Weight Management Promotion among Preschoolers: a Protocol for a Pilot Study using Mixed Methods

Aims: This protocol aims to design and evaluate an educational program to promote weight management among preschoolers. Designed Methods: This study has a sequential mixed methods approach in two phases: qualitative and quantitative. In the first phase, epidemiological, educational, and ecological factors of the PRECEDEPROCEED model influencing weight management promotion among Tehranian pre schoolers will be explored. Seventeen pre schoolers parents and two preschool principals were interviewed by the researcher in the preschool setting. After data analysis through directed content analysis, a onegroup pre and post pilot study will be performed in phase two. Fifteen motherchildren dyads will be enrolled, and mothers will be asked to complete four questionnaires and measure childrench s weight and height. Then an educational program will be designed to promote weight management among preschoolers based on the results of the qualitative phase and a pretest stage. Posttest will be performed immediately and three months after the intervention. Expected Findings: In phase one, we expect facilities and barriers of preschool weight management to be identified based on social cultural conditions and the structures of the model. According to the qualitative study results, an educational program will be developed and evaluated in phase two, and it is anticipated that the educational program will positively influence children weight management. Conclusion: In the various communities, cultural and social differences have a critical effect on obesity in preschoolers; therefore, examining these factors can help understand individual views and interventional design programs to solve this problem.