What do health professionals and parents want as part of an online childhood obesity prevention program?

Background. There are limited evidence-based referral options for children living in Queensland who are at risk of overweight or obesity. Despite the known effectiveness, no accessible online prevention program currently exists in Queensland. Aim. To understand the perspectives of health professionals and parents/guardians regarding key aspects of an online childhood overweight and obesity prevention program. Methods. This pragmatic, mixed-methods study was conducted from March to December 2020. Recruitment included participants from two distinct groups actively involved with children aged 2 to 17 years; health professionals and parents/guardians. Phase 1 involved dissemination of an online survey. Questions addressed program structure, content delivery (including nutrition, physical activity and parenting practices), program evaluation and information dissemination. Descriptive statistics were used to describe survey data to inform the delivery of focus groups in Phase 2. Two focus groups further explored the topics. Thematic analysis was used to investigate qualitative data. Results. Twenty-eight health professionals...