Fewer Latina girls in the United States (US) meet current physical activity (PA) guidelines, especially those from lower-income and less-acculturated backgrounds-contributing to long-standing health disparities. The pre-pubertal phase (ages 8-11) represents a critical window for PA interventions to prevent the sharp decline in activity levels that typically occurs during adolescence.
To address this need, we will conduct a two-arm cluster RCT in 18 schools serving Latina girls to evaluate Conmigo, a multilevel, mother-daughter PA intervention. This trial builds on prior formative work and a successful R21 pilot feasibility study, which demonstrated promising increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among Latina mother-daughter dyads following a 10-week intervention.
The current study will recruit and randomize 216 mother-daughter dyads (girls aged 8-11) to either the 10-week Conmigo intervention or an attention-control program of similar duration and structure focused on dietary intake. Both programs will be delivered by trained YMCA staff in partnership with participating schools. Using a Hybrid Type 1 effectiveness-implementation design, we will assess both the effectiveness of the intervention and key implementation outcomes to inform future scale-up.
At the individual level, girls will participate in PA sessions and learn behavioral strategies to support daily PA habits. At the family level, mothers will also attend the intervention sessions and receive additional instruction focused on PA parenting practices and strengthening mother-daughter communication. Mothers are critical to shaping their daughters' PA through modeling, creating active opportunities, limiting sedentary behaviors, and providing encouragement and support. Importantly, parent-child influences are bidirectional meaning that daughters also shape parenting practices and mothers' own PA behaviors through their needs and feedback.
Girls' PA will be objectively measured using accelerometer devices worn by mothers and daughters at baseline, 3, 9, and 15 months. Secondary outcomes include PA parenting practices and mother-daughter communication, as well as mothers' PA. Focus groups and interviews with participants, school personnel, YMCA staff, and community partners will identify facilitators and barriers to implementation, mechanisms of change, and strategies for wider dissemination.
Specific Aims are to:
1. Test the effectiveness of Conmigo in increasing girls' MVPA over time;
2. Examine individual (e.g., mothers' MVPA) and family-level (e.g., communication, parenting practices) mechanisms and their bidirectional influences on behavior change;
3. Use qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate implementation outcomes, including feasibility, fidelity, and scalability across community settings.
By partnering with 9 YMCAs and 18 schools, Conmigo aims to strengthen community capacity to deliver culturally tailored, evidence-based PA interventions. This work addresses critical gaps in the literature by focusing on Latina mother-daughter dyads, incorporating objective outcome measures and long-term follow-up, and advancing implementation science within community health promotion efforts.
