A Good Start Matters Intervention Study
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age30+
SponsorUniversity of British Columbia
About this trial
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 criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Located in the Metro Vancouver region
Provides care to at least 10 children older than 2 1/2 years and younger than 6 years
Childcare program that is longer than 4 hours each day
children must attend a childcare that has volunteered to participate in the study
Disqualifiers
Located outside Metro Vancouver region
Facilities caring only for children under 2 1/2 years old or older than 6 years
Family or in-home multi-age childcare
Do not care or supervise 2 ½ to 6 years old children
Trial design
Design model
Crossover
Treatments tested in this trial
Appetite to Play +
BehavioralIn 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.
Treatment groups
52 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Intervention groupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Standard of care waitlist controlOther 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Change in practices related to active play (AP) and fundamental movement skills (FMS)
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).
Time frame
Two time points -baseline and 3-month post intervention2
Fundamental movement skills (child outcomes)
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.
Time frame
Two time points -baseline and 3-month post interventionSecondary outcomes
1
Characteristics of childcare settings
Assessment of organizational processes, structural support, and processing supporting implementation of Active Play policies as measured by the Early Years Survey and the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation as a Self-Report tool (EPAO-SR), including actions to prioritize AP and changes in the environment to support AP and FMS.
Time frame
Three time points -baseline and 3-month, and 6-month post intervention2
Characteristics of providers
Assessment of staff and manager's knowledge and skills, self-efficacy, and commitment to changes facility practices to implement Active Play standards, as measured by the Early Years Survey and the EPAO-SR.
Time frame
Three time points -baseline and 3-month, and 6-month post interventionSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
University of British Columbia
Lead sponsor
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov