Given the well-documented associations between excessive screen time (ST) and adverse health outcomes, this pilot study aimed to examine the applicability and effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention that combined strategies to enhance caregivers’ screen-related parenting practices with efforts to create a supportive community environment to reduce children’s ST in a county in China.
Methods:
A 2-arm, cluster-randomized, wait-list controlled design was used. Eight communities and 336 caregivers of primary school-aged children were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and McNemar’s χ2 tests were applied to evaluate within-group changes over time. A linear mixed model was used to assess intervention effects.
Results:
The intervention significantly reduced children’s daily average total ST and entertainment ST on weekends (β = −43.81; p