Helping rural Mountain West families support healthy weight for their children
Mountain West Prevention Research Center
This program helps low-income families in rural Mountain West communities access and use a proven family healthy-weight program for children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11136831 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you live in a rural Mountain West community, this program will bring Building Healthy Families (BHF) resources to your area through local community groups in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. You'll be offered training and materials via online resources and local staff who are trained by the project, and staff will share practical solutions through an Action Learning Collaborative. The team will do outreach to find, enroll, and keep families involved, and adapt materials or offer online support when travel or access is difficult. They will track participation and progress so they can improve how the program helps families and reduce childhood obesity inequalities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Parents or guardians of children living in low-income rural or micropolitan communities (population <50,000) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming who want a family-based healthy-weight program.
Not a fit: Families who live outside the targeted states or in larger urban areas, do not have children in the program's age range, or require medical treatment beyond prevention may not benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: More children in low-income rural areas may achieve healthier weights and face fewer obesity-related health problems.
How similar studies have performed: The Building Healthy Families program is CDC-recognized and the team has used successful dissemination strategies before, though reaching and retaining families in dispersed rural areas remains challenging.
Where this research is happening
Salt Lake City, United States
- Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah — Salt Lake City, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Estabrooks, Paul — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Estabrooks, Paul
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.