Objective

To evaluate demographic differences in parent website engagement in a child care–based wellness intervention.

Design

Parent-reported demographic characteristics and observed website engagement were averaged by child care centers participating in the web-based intervention arm of a cluster randomized controlled trial of wellness interventions.

Setting and Participants

Parents of preschoolers in 17 Maryland child care centers.

Main Outcome Measures

Website engagement: (1) webpage views, (2) average time on webpage, and (3) intervention activity completion.

Intervention

Parents received access to a website containing content on wellness-promoting topics (eg, parenting, nutrition, physical activity) and their child care center's activities.

Analysis

Cross-sectional differences in website engagement by demographic characteristics were assessed using ANOVA.

Results

Centers with a high proportion of parents who identified as other than non-Hispanic White and had less than a bachelor's degree had significantly fewer webpage views, and completed significantly fewer intervention activities compared with centers with parents who were predominantly non-Hispanic White and had more than a bachelor's degree.

Conclusions and Implications

Demographic differences in parents’ child care center website engagement represent disparities that could contribute to health inequities in parents’ access to wellness-promoting material. Future efforts could identify factors that eliminate demographic disparities in parent engagement in web-based interventions.

Ezran, M., Trude, A. C. B., Hepworth, A. D., & Black, M. M. (2021). Parent Website Engagement and Health Equity Implications in a Child Care-Based Wellness Intervention. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 53(8), 654–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2021.03.003