Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Obesity interventions may be most effective if they begin in the earliest stages of life, support changes across family, clinical, and public health systems, and address socio-contextual factors. METHODS: The First 1000Days is a systematic program starting in early pregnancy lasting through the first 24months of infancy to prevent obesity among low-income mother-infant pairs in three community health centers in Massachusetts. The program uses a Collective Impact approach to create the infrastructure for sustained, system-wide changes for obesity prevention across early life clinical and public health services, including Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Adult Medicine, Behavioral Health, Nutrition, Community Health, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, and the Maternal, Infant and Childhood Home Visiting program. Program components include 1) staff and provider training; 2) enhanced gestational weight gain and infant overweight tracking; 3) universal screening of adverse health behaviors and socio-contextual factors; 4) universal patient navigation to support individual behavior change and social needs, while strengthening integration of clinical and public health services; 5) individualized health coaching for mother-infant pairs at high risk of obesity; and 6) educational materials to support behavior change. RESULTS: A quasi-experimental evaluation design will examine changes, between 2015 and 2019, in gestational weight gain and prevalence of infant overweight from 0 to 24months of age. CONCLUSIONS: The First 1000Days program will examine the effectiveness of an early life obesity prevention program for mother-infant pairs. If successful, the program could provide a model for chronic disease prevention and health promotion among vulnerable families starting in early life.