Implementation and Evaluation of the Abriendo Caminos Program: A Randomized Control Trial Intervention for Hispanic Children and Families

Objective: To describe the methodology of a family-focused, culturally tailored program, Abriendo Caminos, for the prevention of excess weight gain in children. Design: Randomized control trial with outcome assessment at pretest, posttest, and 6 months after intervention or abbreviated-attention control group. Setting: Community setting across 5 sites (Illinois, California, Iowa, Texas, and Puerto Rico). Participants: Mexican American and Puerto Rican families (parent and 1 child aged 6-18 years). A sample size of 100 families (50 intervention and 50 control) per site (n = 500) will provide adequate power to detect intervention effects. Intervention: Families will participate in 6 weekly, 2-hour group workshops on nutrition education through combined presentations and activities, family wellness, and physical activity. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome is prevention of excess weight gain in children; secondary outcomes include changes in child diet, specifically fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and changes in parents' diets and improvement of family routines. Measures will be collected at baseline, postintervention, and 6 months after. Analysis: Modeling to assess changes within and between experimental groups will be checked using standard methods including assessment of model fit, influence diagnostics, adjusted R-2, and multicollinearity. Significance of effects will be examined using Type III tests.