HENRY
Healthy Families: Right from the Start (known as HENRY) is a universal parenting programme. It is for parents of children between the ages of 0 and 5. It is delivered in children’s centres and aims to improve outcomes for both children and their parents, including improved diet, increased physical activity and improved parental skills and emotional wellbeing.
The programme is delivered over eight weekly 2.5-hour sessions. It focuses on parents as the key agents of change for young children. Practitioners use motivational interviewing, family partnership model, and strengths-based and solution-focused support.
EIF Programme Assessment
Child outcomes
This programme can affect outcomes for children in Active and healthy, physical and mental wellbeing.
According to the best available evidence for this programme's impact, it can achieve the following positive outcomes for children:
Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development
Increased frequency of eating healthy foods, including vegetables and fresh fruit
based on study 1
Decreased frequency of eating unhealthy foods, including cakes and biscuits
based on study 1
This programme also has evidence of supporting positive outcomes for couples, parents or families that may be relevant to a commissioning decision. Please see About the evidence for more detail.
Who is it for?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to the following age-groups:
Infants Toddlers Preschool
How is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to implementation through these delivery models:
- Group
Where is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation in these settings:
- Children's centre or early-years setting
How is it targeted?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation as:
- Universal
Where has it been implemented?
- England
- Israel
- Wales
Ireland provision
Ireland evaluation
About the programme
What happens during the delivery?
How is it delivered?
- HENRY is delivered in eight sessions of 2.5 hours’ duration each by two practitioners to groups of 8–10 parents.
What happens during the intervention?
The topics covered in the eight sessions include family routines and parenting skills that support a healthy family lifestyle; healthy balanced diet for young children and the whole family; being active; screen time; emotional wellbeing; labels and healthy sugar swaps; portion sizes for under-5s; and happier, calmer mealtimes.
- The programme is based on evidence that parenting efficacy and wellbeing underpin a healthy start in life. It therefore integrates support for parenting skills alongside information about nutrition and activity. For example, it helps develop non-food strategies to encourage cooperative behaviour rather than using sweets as a reward or comfort.
- Session topics are introduced and facilitated to encourage joint exploration and build on what parents already know and are doing, rather than simply providing information. Learning activities include working in pairs and small groups to share ideas, whole group discussion, demonstrations and role play.
- Participating families receive the HENRY Healthy Families workbook which provides a structured framework of activities and simple, accessible background information for each session.
What are the implementation requirements?
Who can deliver it?
- The practitioners who deliver this programme are two family support workers with NFQ-4 level qualifications.
What are the training requirements?
- Practitioners have 24 hours of programme training. Booster training of practitioners is not required.
How are the practitioners supervised?
- It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one host-agency supervisor (qualified to NFQ-5 level), with 24 hours of programme training.
What are the systems for maintaining fidelity?
Programme fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
- Training manual
- Other printed material
- Other online material
- Fidelity monitoring
- Two day-long sessions for training and sharing are hosted each year for on-site supervisors, which is cascaded to practitioners
- Ad-hoc support is provided via phone/email to supervisors as needed.
Is there a licensing requirement?
There is a licence required to run this programme.
How does it work? (Theory of Change)
How does it work?
- Eating and activity habits are formed early in life and are shaped by a child’s family environment; parents therefore need the knowledge, skills, emotional wellbeing, motivation and confidence to provide and model a healthy family lifestyle.
- The Healthy Families programme provides strength-based and solution-focused support to parents, building their self-efficacy, emotional wellbeing and understanding of a healthy family lifestyle, and helping them to identify and achieve positive lifestyle goals that will benefit their children.
- In the short term, parents have increased skills and confidence in their role as parents and their ability to provide a healthy family lifestyle: children and adults adopt healthier eating and activity habits and food preferences – and enjoy family life more.
- In the longer term, children grow up in healthier, happier families, and experience greater physical and emotional wellbeing in later life.
Intended outcomes
- Active and healthy, physical and mental wellbeing
Contact details
01865 302973
About the evidence
HENRY’s most rigorous evidence comes from a pre-post study which was conducted in the UK.
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes.
This programme is underpinned by one study with a level 2 rating, hence the programme receives a level 2 rating overall.
Study 1
| Citation: | Willis et al., 2013 |
| Design: | Pre-post study |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Sample: | 60 parents, with children between 0 and 5 years (mean age 3.32 years). |
| Timing: | Post-test; 8-week follow-up |
| Child outcomes: |
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| Other outcomes: |
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| Study rating: | 2 |
Willis, T. A., George, J., Hunt, C., Roberts, K. P. J., Evans, C. E. L., Brown, R. E., & Rudolf, M. C. J. (2013). Combating child obesity: impact of HENRY on parenting and family lifestyle. Pediatric Obesity, 9(5), 339-350.
Available at
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2047-6310.2013.00183.x
Study design and sample
This study is a pre-post study.
Outcomes were assessed before the intervention was delivered, immediately after the intervention was delivered, and at 8-week follow up.
This study was conducted in the UK with a sample of 60 parents, with children between 0 and 5 years (mean age 3.32 years). Parents were 96.7% female, 86.7% white British, 8.3% British Asian and 83.3% had completed further education. Their average age was 30.37 years (range 18–40 years).
Measures
The healthiness of families’ lifestyle was rated using the Stepping Stones measure (parent report)
Habitual family food intake was assessed using a modified Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) (parent report)
Family eating behaviours and personal (parent) eating behaviours were measured using questions based on the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire (parent report)
Family physical activity and personal (parent) physical activity were measured using questions based on the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire (parent report)
Home environment was measured using questions based on the Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire (parent report)
Screen time for parents and children was measured by asking about time spent per day watching TV or DVDs (parent report)
Parental self-efficacy was measured using the Parenting Self-Agency Measure (parent report)
Parental ability to encourage good behaviour and set limits was measured using five items developed for this study in which parents rates their abilities on a 5-point scale (parent report)
Parental estimated body mass index was measured through parent report of height and weight (parent-report)
Parental weight-related risks were measured through parent report of clothes size (parent report)
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes.
(* indicates that the result is maintained at 8-week follow up):
Child outcomes
Increased frequency of eating the following food groups (Food Frequency Questionnaire):
- Baked beans, lentils, chick peas, soy mince etc.*
- Cooked vegetables
- Salad/ raw vegetables
- Fresh fruit*
Decreased frequency of eating the following food group (Food Frequency Questionnaire):
- Cakes, biscuits, scones, sweet pastries etc.
Family outcomes
Family eating behaviours and home environment (Based on Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire):
- Increased sitting down together for a meal *
- Decrease in having the TV on at mealtimes*
- Increase in eating home-cooked meals*
- Increase of frequency of children eating with an adult at home*
Family eating behaviours and home environment (Based on Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire):
- Increased frequency of taking child to playground
Parent outcomes
Increased frequency of eating the following food groups (Food Frequency Questionnaire):
- Baked beans, lentils, chick peas, soy mince etc.
- Cooked vegetables
- Salad/ raw vegetables*
- Fresh fruit
- Water
Decreased frequency of eating the following food group (Food Frequency Questionnaire):
- Cakes, biscuits, scones, sweet pastries etc.
- Sweets, chocolate*
- Sweet drinks, squash, fizzy drinks*
- Low calorie/ diet drinks
Parent eating behaviours (Based on Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire):
- Sit down to eat with others
- Eat while watching TV*
- Eating when angry, bored or feeling low
- Choose to eat meals you know are healthy*
Personal (parent) activity (Based on Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire):
- Increased swimming, jogging, aerobics, gym
- Increased childcare
- Increased gardening / do it yourself*
Decreased screen time (bespoke measure for the study)
Increased parental self-efficacy* (the Parenting Self-Agency Measure)
The conclusions that can be drawn from this study are limited as there is no comparison group, hence why a higher rating is not achieved.