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Feasibility of Including Behavioral Feeding Training Within a Parent Intervention for Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes

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Abstract

Young children with T1D frequently display challenging eating behaviors interfering with diabetes management. The current study explored the feasibility and acceptability of a behavioral parent feeding training session with young children with type 1 diabetes. As part of a larger intervention pilot focused on healthy eating and physical activity, 9 young children (Mage = 4.22) with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their mothers participated in a novel/non-preferred food training session. Parents were taught strategies and then were given an opportunity to use the strategies with their child. The paradigm was video recorded and content was coded for parent and child behavior. Feasibility was high, and all parents rated the feeding session as acceptable. All parents demonstrated using at least one behavioral feeding skill (M = 3.38, SD = 1.60). All 9 (100%) children touched at least one of their non-preferred foods (M = 2.05, SD = 0.75), and 5 (56%) ate at least one novel/non-preferred food (M = 1.65, SD = 0.87). Parents of young children with T1D demonstrated use of parenting skills after receiving brief instructions, with more children than not trying at least one novel/non-preferred food.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Grant Number DP3DK103998-01) awarded to Randi Streisand, Ph.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s National Health System, Center for Translational Science, 111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20010, USA

    Carrie Tully, Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad, Eleanor Mackey & Randi Streisand

  2. The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA

    Carrie Tully, Eleanor Mackey & Randi Streisand

  3. Department of Foods and Nutrition, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Leann L. Birch

Authors
  1. Carrie Tully
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  2. Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad
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  3. Leann L. Birch
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  4. Eleanor Mackey
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  5. Randi Streisand
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Correspondence to Carrie Tully.

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Conflict of interest

Carrie Tully, Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad, Leann L. Birch, Eleanor Mackey, and Randi Streisand declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to the start of recruitment and all participants provided informed consent prior to beginning the study.

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Tully, C., Ahrabi-Nejad, C., Birch, L.L. et al. Feasibility of Including Behavioral Feeding Training Within a Parent Intervention for Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 26, 220–227 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9577-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9577-4

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