Promoting Healthy Weight Across the Pregnancy and Postpartum Period

Description

Women are exceptionally vulnerable during childbearing years to gain disproportionally large amounts of weight when compared to men or other life periods. Weight gained during pregnancy and retained after the postpartum period contributes to obesity development and progression. Evidence based lifestyle interventions addressing the trajectory of weight gain across the childbearing continuum can reverse these alarming trends of excessive weight among young women, but have had limited uptake due to time, expense, and parenting priorities. To address this gap, our research team developed the lifestyle intervention Healthy Eating, Activity Living, Taught at Home during Pregnancy and Postpartum (HEALTH-P2) in partnership with Parents as Teachers (PAT). This study will provide evidence for the dissemination and implementation (D&I) of HEALTH-P2 across PAT's network of sites, promoting healthy weight on a national scale. The study builds on our previous work with a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate D&I of HEALTH-P2 across multiple levels to achieve widespread impact. First, we will determine weight outcomes (12-month postpartum weight; gestational weigh gain) among 468 overweight/obese women (N=234 HEALTH-P2; N=234 usual care) when parent educators (~8/site) from 36 PAT sites nationwide (18 HEALTH-P2, 18 usual care) receive the HEALTH-P2 training through PAT National Center's existing training infrastructure and conduct HEALTH-P2 as part of routine practice. From a D&I perspective, an evaluation guided by RE-AIM will measure implementation outcomes (acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, adaptation). Further, the Conceptual Framework for Implementation Research will guide an assessment of contextual factors that influence external validity at multiple levels (mother, parent educator, PAT site).

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