Feasibility and Acceptability of a Pediatric Referral to Summer Day Camps to Treat Obesity in Children From Low-Income Households

Children from low-income households have a 25-30% higher prevalence of OWOB compared to their higher-income peers. The lack of feasible and effective treatments to address obesity in children with OWOB and from low-income household's points to a real need for prioritization and urgency. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) notes several shortcomings with current behavioral interventions and clinical practice to treat children with OWOB. Current efforts lack the necessary intensity recommended by USPSTF (26-52 hours in a 6-month period); incorporate multi-component interventions that are not feasible to consistently deliver; do not consider barriers to services/programs, such as cost; do not explore collaborative relationships between providers and community programs, and are expressed as 'treatment', therefore, perpetuating the stigma of being overweight/obese. Our project rationale focuses on addressing these limitations during a critical time for accelerated weight-gain in children with OWOB, summer. Our pilot randomized clinical trial will provide free access for children to attend summer day camps (SDCs) as a treatment for OWOB. SDCs are settings where children show high levels of physical activity, consume foods/beverages that meet federal nutrition guidelines, and maintain a consistent sleep schedule during summer. Unfortunately, not all children have access to SDCs. Our team surveyed more than 100 parents/guardians (84% Medicaid) who have a child with OWOB and receives treatment at a pediatric clinic and ~75% reported that they would like to receive a voucher to attend a SDC and that cost was the number one reason why their child did not attend. The proposed pilot randomized clinical trial will randomize a total of 80 children with OWOB (5-11 years) who are covered by Medicaid, into two groups: (1) those who receive a pediatric voucher referral (PVR) from an pediatrician or nurse practitioner to attend an existing SDC for 8 weeks free-of- charge (n=40) or (2) those who continue to receive standard care (control; n=40). By leveraging the expertise of primary care providers and partnering with two well-positioned community partners, our team will evaluate a highly promising intervention to address cost as a barrier for children/families attending summer programming by addressing the following specific aims: 1) to examine the feasibility (intervention delivery) and acceptability (intervention uptake) of the PVR program, 2) to determine the preliminary effectiveness of the PVR program on weight outcomes, and the potential mediating influence of activity, sleep, and diet on any observed changes, and 3) to qualitatively explore the facilitators/barriers of participation in the PVR program and to identify what children and families face during the school year and summer in relation to weight management. Findings will inform the design of a R01 clinical trial. Long term goals of this proposal are to influence policies for subsidizing access to local community SDCs for children/families who meet health criteria (i.e., OWOB). Scalability of this approach is promising given the widespread presence of SDCs and pediatric health clinics in communities.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Obesity & Overweight
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Summer Day Camp

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Keith Brazendale, PhD; Phone Number: 4078230786; Email: keith.brazendale@ucf.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Orlando, Florida, United States, 32816
      • Recruiting
      • University of Central Florida
      • Contact: Keith Brazendale, PhD; Phone Number: 4078230786; Email: keith.brazendale@ucf.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Overweight or Obese
• Attends pediatric clinic
• Medicaid Insured

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Summer Day Camp Voucher; Children (n=40) randomized to the experimental arm will receive a voucher 'referral' from a pediatrician or nurse practitioner to attend an existing summer day camp for 8 weeks free-of- charge	Behavioral: Summer Day Camp; Attendance at a Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida summer day camp
No Intervention: Control; Children (n=40) randomized to the control group arm will continue summer as usual

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Height in centimeters	Height in centimeters will be captured via a stadiometer at baseline (pre-summer) and follow-up (post summer) approximately 12 weeks apart for children in the treatment and control group. Height and weight measurements will be aggregated to arrive at Body Mass Index (BMI) in kg/m^2.	Baseline (pre-summer) and Follow-Up (3 months post-baseline)
Weight in kilograms	Weight in kilograms will be captured via the Tanita C-300 scale at baseline (pre-summer) and follow-up (post summer) approximately 12 weeks apart for children in the treatment and control group. Height and weight measurements will be aggregated to arrive at Body Mass Index (BMI) in kg/m^2.	Baseline (pre-summer) and Follow-Up (3 months post-baseline)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Obesogenic Behaviors - Physical Activity	Summer differences in physical activity between children in treatment and control group. Each study participant will wear the Actigraph Link on their non-dominant wrist for 14 days. The device is waterproof, allowing us to capture water-based activities during summer, and is extensively used in free-living child-focused studies.	14-day observation period
Obesogenic Behaviors - Sleep	Summer differences in sleep between children in treatment and control group. Each study participant will wear the Actigraph Link on their non-dominant wrist for 14 days. This extensively used in free-living child-focused studies for sleep.	14-day observation period
Obesogenic Behaviors - Diet	The Beverage and Snack Questionnaire (BSQ) will capture reported consumption of Healthy Meal Index food categories, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, salty snacks, sweets, milk, fruit, and vegetables each day. Parents will complete one per day, in consultation with their child, for 14-days.	14-day observation period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Central Florida
• Collaborators: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 19, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 5, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nutrition Disorders; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Overweight; Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00008221; 1R21NR021423-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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