Barriers and Facilitators to Sustainability of Physical Activity and Nutrition Interventions in Early Childhood Education
Author Information
Author(s): Imad Noor, Alix Hall, Nichole Nathan, Adam Shoesmith, Nichole Pearson, Melanie Lum, Alice Grady, Erin Nolan, Serene Yoong
Primary Institution: Deakin University
Hypothesis
What factors influence the sustainability of physical activity and nutrition interventions in early childhood education and care settings?
Conclusion
The study found that Outer Contextual Factors and Processes are significant barriers to the sustainability of physical activity and nutrition interventions in early childhood education settings.
Supporting Evidence
- Outer Contextual Factors and Processes domains had the lowest mean scores, indicating they may be barriers to sustainability.
- Inner Contextual Factors and Characteristics of the Intervention domains had higher mean scores, suggesting they may facilitate sustainability.
- Statistically significant association found between the number of years services delivered their interventions and the Characteristics of the Intervention domain.
Takeaway
This study looked at what helps and what makes it hard to keep healthy programs going in places where young kids learn and play.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study using a validated measure (IMPRESS-C) to assess sustainability factors across 473 Australian ECEC services.
Potential Biases
Responses may reflect reporting or recall bias as they were collected from nominated supervisors.
Limitations
The majority of services were long-day care in urban areas, which may limit generalizability; potential ceiling effects in responses.
Participant Demographics
Majority were long day care services (91%), with 59% in high socio-economic areas and 93% in major cities.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.035
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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