LiveWell in early childhood: results from a two-year pilot intervention to improve nutrition and physical activity policies, systems and environments among early childhood education programs in South Carolina

Early childhood education (ECE) settings are critical intervention targets for obesity prevention. This study evaluated a pilot two-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project designed to assist ECE center directors and caregivers in policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC public health Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 919 - 9
Main Authors:	Slining, Meghan, Wills, Sally, Fair, Melissa, Stephenson, Jen, Knobel, Stephanie, Pearson, Misty, Prostko, Tia, Smyers, Joanna, Timberlake, Joanne, Negrete, Miguel
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 13-05-2021 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Behavior Caregivers Child Child care Child Day Care Centers Child, Preschool Childhood Children Children & youth Classrooms Community involvement Community participation Curricula Data collection Directors Early childhood education Education Environmental assessment Environmental changes Environmental policy Exercise Exercise for children Goal setting Human nutrition Humans Internet resources Intervention Mathematical analysis Nonprofit organizations Nutrition Nutritional Status Obesity Objectives Overweight Physical activity Physical fitness Physical fitness for children Pilot Projects Policies Policy Prevention Public health Self evaluation Self-assessment South Carolina Study and teaching SWOT analysis Technical assistance South Carolina United States > US Policy Nutrition Physical activity Child care Public health Overweight
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Summary:	Early childhood education (ECE) settings are critical intervention targets for obesity prevention. This study evaluated a pilot two-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project designed to assist ECE center directors and caregivers in policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change for improving healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA). A two-year CBPR study was conducted in 10 licensed ECE centers in Greenville, South Carolina. The intervention consisted of five steps: [1] baseline data collection and self-assessment using the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (Go-NAP SACC), [2] tailored goal setting and action planning, [3] technical assistance and access to resources, [4] post intervention data collection and re-assessment, and [5] celebration of success. Main outcome measures (HE and PA environments, practices and policies) were assessed using the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool at baseline and 24 months. One classroom of 3-5-year-olds was randomly selected for observation from each center (mean of 12 children per classroom). Means and standard deviations were calculated for total PA, total nutrition and each subscale of PA and nutrition. Paired sample t-tests were calculated to assess changes in EPAO scales from baseline to post intervention. Ten ECE centers enrolled in the pilot study and eight completed the two-year intervention. Center-based goals were accomplished across all 8 ECE centers over the two-year intervention: 16 child nutrition goals, 6 outdoor play goals, 11 physical activity goals and 8 screen time goals across the entire sample. Nutrition policy and PA policy significantly improved (p < 0.05), with greater improvements in PA (10.0 point increase, p = .048) as compared to nutrition (3.3 point increase, p = 0.02). Utilizing a CBPR approach, this two-year nutrition and PA PSE intervention in ECE centers improved ECE center HE and PA policies.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458
DOI:	10.1186/s12889-021-10975-7