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Cluster randomised controlled trial of an m-health intervention in centre-based childcare services to reduce the packing of discretionary foods in children’s lunchboxes: study protocol for the ’SWAP IT Childcare' trial
  1. Nicole Pond1,
  2. Meghan Finch1,2,3,
  3. Rachel Sutherland1,2,3,4,
  4. Luke Wolfenden1,2,3,4,
  5. Nicole Nathan1,2,3,4,
  6. Melanie Kingsland1,2,3,4,
  7. Alice Grady2,4,
  8. Karen Gillham1,
  9. Vanessa Herrmann1,
  10. Sze Lin Yoong1,2,3,4
  1. 1 Population Health Unit, Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia
  2. 2 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia
  3. 3 Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia
  4. 4 Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Nicole Pond; nicole.pond{at}hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Abstract

Introduction In many developed nations, including Australia, a substantial number of children aged under 5 years attend centre-based childcare services that require parents to pack food in lunchboxes. These lunchboxes often contain excessive amounts of unhealthy (‘discretionary’) foods. This study aims to assess the impact of a mobile health (m-health) intervention on reducing the packing of discretionary foods in children’s childcare lunchboxes.

Methods and analysis A cluster randomised controlled trial will be undertaken with parents from 18 centre-based childcare services in the Hunter New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Services will be randomised to receive either a 4-month m-health intervention called ‘SWAP IT Childcare’ or usual care. The development of the intervention was informed by the Behaviour Change Wheel model and will consist primarily of the provision of targeted information, lunchbox food guidelines and website links addressing parent barriers to packing healthy lunchboxes delivered through push notifications via an existing app used by childcare services to communicate with parents and carers. The primary outcomes of the trial will be energy (kilojoules) from discretionary foods packed in lunchboxes and the total energy (kilojoules), saturated fat (grams), total and added sugars (grams) and sodium (milligrams) from all foods packed in lunchboxes. Outcomes will be assessed by weighing and photographing all lunchbox food items at baseline and at the end of the intervention.

Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Hunter New England Local Health District Human Ethics Committee (06/07/26/4.04) and ratified by the University of Newcastle, Human Research Ethics Committee (H-2008–0343). Evaluation and process data collected as part of the study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and local, national and international presentations and will form part of PhD student theses.

Trial registration number ACTRN12618000133235; Pre-results.

  • lunchbox
  • discretionary foods
  • m-health
  • childcare

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026829

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors First author NP led the development of this manuscript. MF, NP, SLY, RS, NN, LW and VH led the development of the intervention. MF, NP, SLY, RS, NN, AG, MK and KG contributed to the evaluation protocol and research design. MF, NP, SLY, RS, NN, LW, AG, MK, KG and VH contributed to drafting and final approval of the manuscript.

    • Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Infrastructure funding was provided in kind by Hunter New England Population Health. Dr Meghan Finch is a clinical research fellow funded by Hunter New England Population Health and the Health Research and Translation Center, Partnerships, Innovation and Research, Hunter New England Local Health District. Dr Sze Lin Yoong receives salary support via an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE170100382). Open access publication costs are partially funded by the Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle as part of research support provided to Dr Yoong. Dr Rachel Sutherland and Dr Melanie Kingsland are supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Translating Research into Practice Fellowship. Associate Professor Luke Wolfenden receives salary support from an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (grant ID: APP1128348) and Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship (grant ID: 101175). Dr Nicole Nathan is supported by NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice Fellow, Hunter New England Clinical Research Fellow and Sir Winston Churchill Fellow. The contents of this manuscript are the responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval Ethics approval has been provided by the Hunter New England Local Health District Human Ethics Committee (06/07/26/4.04) and ratified by the University of Newcastle, Human Research Ethics Committee (H-2008-0343). The trial is prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand clinical trials registry (ACTRN12618000133235p). Evaluation and process data collected as part of the study will be disseminated peer-reviewed publications and local, national and international presentations, and will form part of a PhD student thesis.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.