Systematic review and meta analysis of psychological interventions to prevent or treat pediatric chronic disease in rural communities.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of psychological interventions at improving physical or mental health outcomes for youth living in rural communities who have, or are at-risk for, any chronic medical condition in comparison to control interventions conducted in rural communities. METHODS: Following prospective registration (OSF.IO/7TDQJ), 7 databases were searched through July 1, 2023. Studies were included if they were a randomized control trial of a psychological intervention conducted with youth living in a rural area who had, or were at-risk for, a chronic medical condition. Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane risk of bias version 2 tool. A qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis were conducted. RESULTS: 15 studies met inclusion criteria. Obesity studies (n = 13) primarily focused on body mass index metrics, with limited significant findings across studies. Asthma treatment interventions (n = 2) showed no impact on hospitalizations. 3 studies evaluated mental health outcomes with no significant group differences observed. We meta-analytically analyzed 9 studies that evaluated body mass index z-scores and identified an overall null effect (Hedge's g = 0.01, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.09], p = .85). CONCLUSIONS: Most included studies focused on pediatric obesity, and there was a limited range of health outcomes reported. Compared to controls, minimal significant improvements in health outcomes were identified for psychological interventions for youth living in rural communities. Future efforts may benefit from situating this work more systematically within a health disparities framework with a focus on understanding mechanisms of disparities and translating this work into interventions and policy changes.

Barriers to Participation in a Telemedicine-based, Family-based Behavioral Group Treatment Program for Pediatric Obesity: Qualitative findings from Rural Caregivers.

This study examined factors influencing rural caregivers' decision to decline participation in a healthy lifestyle intervention. Eligible caregivers of rural children who declined participation in a healthy lifestyle intervention were interviewed regarding reasons for declining. Inductive thematic analyses were conducted for responses. Caregiver interviews (n=16) resulted in 5 saturated themes: (1) rural families' household schedules prohibit participation, (2) preference for diverse treatment approaches, (3) desire for information across multimedia platforms, and more communication with a point-of-contact, (4) support for an inclusive approach integrated with existing school practices, and (5) caregivers had an understanding of behaviors that promote health.

Validation of remote anthropometric measurements in a rural randomized pediatric clinical trial in primary care settings.

Rural children are more at risk for childhood obesity but may have difficulty participating in pediatric weight management clinical trials if in-person visits are required. Remote assessment of height and weight observed via videoconferencing may provide a solution by improving the accuracy of self-reported data. This study aims to validate a low-cost, scalable video-assisted protocol for remote height and weight measurements in children and caregivers. Families were provided with low-cost digital scales and tape measures and a standardized protocol for remote measurements. Thirty-three caregiver and child (6-11 years old) dyads completed remote (at home) height and weight measurements while being observed by research staff via videoconferencing, as well as in-person measurements with research staff. We compared the overall and absolute mean differences in child and caregiver weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and child BMI adjusted Z-score (BMIaz) between remote and in-person measurements using paired samples t-tests and one sample t-tests, respectively. Bland-Altman plots were used to estimate the limits of agreement (LOA) and assess systematic bias. Simple regression models were used to examine associations between measurement discrepancies and sociodemographic factors and number of days between measurements. Overall mean differences in child and caregiver weight, height, BMI, and child BMIaz were not significantly different between remote and in-person measurements. LOAs were - 2.1 and 1.7 kg for child weight, - 5.2 and 4.0 cm for child height, - 1.5 and 1.7 kg/m2 for child BMI, - 0.4 and 0.5 SD for child BMIaz, - 3.0 and 2.8 kg for caregiver weight, - 2.9 and 3.9 cm for caregiver height, and - 2.1 and 1.6 kg/m2 for caregiver BMI. Absolute mean differences were significantly different between the two approaches for all measurements. Child and caregiver age were each significantly associated with differences between remote and in-person caregiver height measurements; there were no significant associations with other measurement discrepancies. Remotely observed weight and height measurements using non-research grade equipment may be a feasible and valid approach for pediatric clinical trials in rural communities. However, researchers should carefully evaluate their measurement precision requirements and intervention effect size to determine whether remote height and weight measurements suit their studies.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04142034 (29/10/2019).