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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12618001173280
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
13/07/2018
Date registered
16/07/2018
Date last updated
15/10/2018
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Understanding how cost, time and support from others influence the foods parents choose to give to their child
Scientific title
Understanding aspects of physical and social opportunity impacting on parents of 3 to 7 year old food provision: A discrete choice experiment
Secondary ID [1] 295541 0
Nil known
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Childhood obesity 308808 0
Condition category
Condition code
Diet and Nutrition 307740 307740 0 0
Obesity

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Observational
Patient registry
False
Target follow-up duration
Target follow-up type
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
This study is a discrete choice experiment which contains a number of choice tasks (a type of single-answer question) that requires parents to choose between two hypothetical snack options or the neither (opt-out) option. The two snack options will vary in their attributes (i.e. cost, time, support from child, co-parent and friends, and the type of food). The context for this snack provision includes social occasions where family friends are present (experimental condition) versus everyday occasions without family friends present (control condition).

The study aims to examine the attributes (cost, time, support from child, co-parent, friends and type of food) that are most important to parents’ when choosing snacks to give their 3 to 7 year old children, in social occasions (experimental condition) versus everyday occasions (control condition).

Parents will take part in an online survey containing the discrete choice experiment and questions regarding the explanatory variables and parent and child characteristics. They will be randomised within the survey tool to the experimental condition or control condition, followed by a break activity (wash out period), before being presented with the alternative condition.

The discrete choice experiment design generated using NGene software was total of 20 choice tasks per condition. Each participant will be randomly allocated to complete one of 4 experimental choice sets (containing 5 choice tasks) and one of 4 control choice sets (containing 5 choice tasks). After parents are randomised to the experimental or control condition in the online survey they are again randomised to see one of the 4 choice sets.
Each parent will complete a total of 10 choice tasks (5 per condition). Each parent’s involvement will take approximately 30mins, once-off, and completely online.

By observing parents snack choices in different conditions using the discrete choice experiment, researchers are able to construct utility weights. These utility weights represent the value individuals attach to each of the attributes (cost, time, support from child, co-parent and friends, and type of food). This allow for an estimation of the relative importance of each attribute, and comparisons of the ranking of attribute importance between the two conditions (social occasions vs everyday).
Intervention code [1] 301844 0
Early Detection / Screening
Comparator / control treatment
The comparator for this study is the choice decisions in the everyday occasions without family friends present (control condition).
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 306731 0
Attribute utility weights in social occasions

The statistical analysis of the choice data (choice decisions and corresponding attribute levels) will involve multinomial logit model to determine the utility weights that will be used to determine the relative importance of the attributes.
Timepoint [1] 306731 0
At time of data collection
Secondary outcome [1] 349381 0
Attribute utility weights in everyday occasions

The statistical analysis of the choice data (choice decisions and corresponding attribute levels) will involve multinomial logit model to determine the utility weights that will be used to determine the relative importance of the attributes.
Timepoint [1] 349381 0
At time of data collection

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Parents of 3 to 7 year olds, fluent in English, aged 18 years or over, residing in Australia, who are primarily responsible for preparing their child's food.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
No limit
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
Parents of children outside of the specified age range (less than 3.0 or greater or equal to 8.0 years) at the time of the study.

Study design
Purpose
Natural history
Duration
Cross-sectional
Selection
Defined population
Timing
Prospective
Statistical methods / analysis
The sample size estimates indicate approximately 150 parents based on an orthogonal main effects experimental design, assuming 2 choices and an opt-out, and six attributes (cost, time, support from child, co-parent, friends, type of food) with 2-3 attribute levels. This estimate is based on the rule of thumb proposed by Johnson and Orme (2003; cited in de Bekker-Grob et al. 2015) N > 500c / (t x a). Where t is the number of choice tasks (9), a is the number of alternatives (2) and c is the number of analysis cells; therefore a minimum sample of (500 x 3) / (9 x 2) = 111.

The discrete choice experiment choice outputs from the everyday and social occasions will be analysed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logit model analyses to determine the relative utility weights (coefficient) for cost, time, support from child, co-parents and friends, and type of food. These analyses will be repeated in subgroups of participants based on various parent and child characteristics based on the sub-group sample sizes collected (e.g. parent education level). Explanatory variables (child’s temperament, parent’s self-efficacy) will be captured by the inclusion of interaction terms in the models.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
23/07/2018
Actual
25/07/2018
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
30/09/2018
Actual
20/09/2018
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
30/09/2018
Actual
20/09/2018
Sample size
Target
150
Accrual to date
Final
225
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
ACT,NSW,NT,QLD,SA,TAS,WA,VIC

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 300118 0
University
Name [1] 300118 0
Flinders University Research Scholarship and Top-Up Scholarship
Country [1] 300118 0
Australia
Funding source category [2] 300128 0
Charities/Societies/Foundations
Name [2] 300128 0
King & Amy O'Malley Trust Postgraduate Scholarship
Country [2] 300128 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Flinders University
Address
Flinders University, Sturt Rd, Bedford Park, SA 5042
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 299518 0
University
Name [1] 299518 0
University of South Australia
Address [1] 299518 0
Institute for Choice, Level 13, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
Country [1] 299518 0
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [2] 299528 0
Government body
Name [2] 299528 0
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation
Address [2] 299528 0
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Building, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5000
Country [2] 299528 0
Australia

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 300958 0
Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 300958 0
Flinders University, Sturt Rd, Bedford Park, SA 5042
Ethics committee country [1] 300958 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 300958 0
21/05/2018
Approval date [1] 300958 0
05/07/2018
Ethics approval number [1] 300958 0
8043

Summary
Brief summary
Globally children's intake of unhealthy foods and beverages is excessive, contributing to weight gain and risk of obesity. There is a lack of research focusing on unhealthy foods with majority of past research focused on increasing healthy foods in the hope that unhealthy foods will also decrease, which has not been the case (Johnson et al., accepted). Parents play a key role in what children eat (Yee et al. 2017). Understanding the physical and social opportunity influences on parents’ food provision will help to guide future intervention content to support parents to make healthy food choices for their children.

This project aims to explore the influence of physical* and social^ opportunity on parents’ unhealthy food provision choices for their 3-7 year old children. The project is focused on understanding the influence of parents’ physical opportunity, in terms of cost and time, and social opportunity, in terms of support from their child, co-parent and friends. The project will also determine whether the influence of physical and social opportunity on parental food provision differs in social occasions. To achieve the project aim a discrete choice experiment will be administered via an online survey to investigate parents’ hypothetical food provision in social and everyday occasions, where the food options vary in terms of the cost, time to prepare, support from child, significant family members and friends, and type of food (nutritional value).

The discrete choice experiment contains a number of choice tasks (a type of single-answer question) which involves parents choosing between two hypothetical snack options or the neither (opt-out) option. The two snack options will vary in their attributes (e.g. cost, time, support from child, co-parent and friends, and the type of food).

* Physical opportunity = the physical resources a parent has available, such as money (cost) and time.
^ Social opportunity = what is afforded by the social environment, such as support (or resistance/opposition) from the child, co-parent, extended family and friends.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 85414 0
Ms Brittany Johnson
Address 85414 0
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001
Country 85414 0
Australia
Phone 85414 0
+61 8 8204 7075
Fax 85414 0
Email 85414 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 85415 0
Brittany Johnson
Address 85415 0
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001
Country 85415 0
Australia
Phone 85415 0
+61 8 8204 7075
Fax 85415 0
Email 85415 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 85416 0
Brittany Johnson
Address 85416 0
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001
Country 85416 0
Australia
Phone 85416 0
+61 8 8204 7075
Fax 85416 0
Email 85416 0
[email protected]

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No Supporting Document Provided



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