP within 6 months of the intervention group start dates, who have children less than 18 years of age living in their households.	Behavioral: National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Intervention (DPP); The National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention (DPP) is a 12-month long, group-based lifestyle intervention for adults at high-risk for type 2 diabetes. The DPP will be delivered by certified coaches from the Johns Hopkins Brancati Center. The program uses the CDC's Prevent T2 curriculum, with a total of 32-34 sessions delivered over a 12-month period. In the initial "core" period (first 6 months), there are at least 16 sessions delivered on a weekly basis. In the "post-core" period, additional (at least 6) sessions are offered over a 6 month period. Sessions are delivered either in-person or via a virtual synchronous platform (Zoom).
Experimental: Family Diabetes Prevention Program (Family DPP); Adult participants will engage in the family-oriented Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention (Family DPP); this is an augmented version of the DPP lifestyle intervention. This 12-month, group-based lifestyle intervention will include all elements of the DPP lifestyle intervention as delivered by the Johns Hopkins Brancati Center using a CDC-approved curriculum, with additional child-focused sessions in which adult participants will learn about children's health-related behaviors. Children will be present at the child-focused sessions and family activities, and will be engaged in data collection. These groups will be "mixed," in that non-study participants (adults who are eligible for the DPP), may also participate.	Behavioral: Family Diabetes Prevention Program (Family DPP); The Family DPP has been developed as an augmented version of the National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Intervention (DPP). It includes all elements of the 12-month, group-based DPP lifestyle intervention, led by a CDC certified-coach using a CDC-approved curriculum (involving around 32-34 sessions). The augmentations of the Family DPP supplement the DPP's sessions to additionally address barriers to adults' own lifestyle change efforts related to being a caregiver of children AND to introduce basic concepts regarding healthy child habits related to dietary intake, physical activity and screen time, and sleep. The Family DPP will involve thus additional sessions that will be delivered to the adult DPP participant, and in which children, ages 5 through 12, may also be engaged.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adult Participant Attendance in Program as Assessed by Total Number of Required Program Sessions Attended, Core	The average total number of required core period program sessions attended by the adult participant (inclusive of make-up sessions) including all DPP (and, if in Family DPP, additional Family DPP sessions); for Family DPP adult participants this will also be examined for the subset of DPP sessions and additional Family DPP sessions.	6 months
Adult Participant Attendance in Program as Assessed by Total Number of Program Sessions Attended, Full Program	The average total number of all required sessions attended by the adult participant (inclusive of make-up sessions); for Family DPP adult participants this will also be examined for the subset of DPP sessions only, and additional required Family DPP sessions only (of which there were 10), and didactic/required child-focused sessions only (of which there were 8).	12 months
Adult Participant Attendance in Program as Assessed by Percentage of Program Sessions Attended, Core	The average percentage of required core period program sessions attended by the adult participant (inclusive of make-up sessions) in each arm (denomiator of 18 for DPP, and 20 for Family DPP); for Family DPP adult participants this will also be examined for the subset of required DPP sessions only (denominator is 18) and additional Family DPP sessions only (of which there were 2).	6 months
Adult Participant Attendance in Program as Assessed by Percentage of Program Sessions Attended, Full Program	The percentage of all required program sessions attended by the adult participant (inclusive of make-up sessions); for Family DPP adult participants this will also be examined for the subset of DPP sessions only, all additional Family DPP sessions only (of which there were 10), and child-focused DPP sessions only (of which there were 8).	12 months
Child Participant Attendance in Family Diabetes Prevention Program	The percentage of required child-focused sessions (N=8) attended by the child participant will be examined for child participants in the Family DPP arm only.	12 months
Feasibility of Measurement of Child-related Outcomes as Assessed by the Percentage of Total Child Participants for Whom Data Are Collected	The percentage of total enrolled child participants (in the intervention arm) for whom BMI data and also child-health behavior data are collected will be examined for at baseline data collection point.	Baseline
Feasibility of Measurement of Child-related Outcomes as Assessed by the Percentage of Total Child Participants for Whom Data Are Collected	The percentage of total enrolled child participants (in the Family DPP interventionarm) for whom BMI data and also child-health behavior data are collected will be examined for the 6 month data point.	6 months
Feasibility of Measurement of Child-related Outcomes as Assessed by the Percentage of Total Child Participants for Whom Data Are Collected	The percentage of total enrolled child participants (in the Family DPP intervention arm) for whom BMI data and child-health behavior data are collected will be examined for the 12 month data point.	12 months
Satisfaction With Family Diabetes Prevention Program as Assessed by Study Team Designed Questionnaire	Mean Likert-scale score (for most items, Likert scale on a range of 1 to 4; from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4)), exploring satisfaction with Family DPP content and structure). Mean of participant choice is reported.	12 months (end of intervention)
Intervention Fidelity as Assessed by a Fidelity Checklist	Using an adapted DPP fidelity checklist, this will examine fidelity of delivery of Family DPP specific sessions; percentage of content delivered by coach during session is reported.	Up to 12 months
Total Cost of Program Delivery	Cost of program delivery (including staffing, materials, wrap-around support) per participant (or for FDPP, per dyad). Calculated separately for DPP and Family DPP (intervention) arm. Total delivery cost of DPP incurred by the delivering center was used for DPP cost/participant- this is calculated as a total cost for a set number of cohorts/participants, divided by number of participants. There is a single value (no variation) for each category of cost that was used to calculate this number, and thus no measure of precision or dispersion can be calculated due to nature of calculating a total cost. For FDPP dyads, additional costs related to FDPP intervention and delivery were included in this calculation.	12 months (end of intervention)
Recruitment Rate as Assessed by the Rate of Enrollment Per Week	Recruitment rate is calculated as the number of eligible participants (adult controls or adult-child dyad intervention arm) consenting and completing enrollment and participating in the trial, divided by period of recruitment (in weeks). This value is calculated separately for intervention arm and concurrent control group. The measure is calculated as # of participants recruited (total)/total number of weeks of recruitment. (For intervention arm, 12 adult-child dyads/22 weeks; for control arm adults: 10 adults/9.5 weeks).	During recruitment period up to 22 weeks
Survey Administration Feasibility as Assessed by Mean Time for Administration of Surveys to Participants	Mean time (minutes) for administration of baseline surveys to adult participant and child participant in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline
Survey Administration Feasibility as Assessed by Mean Time for Administration of Surveys to Participants	Mean time (minutes) for administration of surveys to adult participant and child participant at 6 month time point in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	6 months
Survey Administration Feasibility as Assessed by Mean Time for Administration of Surveys to Participants	Mean time (minutes) for administration of surveys to adult participant and child participant in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage Change in Adult Participant Weight (Kilograms)	Percentage change in weight (kilograms) from baseline to end of program (Self-report from home weight may be used depending on program delivery modality). Calculated for adults who are considered "DPP completers" (requires having been in DPP at least 9 months and also attending at least 8 sessions in core period) per the DPP specific definition.	Baseline and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Child Body Mass Index (BMI) Z-score	Change in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's extended Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score at end of program (12 months) compared to baseline and 6 months, from BMI calculated from weight and height measurements during program in the Family DPP (intervention) arm. (Z-score of 0 indicates population mean value). Calculated for all children and among subgroup of children with overweight or obese weight status at baseline.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Adult Participant Physical Activity as Assessed by Average Duration of Activity Per Week	Average number of minutes/week of moderate-vigorous physical activity by self report, at baseline.	Baseline
Adult Participant Physical Activity as Assessed by Average Duration of Activity Per Week	Average number of minutes/week of moderate-vigorous physical activity by self report, at 6 months (during core period) among adults for whom data was collected through this time point (this reflects average of values reported Sessions 2 through 18).	6 months
Adult Participant Physical Activity as Assessed by Average Duration of Activity Per Week	Average number of minutes/week of moderate-vigorous physical activity by self report, by 12 months/end of program, among adults considered DPP completers (this reflects average of values reported Sessions 2 through 29).	12 months
Percentage of Adult Participants Who Met Physical Activity Achievement	Whether or not the adult participant met the program goal of an average 150 minutes/week of moderate-vigorous physical activity.	12 months
Change in Adult Participant Dietary Pattern Related to Fruit and Vegetable Intake Frequency	Questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2017 modules on fruit, vegetable and fruit juice intake as assessed by participant recall (for 1 week period), which quantify frequency of intake of these food items over 1 week-recall period; changes in intake patterns from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Adult Participant Dietary Pattern Related to Sugary Beverage Intake Frequency	Questions from the BRFSS on sugary beverage intake, as assessed by participant recall (for 1 week period), which quantify frequency of intake of sugary beverages over 1 week-recall period; changes in intake patterns from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Child Participant Fruit and Vegetable Intake Frequency	Questions from the YRBS 2017 modules on fruit and vegetable intake, which quantify intake of these food items over a 7-day period; questions will be asked of caregivers of all child participants and directly of children ages 9 through 12 years. Changes in intake patterns from baseline will be assessed.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Child Participant Sugary Beverage Intake Frequency	Questions from the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System (YRBSS) on sugary beverage intake frequency over a 7-day period; questions will be asked of caregivers of all child participants and directly of children ages 9 through 12 years. Changes in intake patterns from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed.	Baseline, 6 and 12 months
Change in Child Participant Screen Time	Adaptation of questions from YRBSS regarding average number of hours of screen time/day, asked weekday or weekend over past 7 days. Questions will be asked of caregivers of all child participants and directly of children ages 9 through 12 years. (Options given of less than 1 hour, coded as 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours and 5 hours or more (coded as 5 hours). Changes in number of hours of screen time from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed for children in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Child Participant Sleep Patterns	Adaptation of questions from YRBSS regarding average number of hours of sleep per night on weekdays, over last week. Questions will be asked of caregivers of all child participants and directly of children ages 9 through 12 years. Changes will be assessed, at 6 and 12 months.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Adult Caregiver Perceived Self-efficacy for Behavioral Change	Questionnaire exploring confidence in achieving behavioral goals related to physical activity, sleep and dietary modifications, using a Likert scale with options from 1 to 5, higher scores indicating higher perceived self-efficacy). Mean change in self-efficacy for each item from baseline (to 6 months and 12 months) will be assessed for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Child Participant Physical Activity Levels	Adaptations of questions from YRBS regarding number of days meeting physical activity goal/week. Questions will be asked of caregivers of all child participants and directly of children ages 9 through 12 years. Changes in activity patterns from baseline, including whether meeting daily physical activity guidelines, will be assessed for children in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Parenting Self-efficacy for Child Health Behavior Change	Questionnaire exploring adult caregiver confidence in supporting child to achieve behavioral goals related to physical activity, sleep, screen time and diet, using a Likert scale from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating higher perceived self-efficacy). Mean change in parenting self-efficacy overall and for each item from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Family Eating/Activity Habits and Home Environment	The Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire-Revised (FEAHQ-R) is a 32-item, self-report instrument; score range 0-128 with likert scale options 0-4. It is a clinical tool that captures family member eating and activity habits and also factors related with obesity in the overall home environment for children and caregivers. A higher score is associated with less favorable or appropriate patterns. Mean changes in scores from baseline, at 6 and 12 months, will be assessed in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Caregiver Knowledge Regarding Child Health Behaviors	Questionnaire examining knowledge or awareness of age-specific pediatric guidelines for sleep, dietary intake, screen time and physical activity. 4 total questions, with percentage of questions answered correctly ranging from 0% to 100%. Mean change in the percentage of questions answered correctly from baseline, will be examined for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)
Change in Caregiver Attitudes Regarding Child Health Behaviors	Questionnaire examining caregiver beliefs and attitudes towards age-specific guidelines for sleep, dietary intake, screen time and physical activity, using a Likert scale for extent to which respondent agrees or disagrees with statements (Likert Scale Options of 1-4: 1-Strongly Disagree to 4-Strongly Agree). Higher score indicates higher agreement with the statement. Mean change in score for each from baseline examined for adults in the Family DPP (intervention) arm.	Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (end of intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maya S Venkataramani, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Damschroder LJ, Moin T, Datta SK, Reardon CM, Steinle N, Weinreb J, Billington CJ, Maciejewski ML, Yancy WS Jr, Hughes M, Makki F, Richardson CR. Implementation and evaluation of the VA DPP clinical demonstration: protocol for a multi-site non-randomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation type III trial. Implement Sci. 2015 May 12;10:68. doi: 10.1186/s13012-015-0250-0.
• Taveras EM, Mitchell K, Gortmaker SL. Parental confidence in making overweight-related behavior changes. Pediatrics. 2009 Jul;124(1):151-8. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-2892.
• Golan M. Fifteen years of the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire (FEAHQ): an update and review. Pediatr Obes. 2014 Apr;9(2):92-101. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-6310.2013.00144.x. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 8, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 19, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): February 19, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 2, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): May 3, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 18, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Prediabetes; Overweight; Diabetes Prevention; Lifestyle Change; Child obesity; Child overweight
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Nutrition Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Hyperglycemia; Overweight; Obesity; Diabetes Mellitus; Pediatric Obesity; Prediabetic State; Glucose Intolerance
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB00310219; 1K23DK119581-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No