A Protocol for a Local Community Monitoring and Feedback System for Physical Activity in Organized Group Settings for Children.

BACKGROUND: Communities are wellness landscapes of geospatially and temporally bound settings where children spend their time. Improving population physical activity (PA) requires investigating available community settings for children, such as classrooms and sport teams, and the dynamic social interactions producing PA. This protocol describes a multiscale community wellness landscape monitoring and feedback system of adult-led organized group settings and PA outcomes for children. METHODS: The data system assessed organized groups for third- through sixth-grade children in 2 rural communities within seasons (fall 2018-2019). Within each season, groups were identified, sampled, and recruited. Sampled group meetings were assessed for children's PA (accelerometry) and meeting routines (video observation). A data processing protocol time-segmented data into meetings and meeting routines into smaller units (sessions). A purpose code was assigned to each meeting (eg, classroom, sport) and session (eg, academic, PA). Group accelerometer data were paired with the coded segments. Multiscale metrics (season, meeting, and session) were generated and provided to the communities in tailored reports. RESULTS: A total of 94 groups were recruited, and 73 groups with 1302 participants were included in the data system. Data were collected from 213 meetings and 844 sessions. Most participants (83.1%) consented to link their accelerometer data with demographic data from school enrollment records. CONCLUSIONS: The community data system identified available organized group settings for children and collected video and PA data from these settings. Incorporating setting data into local data systems provides detailed accounts of whole-of-community PA social systems to inform population health improvement efforts.

COVID-19 pandemic and changes in children's physical activity in a rural US community: a mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in rural community children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and participation in out-of-school activities from fall 2019 to fall 2020 and explore enacted PA opportunity modifications post initial COVID-19 disruption. DESIGN: Mixed methods study using the validated Youth Activity Profile (YAP), administrator reports and stakeholder surveys and semistructured interviews. SETTING: Children and community stakeholders from one rural US Great Plains community in the state of Nebraska were recruited. PARTICIPANTS: Third through fifth graders in fall 2019 (n=144) and fall 2020 (n=174) reported MVPA and participation in out-of-school activities using the YAP. School administrators reported weekly physical education (PE) and recess minutes. Community stakeholders reported pandemic-related changes in community social structures in semistructured interviews (n=4) and surveys (n=19). RESULTS: Average daily MVPA minutes increased from 2019 to 2020 (75.0 vs 81.3, SE=1.6, p<0.05). Minutes of MVPA increased during: school hours (MD=2.7, SE=0.5, p<0.5); out-of-school time on weekdays (MD=3.9, SE=1.3, p<0.5); and on weekends (MD=5.5, SE=2.4, p<0.5). On average, fewer children participated in youth sport (42.5% vs 47.2%), youth clubs (10.3% vs 16.0%) and other out-of-school activities (24.1% vs 38.2%) in 2020, compared with 2019. Weekly PE/recess minutes increased from 208.3 to 241.7 from 2019 to 2020. Stakeholder surveys revealed community-driven modifications to PA opportunities, and interviews suggested children played outside more frequently, especially when school was closed and out-of-school activities were shut down. CONCLUSIONS: Increased minutes of PE and recess, and decreased out-of-school activity participation may have increased children's overall free play and MVPA during the pandemic. Free play was an important contributor to children's PA during the pandemic and should be prioritised by educators, coaches and other leaders of child PA opportunities. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03380143.

Rural community systems: Youth physical activity promotion through community collaboration.

A common way to address rural population health issues is through community stakeholders working together. Youth physical activity (PA) happens in adult-led in-school and out-of-school group opportunities that vary across communities and generally occur in isolated settings. This study explores similarities and differences in rural community system structure and collaborative process variables that help to conceptualize the collaborative impact influencing population youth PA outcomes. Stakeholders (Community 1, n = 23; Community 2, n = 26) and youth (Community 1, n = 205; Community 2, n = 213) were recruited in 2018-2019 as part of Wellscapes, a hybrid implementation-effectiveness community randomized trial. A stakeholder survey (n = 49) measured community system structures and collaboration processes. Youth completed the Youth Activity Profile to measure PA levels. More Community 1 respondents than Community 2 resided within city limits (73.9% vs. 34.6%). Collective efficacy was significantly greater in Community 1 (M = 4.0, SD = 0.5) than in 2 (M = 3.2, SD = 0.4), p < 0.05. Perceptions of trust scored significantly greater in Community 1 (M = 4.1, SD = 0.3) than in 2 (M = 3.3, SD = 0.5), p < 0.05. Though both communities met rural definitions and had stakeholder investment, Community 1 had a greater proportion of PA-implementing stakeholders and more residing within city limits which may have influenced that community's higher scores in collective efficacy and trust. Community 2 had more stakeholders in administrator roles and yielded greater youth PA levels. Unique and common variables of rural communities should be considered in understanding system factors that impact youth PA.

A scoping review of whole-of-community interventions on six modifiable cancer prevention risk factors in youth: A systems typology.

Whole-of-community interventions delivered across entire geospatial areas show promise for improving population health for youth cancer prevention. The aims of this scoping review were to synthesize the whole-of-community intervention literature on six modifiable risk factors in youth for cancer prevention (alcohol use, diet, obesity, physical activity, sun exposure, tobacco use) and to develop and apply a typology describing the inclusion of fundamental control system functional characteristics. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus for studies published to the end of 2019. Eligible studies included a geospatially defined whole-of-community intervention; youth 0-18 years; and at least one of the six cancer risk factor outcomes. An iterative process was undertaken to create a typology describing the functions for whole-of-community interventions guided by systems theory, and the typology was used to code the included interventions. A total of 41 interventions were included. Most interventions (43.9%) assessed multiple cancer risk factors. Few interventions provided fundamental functions necessary for community system coordination: sensor, controller, effector. Although communities are a patchwork quilt of microsystems where individuals interact in geographically bounded places nested within larger whole systems of influence, a control systems approach has not been used to frame the literature. Whole-of-community interventions can be characterized by the fundamental system functions necessary for coordinating population health improvement. Future whole-of-community intervention efforts should draw on fundamental knowledge of how systems operate and test whether adoption of the key functions is necessary for whole-of-community population health improvement.

Youth sport participation and physical activity in rural communities.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity, a high-frequency health behavior, varies by where children live, learn, and play. Children accumulate physical activity in adult-led in-school and out-of-school settings. Youth sport is a potential setting for physical activity, but there are differences in youth sport participation based on age, sex, and socioeconomic status. There is a gap in understanding demographic influences on youth sport participation and how these factors interact to influence physical activity. This study examines influences of grade, sex, and family income on youth sport participation and these factors and youth sport participation on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of children in rural communities. METHODS: Children (n = 418 3rd-6th graders) living in two rural communities completed the online Youth Activity Profile as part of Wellscapes, a type 3 hybrid implementation-effectiveness community randomized trial. Mixed models with community as a random effect examined main effects and interactions of grade, sex, and family income on youth sport participation and these factors and youth sport participation on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. RESULTS: About 80% of children engaged in youth sport, and full-pay lunch students were almost four times more likely to have youth sport participation than students with free/reduced lunch (OR = 3.91, 95% CI = 1.95, 7.8). Females and 6th graders (p < 0.05) had lower physical activity than comparison groups. Males with higher family income had greater physical activity; females with higher family income had less physical activity. For 6th graders, high family income had less effect on physical activity than similar 3rd-5th graders (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: While a fairly high percentage of children participate in youth sports, there are disparities in rural communities on youth sport participation and physical activity outcomes based on age, sex, and family income.

A protocol for coordinating rural community stakeholders to implement whole-of-community youth physical activity surveillance through school systems.

Accurate and effective local data collection systems are needed to inform community change on youth health behaviors such as physical activity (PA). Systematic methods are particularly important for understanding PA behaviors that may be influenced by individual, interpersonal, organizational, and regional factors. The purpose of this study was to describe a protocol for coordinating community stakeholders to implement an online youth PA surveillance instrument. The research team collaborated with local health departments (LHDs) from two rural communities to coordinate schools in implementing school-wide youth PA surveillance. A data sharing agreement was established between all partners. School administrators and teachers attended in-person training sessions for an online PA survey and how to use the data. Following the training, students were provided individualized logins to complete the survey once a semester over a two-year academic period. Across both communities, 23 teachers and administrators attended the training sessions that were facilitated by the LHDs and research team. In Year 1 (Y1), a total of 465 3rd through 6th grade students were enrolled in the participating schools (community 1 = 227; community 2 = 238). Survey response rates ranged from 86.1% to 95.4% completion, depending on the community and semester. In Year 2 (Y2), a total of 501 3rd through 6th grade students were enrolled (community 1 = 260; community 2 = 241). Response rates ranged from 86.3% to 89.6% in the fall term. A protocol for coordinating LHD and community stakeholders was an effective strategy for implementing population-level youth PA surveillance with high levels of reach.