Improving community readiness among Iranian local communities to prevent childhood obesity

• Published in: BMC public health 2023-02, Vol.23 (1), p.344-344, Article 344
• Main Authors: Niknam, Mahdieh, Omidvar, Nasrin, Eini-Zinab, Hassan, Kalantari, Naser, Olazadeh, Keyvan, Amiri, Parisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Care and treatment; Child; Childhood; Childhood obesity; Children; Clinical trials; Community; Community readiness; Community relations; Complications and side effects; Developing countries; Distribution; Education; Female; Food; Health care; Humans; Intervention; Iran; LDCs; Leadership; Local communities; Methods; Nutritionists; Obesity; Obesity in children; Parents & parenting; Participant observation; Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control; Prevention; Prevention program; Prevention programs; Public health; Schools; Social networks; Students; Urban Population; Urban populations
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15163-3

Community Readiness Intervention for Tackling Childhood Obesity (CRITCO) is a theory-based intervention being developed to improve the readiness of an Iranian urban population to engage in childhood obesity prevention programs. This study aimed to explore changes in readiness of intervention and control local communities from diverse socio-economic areas of Tehran. This study was a seven-month quasi-experimental intervention implemented in four intervention communities and compared with four controls. Aligned strategies and action plans were developed around the six dimensions of community readiness. The Food and Nutrition Committee was established in each intervention community to make collaborative efforts among different sectors and assess the fidelity of the intervention. The pre-and post- readiness change was explored through interviews with 46 community key informants. The total readiness of intervention sites increased by 0.48 units (p