Lessons on early childhood obesity prevention interventions from the Victorian Infant Program

Early childhood provides an opportunity to support parents to promote a range of healthy behaviours at a time of high engagement with family-focused health services. The Infant Program is believed to be the first of its kind to address healthy behaviours and obesity risk in the first year of life us...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Penelope Love, Rachel Laws, Kylie D Hesketh, Karen J Campbell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sax Institute 2019-03-01
Series:Public Health Research & Practice
Online Access:http://www.phrp.com.au/issues/march-2019-volume-29-issue-1/lessons-on-early-childhood-obesity-prevention-interventions-from-the-victorian-infant-program/
Description
Summary:Early childhood provides an opportunity to support parents to promote a range of healthy behaviours at a time of high engagement with family-focused health services. The Infant Program is believed to be the first of its kind to address healthy behaviours and obesity risk in the first year of life using a universally delivered service. The program is an efficacious, low-cost intervention, and many lessons have been learnt across the journey from a randomised controlled trial to small-scale community implementation. The evolution of the Infant Program highlights the value of applying a translational research process to best position interventions to be implemented at scale. It also illustrates the benefits that a sequential approach, a receptive environment and system-level support provide when seeking to integrate new interventions into routine health service delivery. Understanding these processes and factors leads to a better appreciation of the role each step plays in implementing population health interventions at scale.
ISSN:2204-2091