Assessing Parent Satisfaction and Child Outcomes: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Community-Based Exercise and Nutrition Program

The Healthy Kids Rx program is designed to increase physical activity and nutrition knowledge in youth. Exercise and nutrition, especially when incorporated into a community-based intervention (Inman et al., 2011), has shown to increase health and wellness, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement (Correa-Burrows et al., 2017). The aim of this study is to evaluate the accessibility and feasibility of Healthy Kids Rx using parent feedback from twenty-nine surveys. Survey questions were open-ended and used to query parents on perceived improvements in physical activity, nutrition knowledge, and enjoyment of the program. A variation of grounded theory analysis (Creswell & Poth, 2018) was used to develop emergent themes and sub-themes based on survey responses. Emergent themes included community support/acceptance, parent observed physical/emotional improvements, novelty in activities, and family lifestyle changes. Consistent with research (e.g., Davies et al., 2016; Hannan et al., 2015), these themes reflected the Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior. The findings demonstrate the program is acceptable to parents because of perceived positive youth outcomes and the motivation for continued participation.