# Parent-Perceived Important Topics for Childhood Obesity (PPITCH)

> **NIH NIH R03** · HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE, INC. · 2022 · $89,961

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
It is recommended that obesity counseling happen during pediatric primary care visits, but it is often infeasible
to address all recommended health and wellness topics (e.g. assessment of nutrition and physical activity
habits, motivational interviewing, setting goals) in the context of a 20-minute well child visit. Moreover, brief
counseling is unlikely to engage high-risk families who are particularly unlikely to engage in behavior change
due to cultural norms, low health literacy, and competing caregiving priorities. Best-worst scaling (BWS) is a
structured, survey-based approach that has been used to efficiently quantify patient preferences and priorities
regarding healthcare decisions while avoiding extreme response and social desirability biases. In this study,
we propose developing and fielding a best-worst scaling survey to identify and prioritize the characteristics of
obesity that parents care most about. We can therefore weed out lower priority issues that would not influence
a decision from health communication messaging. We hypothesize that focusing risk communication on the
specific obesity-related issues that are important to parents may catalyze more parents of children with obesity
to engage in behavior change to address their child’s weight status and when indicated, to engage in childhood
obesity treatment programs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10438760
- **Project number:** 5R03HL156883-02
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Davene Renee Wright
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $89,961
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10438760

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10438760, Parent-Perceived Important Topics for Childhood Obesity (PPITCH) (5R03HL156883-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10438760. Licensed CC0.

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