# Expanding the Use of Proven-Effective Pediatric Weight Management Interventions in Community Health Centers

> **NIH ALLCDC U18** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $500,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Childhood obesity represents a substantial burden on morbidity and quality of life and is a major risk factor for
major chronic diseases. While childhood obesity prevalence appears to have plateaued in some US population
subgroups since 2012, overall rates remain at historically high levels, and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic
disparities appear to be widening. US Preventive Service Task Force guidelines provide the basis for childhood
obesity screening and management but are underutilized and not part of routine practice in pediatric primary
care settings. Proven-effective interventions, such as Connect for Health and the Mass in Motion Kids Healthy
Weight Clinic, have demonstrated that a highly scalable, multilevel intervention package including 1) electronic
health record (EHR)-based clinical decision support tools to guide pediatric clinicians in weight management;
2) family educational materials focused on evidence-based behavioral targets; 3) social- and community-
informed text messages to parents to support behavior change, and 4) multidisciplinary, community health
center-based pediatric weight management clinic, could improve child body mass index (BMI). Although
interventions such as Connect for Health and Mass in Motion Kids Healthy Weight Clinic have been proven
effective, there remains a substantial gap in the adoption of recommended practices by clinicians and families,
particularly in settings that care for low-income children with high levels of Medicaid. The CDC's Knowledge to
Action framework suggests that an important step in translating evidence-informed programs into routine
practice is turning scientific evidence into user-friendly intervention materials, tool kits, strategies, and
messages to assist and support users in putting science into practice. This poor adoption of EHR-based tools
is due in part to a lack of implementer-friendly, EHR vendor-neutral specifications and technical support to
guide integration into clinical workflows and processes. While many federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)
are increasingly moving towards team-based care and delivering adult chronic disease management in the
patient's medical home, few have established primary care based healthy weight clinics that can dramatically
increase capacity for specialized, weight-related care for large numbers of children with obesity. Our long-term
goal is to improve the care and outcomes of low-income children with obesity. The primary objectives of this
proposed study are to package, implement and evaluate the evidence generated by Connect for Health and
the Mass in Motion Kids Healthy Weight Clinic in pediatric primary care settings serving low-income children
with a substantially high prevalence of obesity. To achieve our aims, we have assembled a research,
implementation, and clinical team with extensive experience in obesity interventions, implementation science,
clinician and family behavior change, community health, research ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10529261
- **Project number:** 5U18DP006424-04
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Gehler Fiechtner
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $500,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10529261

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10529261, Expanding the Use of Proven-Effective Pediatric Weight Management Interventions in Community Health Centers (5U18DP006424-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10529261. Licensed CC0.

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