Leveraging Interactive Digital Technology to Increase Access to Family-Based Behavioral Treatment for Childhood Obesity

Project Summary One in five youth in the US has obesity, which is associated with reduced quality of life and significant comorbidities, including what were once adult-onset diseases (e.g., Type 2 Diabetes). Effective treatments exist, such as Family-based Behavioral Treatment (FBT), an evidence-based intervention for children with obesity and their caregivers. However, treatments are not widely or equitably distributed; most youth with obesity do not receive effective care. Technology can be leveraged to bring pediatric obesity interventions into real-world practice, creating meaningful and sustainable public health impact by addressing barriers to treatment (e.g., lack of providers, logistical barriers). Digital support tools for the caregiver and youth would further facilitate effective implementation of the intervention by fostering learning and skill development, thereby increasing the scalability of evidence-based interventions without sacrificing fidelity. This SBIR aims to address gaps in treatment access by creating a digital training and delivery package for dissemination and implementation of FBT at scale. Through recently secured CDC funding, we have developed and tested a professional e-training platform for FBT. The primary goal of this SBIR Direct to Phase II is to expand upon the existing training platform to create an “all-in- one” digital product, FBT 2.0, that offers an integrated suite of intervention components, including (a) dynamic, personalized, self-paced program for children and parent/caregivers; (b) e-training and ongoing support for interventionists; and (c) family engagement and monitoring tools for interventionists. We will create a comprehensive, e-learning digital intervention with engaging, interactive, and personalized online tools for youth and their parents/caregivers that are integrated into the broader interventionist platform. A direct to Phase II was deemed appropriate given (1) FBT is an established and effective intervention in line with U. S. Preventive Services Task Force obesity-care recommendations, with an already developed digital training platform; (2) prior research demonstrating high usability and engagement of 3C Institute’s proprietary dynamic e-learning platform for a broad array of end users; and (3) 3C’s considerable experience developing, testing, and commercializing innovative e-learning software products. This SBIR Direct to Phase II project will accomplish three specific aims: (1) develop the full FBT 2.0 digital platform through iterative usability testing with twenty youth/caregiver dyads (i.e., youth aged 6-18 years of age with obesity and one parent/caregiver); (2) conduct a 6-month randomized controlled pilot trial with 70 youth/caregiver dyads to gather preliminary evidence of the efficacy of FBT 2.0 on relative weight, behavioral and psychosocial outcomes; (3) finalize and prepare FBT 2.0 for commercialization using data and feedback from the pilot trial, and feedback from focus groups conducted with stakeholders who are involved in the treatment of children with obesity (behavioral and medical health providers, clinic and health system leadership, payers). The resulting FBT 2.0 will transform evidence-based FBT into an effective, engaging, and scalable intervention for broad dissemination and sustainable public health impact.