Preschoolers Active at Child Care (PACT)

Physical Activity Clinical Trial

— PACT  

Official title:

Preschoolers Active at Child Care

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03752008
• Other study ID #: 14169
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: December 4, 2012
• Est. completion date: April 24, 2014

Study information

• Verified date: November 2018
• Source: Seattle Children's Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The aim of this study was to develop, test, and compare two approaches to increasing physical activity (PA) and decreasing sedentary time among young children at child care centers, one which focused on a teacher-led PA curriculum (AP=Active Play!) and the other on increasing outdoor free play time (OP=Outdoor Play!).

Description:

This was a matched pair cluster-randomized study in 10 child care centers. One classroom in each pair received either AP or OP, and their providers received a condition-specific 3-hour workshop. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from classroom observation and accelerometers. Additional information about teachers' attitudes and practices was collected via pre-intervention survey.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 131
• Est. completion date: April 24, 2014
• Est. primary completion date: April 24, 2014
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 3 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Teachers/Staff

• be a teacher/staff member in a participating childcare center

• Students

• be 3 - 5 years old

• be a full day student in the classroom where data collection was occurring

Exclusion Criteria:

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Physical Activity

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Active Play (AP)
This intervention focused on promoting PA in preschoolers through structured, teacher-led activities that could be incorporated into daily curriculum. Teachers attended a 3-hour workshop that included presentation and discussion of 1) the importance of daily physical activity for children's health and development, 2) teachers' beliefs and barriers to promoting PA, and 3) the Active Play! Intervention materials. Teachers were introduced to and given the Active Play! Fun Physical Activities for Young Children Book and Digital Video Disk (DVD), which promotes PA and fundamental movement skills in young children. Clips of the DVD demonstrating various activities were shown and activities were modeled. Examples of activities include jumping on bubble wrap, hula hoop limbo and an indoor obstacle course. The end of the book has a suggested curriculum that teachers could follow. Centers in the Active Play! intervention also received a set of portable toys needed for the suggested activities.
• Outdoor Play (OP)
This intervention focused on promoting outdoor time in preschoolers as a means to increasing their PA, using both child initiated and teacher-led activities. The training and materials were designed to emphasize the teacher's own connection with nature, the benefits of outdoor time for children and adults, and problem solving around barriers encountered. Teachers at participating centers attended one 3-hour workshop (delivered at the childcare center) that focused on having participants recognize their own connection with the natural world and how to transmit that to the next generation. Teachers were given hats and gloves for themselves, a set of rain jackets and boots for the preschoolers, and ideas on what children could do outdoors to be active.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Seattle Children's Hospital	American Heart Association

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Pre to post change in preschoolers Physical Activity	Physical Activity levels measured by actigraphy monitors	baseline and 12 weeks after intervention
Primary	Pre to post change in Physical Activity Opportunities	Minutes where students could be physically active by observation (RA observed and wrote down times for when children were engaged in various activities and categorized them as active play opportunities or non active play opportunities. Total minutes in each category were calculated.	baseline and 12 weeks after intervention
Secondary	pre to post Teacher Physical Activity	Physical Activity levels measured by actigraphy monitors	baseline and 12 weeks after intervention