Design of the GOT Doc study: A randomized controlled trial comparing a Guided Self-Help obesity treatment program for childhood obesity in the primary care setting to traditional family-based behavioral weight loss

Kyung E Rhee; Lourdes Herrera; David Strong; Anthony M DeBenedetto; Yuyan Shi; Kerri N Boutelle

doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100771

Design of the GOT Doc study: A randomized controlled trial comparing a Guided Self-Help obesity treatment program for childhood obesity in the primary care setting to traditional family-based behavioral weight loss

Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2021 Apr 20:22:100771. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100771. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Authors

Kyung E Rhee¹, Lourdes Herrera^{1

2}, David Strong³, Anthony M DeBenedetto¹, Yuyan Shi³, Kerri N Boutelle⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of California, San Diego, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
² Wake Forrest University, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
³ University of California, San Diego, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, United States.
⁴ University of California, San Diego, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, And Department of Psychiatry, United States.

Abstract

Currently one-third of children in the United States have overweight or obesity (OW/OB). The goal of Healthy People 2020 is to reduce the proportion of children with OW/OB and increase the proportion of primary care visits that include nutrition and weight-related counseling. Unfortunately, many health care providers find it difficult to offer effective weight-related counseling and treatment in the primary care setting. Therefore, new models of care are needed that allow a greater proportion of children with OW/OB and their parents to access care and receive quality weight management treatment. The current paper describes the GOT Doc study which is designed to test the effectiveness of a Guided Self-Help (GSH) model of obesity treatment that can be delivered in the primary care setting compared to a traditional Family-Based Behavioral weight loss treatment (FBT) delivered at an academic center. We will assess the impact of this program on attendance (access to care) and changes in child BMI percentile/z-score. We will also examine the impact of this treatment model on change in child lifestyle behaviors, parent support behaviors, and parent self-efficacy and empowerment to make behavior change. Finally, we will assess the cost-effectiveness of this model on changes in child BMI percentile/z-score. We believe the GSH intervention will be a cost-effective model of obesity management that can be implemented in community practices around the country, thereby increasing access to treatment for a broader proportion of our population and decreasing rates of childhood obesity.

Keywords: Childhood obesity; Community-based intervention; Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program, EPSDT; Electronic health record, EHR; Family-Based Behavioral Therapy, FBT; Family-based behavioral therapy; Guided Self-Help, GSH; Guided self-help; Guided self-help Obesity Treatment in the primary care setting, GOT Doc; Overweight or obesity, OW/OB; Primary care; Primary care provider, PCP; Quality of Lifev, QOL; Treatment; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, USPSTF.