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Abstract
About 3 in 5 children (57.1%) aged 1-5 years in the United States consume at least one sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) weekly with trends higher (62.5%) in Georgia. Sugar sweetened beverage consumption among children is a risk factor for overweight, obesity and dental cavities. Specifically, Black children consume higher amounts of SSBs (71.7%) as compared to Hispanic (67.2%), Asian (56.2%) and White (49.6%) children. Barriers like unawareness of beverage recommendations, inability to read nutrition labels and targeted beverage advertising confront Black parents’ ability to consume and serve healthy beverages to their young children, creating a need to close these gaps. Electronic learning (eLearning) is an effective tool for behavioral health changes. However, there is a dearth in literature on its use in promoting healthy beverage consumption among Black parents. Previous research emphasizes the importance of needs assessment to inform the development and implementation of culturally adaptive programs. Therefore, conducting a needs assessment among Black parents of young children is a first step towards an effective online beverage program. This project conducted in two (2) phases used a mixed-method approach for data collection. The first phase used focus groups to qualitatively explore Black parents’ perceptions, barriers and resources required to limit SSBs to young children. In the second phase, a survey and semi-structured individual interviews examined Black parents’ eLearning format preferences, expectations, and motivations for participation in eLearning beverage program. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) informs the study design.The specific aims of this study were to: 1) Conduct a needs assessment to explore Black parents’ perceptions, barriers, and resources required to limit SSBs consumption among their children; 2) Conduct formative evaluation of eLearning format prototypes, program expectations and motivation for program participation among Black parents of preschoolers; and 3) Develop and share lessons about the development of the Drink Smart e-program. Informed by the study findings, the product, "DRINK SMART” program, consist of 5 lesson videos and creates a framework to promote healthy beverage consumption to Black parents and their young children, thus addressing health equity and the problem of childhood obesity.