Scalability and scaling-up strategy of a physical activity policy intervention in Australian childcare centres.

There is an urgent need for scalable interventions to promote physical activity in early childhood. An early childhood education and care (ECEC) physical activity policy intervention with implementation support strategies (Play Active) has been proposed for scale-up in Australia. This study sought to assess the scalability of Play Active and describe the Play Active scaling-up strategy.

Profile of the PLAY spaces & environments for children's physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep (PLAYCE) cohort study, Western Australia.

Background: Childhood is a critical period for the development of movement behaviours such as physical activity, sleep and sedentary behaviour. The PLAYCE Cohort was established to investigate how movement behaviours change over early to middle childhood, across key behaviour settings and relationships with health and development. An overview of the PLAYCE cohort, summary of key findings to date, and future research opportunities are presented.

The sleep and activity database for the early years (SADEY) study: design and methods.

Background: Canada, Australia, the World Health Organization and other countries have released 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years which integrate physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, focusing on supporting children to achieve a healthy 24-hour day. The guideline evidence synthesis, however, highlighted the dearth of high-quality evidence, particularly from large-scale studies. The Sleep and Activity Database for the Early Years (SADEY) project aims to assemble a large, pooled database of 24-hour movement behaviours and health indicators in young children (birth to 5.

Impact of the Play Active policy intervention on early childhood educator's sedentary behaviour-related practices, psychosocial influences and meeting policy recommendations: Results from a pragmatic cluster randomized trial.

Background: High levels of sedentary behaviour are associated with poor child health outcomes such as obesity. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are a key intervention setting. Most ECEC policy-based interventions focus on children's nutrition and physical activity with few aimed at children's sedentary behaviour.

Understanding variations in the built environment over time to inform longitudinal studies of young children's physical activity behaviour - The BEACHES project.

We know relatively little about the role the neighbourhood built environment plays in promoting young children's physical activity, particularly its longitudinal effect either through repeated exposure to the same environment or through change in exposure by moving from one neighbourhood to another. This study characterised the neighbourhood environment of young children in the PLAYCE cohort study over three timepoints from 2015 to 2023. There were statistically significant differences in built environment attributes between timepoints and across socio-economic status, however they did not represent practically significant differences.

Developmental trends in young children's device-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

Background: Knowledge of developmental trends in meeting age-specific 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines is lacking. This study describes developmental trends in device-measured physical activity and sedentary time over a three-year period among Western Australian children aged two to seven years, including differences between boys and girls. The proportion of children meeting age-specific physical activity guidelines before and after they transition to full-time school was also examined.

Population-referenced percentiles for total movement and energetic play at early childhood education and care.

Objectives: Childcare services such as preschools and long day care centres have been identified as a key setting to promote physical activity in early childhood as they provide access to large numbers of children for prolonged periods. Yet, specific standards for the type and amount of physical activity (PA) children accumulate whilst attending childcare are lacking. The purpose of this study was to derive population-referenced percentile values for children's total movement and energetic play whilst attending early childhood education and care services.

Barriers and enablers to promoting grandchildren's physical activity and reducing screen time: a qualitative study with Australian grandparents.

Background: With an increasing number of grandparents providing care to their grandchildren, calls have been made for these caregivers to be considered important stakeholders in encouraging children's engagement in health-promoting behaviors, such as physical activity. Understanding the perspectives of grandparents who provide care is crucial to informing efforts that aim to increase children's physical activity, yet little is understood about their perceptions of specific barriers and enablers to promoting children's physical activity and reducing screen time. The present study sought to explore these perceptions.

Australian children's physical activity and screen time while in grandparental care.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore Australian children's engagement in physical activity and screen time while being cared for by their grandparents.

Method: Grandparents (N = 1,190) providing ≥3 hours of weekly care to a grandchild aged 3-14 years completed an online survey assessing their grandchildren's movement behaviours while in their care. Descriptive statistics were computed for frequency of engagement in unstructured and structured physical activities, minutes spent playing outdoors, and minutes spent engaged in screen time.

Physical Activity-Related Practices and Psychosocial Factors of Childcare Educators: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Limited research investigates early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators' involvement in promoting physical activity. The aim was to identify distinct profiles based on physical activity-related practices and psychosocial factors in ECEC educators and examine how they relate to the amount of time allocated to children's physical activity. A secondary analysis of educator-reported survey data from the Play Active study was undertaken.

The built environment and child obesity: A review of Australian policies.

Child obesity is a serious public health challenge affected by both individual choice and societal and environmental factors. The main modifiable risk factors for child obesity are unhealthy eating and low levels of physical activity, both influenced by aspects of the built environment. Coordinated government policy across jurisdictions, developed using strong research evidence, can enable built environments that better support healthy lifestyles.

Adaptations to scale-up an early childhood education and care physical activity intervention for real-world availability - Play Active.

Background: Adaptations for scale-up are ubiquitous but are rarely described in detail. Adaptations may be a key reason for the "scale-up penalty" which is when there is a reduction in intervention effect size following scale-up. The Play Active intervention consists of a physical activity policy for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, with accompanying implementation support strategies.

The moderating role of parent perceptions in relationships between objectively measured neighbourhood environment attributes and pre-schooler's physical activity: Findings from the PLAYCE study.

We examined the moderating effects of parent perceptions of the neighbourhood environment on associations between objectively measured neighbourhood environment attributes and physical activity among pre-schoolers. The number of neighbourhood parks was positively associated with pre-schooler energetic play when parents had above average perceptions of access to services. Objectively measured street connectivity was associated with fewer minutes of energetic play when pedestrian and traffic safety was perceived to be below average by parents.

Play Active physical activity policy intervention and implementation support in early childhood education and care: results from a pragmatic cluster randomised trial.

Background: Policy interventions to increase physical activity in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are effective in increasing physical activity among young children. However, a large proportion of ECEC services do not have nor implement a physical activity policy. Play Active is an evidence-informed physical activity policy intervention with implementation support strategies to enable ECEC services to successfully implement their policy.

Parents' Perceptions of the Neighbourhood Built Environment Are Associated with the Social and Emotional Development of Young Children.

The influence of the neighbourhood built environment on young children's physical development has been well-documented; however, there is limited empirical evidence of an association with social and emotional development. Parental perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment may act as facilitators or barriers to young children's play and interactions in their local environment. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between parents' perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment and the social-emotional development of children aged two-to-five years.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Play Active policy intervention and implementation support in early childhood education and care: a pragmatic cluster randomised trial protocol.

Background: Daily physical activity is critical during the early years of life for facilitating children's health and development. A large proportion of preschool children do not achieve the recommended 3 h of daily physical activity. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are a key setting to intervene to increase physical activity.

The Relationship between Physical Activity, Self-Regulation and Cognitive School Readiness in Preschool Children.

(1) Background: Limited research exists on the pathways through which physical activity influences cognitive development in the early years. This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between physical activity, self-regulation, and cognitive school readiness in preschool children. (2) Method: Participants ( = 56) aged 3-5 years were recruited from the PLAYCE study, Perth, Western Australia.

Prevalence and Correlates of Observed Sun Protection Behaviors Across Different Public Outdoor Settings in Melbourne, Australia.

Skin cancer prevention efforts in Australia have increasingly incorporated a focus on protection during incidental sun exposure. This complements the long-present messages promoting protection in high-risk settings and avoidance of acute intense bouts of sun exposure. Data from two waves of a cross-sectional direct observational survey was used to assess the prevalence and correlates of = 12,083 adolescents' and adults' sun protection behavior (arm and leg cover, hat, sunglasses, and shade cover).

Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Western Australian Children's Physical Activity and Screen Time.

Physical activity is essential for children's healthy development, yet COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions such as school closures and staying at home, playground closures, and the cancelling of organised community sport have dramatically altered children's opportunities to be physically active. This study describes changes in levels of physical activity and screen time from February 2020 (i.e.

Development of physical activity policy and implementation strategies for early childhood education and care settings using the Delphi process.

Background: The aim of this study was to gain consensus on an evidence informed physical activity policy template for early childhood education and care (ECEC) and determine best-practice dissemination and implementation strategies using the Delphi process.

Methods: Three-round modified Delphi methodology. During round one an expert working group developed an evidence informed ECEC specific physical activity policy template.

Sun-protective clothing and shade use in public outdoor leisure settings from 1992 to 2019: Results from cross-sectional observational surveys in Melbourne, Australia.

Skin cancer presents a significant public health burden in Australia. The present study aimed to supplement population-based estimates of sun protection behaviour by examining setting-specific trends in directly observed sun protection in public outdoor leisure settings. Repeated cross-sectional observational surveys of adolescents and adults were conducted on summer weekends between 11 am and 3 pm from 1992 to 2002, 2006 to 2012, and 2018 to 2019 (N = 44,979) at pools/beaches and parks/gardens within 25 km of the centre of Melbourne, Victoria.

Built and social environmental factors influencing healthy behaviours in older Chinese immigrants to Australia: a qualitative study.

Background: Neighbourhood environments influence older adults' health and health-enhancing behaviours, such as physical activity, eating a healthy diet and socialising. However, little is known about the effects of the neighbourhood environment on the health of older immigrants, the number of which is rapidly increasing in developed countries. Using Nominal Group Technique (NGT) sessions, this study of older Chinese immigrants to urban Melbourne, Australia, examined built and social environmental facilitators of and barriers to regular engagement in physical activity, eating a healthy diet and regular contact with other people.