A Good Start Matters Intervention Study

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Appetite to Play +: In 2017 the province of BC enacted a provincial standard for physical activity, formally titled the Director of Licensing Standard of Practice - Active Play (Active Play Standards) that licensed childcare centers are required to adhere to. Along with this, a provincial capacity-building intervention (Appetite to Play) was released to provide training and education to early years providers working in the province and support the implementation of the Active Play Standards. The intervention, Appetite to Play +, will provide advanced training to early year educators on the Appetite to Play activities and resources. The intervention will include workshops and training on physical literacy, fundamental movement skills, and creating a supportive environment to sustain Active Play practices. As part of the intervention, managers will also be provided with resources to aid them with the integration of Active Play into their curriculums and schedules.

Study summary

The BC government and partners developed Active Play Standards and a capacity-building strategy to help childcare centers implement the Standards. We have developed an intervention to supplement the governmental capacity-building strategies. The intervention is comprised of implementation support strategies targeted at childcare providers in BC that will aid with the sustainment of Active Play best practices at their facilities. The impact of the intervention will be assessed by measuring its impact on a) change in practices with respect to Active Play; and b) improving child-level outcomes (children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, and motor skill competencies). The findings will inform future policies and enhance our understanding of how policy action supported by communication, capacity-building, and sustainment strategies influence the environment of childcare centres.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in practices related to active play (AP) and fundamental movement skills (FMS) — Two time points -baseline and 3-month post intervention
  Change in AP and FMS practices will examine child engagement in AP and FMS activities at the facility (e.g., time spent in AP, FMS, and outdoor activities, adherence to best practices). Assessment through observed practices using the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool, and through self-reported practices based on questions developed by the Early Years Survey and the EPAO as a Self-Report instrument (EPAO-SR).
• Fundamental movement skills (child outcomes) — Two time points -baseline and 3-month post intervention
  Children's FMS will be assessed with the validated Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3 a norm-referenced tool for assessing 13 gross motor skills). The measure takes 15-20 min per child to administer and provides standardized and percentile composite scores for the locomotor, object control, and gross motor quotient (GMQ) composites.

Trial sites (1)

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