Moderators of movement behaviour changes among Canadian toddlers and preschoolers throughout the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Primary objectives were to examine: 1) changes in movement behaviours (i.e., outdoor play (OP), organized physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), sleep) across the first two years of COVID-19 among Canadian toddlers and preschoolers, and 2) intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and policy moderators of change in movement behaviors. Participants were 341 Canadian parents of children (start of study: 1-4 years; 48% female). Participants completed online questionnaires regarding their children's movement behaviours and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community factors at five time-points before and throughout the pandemic (T1-T5). Data from government websites were also used for some community and policy factors. Linear mixed models were conducted. Compared to pre-COVID-19 (T1): OP was on average 30 minutes/day higher at T2 and T3, organized PA was on average 62, 44, 37 minutes/day lower at T2, T3, T4, ST was on average 67, 17, 38, 52 minutes/day higher at T2, T3, T4, T5, and sleep was on average 30, 36, 82 minutes/day lower at T3, T4, T5. Significant moderating variables were observed for OP (parental education, parental work inside home, COVID-19 restriction severity), organized PA (children's sex, started kindergarten, non-parental care, parental education, household income, parental employment status, house type, indoor home space and support for PA), ST (non-parental care, parental marital status) and sleep (children's T1 age group, started kindergarten, parental place of birth, parental employment status). All movement behaviors changed across the first two years of COVID-19 but patterns and moderators were behaviour-specific. Children from lower socioeconomic status families had the least optimal patterns.

Piloting the Virtual PLAYshop Program: A Parent-Focused Physical Literacy Intervention for Early Childhood.

The PLAYshop program is a parent-focused physical literacy intervention for early childhood. This single-group mixed-methods pilot study aimed to explore the feasibility of virtually delivering and assessing the PLAYshop program. The virtual PLAYshop program included a virtual workshop, resources/basic equipment, and two booster emails (3-week and 6-week follow-up). Data on 34 preschool-aged children (3-5 years) and their parents from Edmonton and Victoria, Canada, were collected via an online questionnaire, virtual assessment session, and interview at single or multiple time points (baseline, post-workshop, 2-month follow-up). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), paired t-tests, repeated measures ANOVAs, and thematic analyses were conducted. Regarding feasibility, most parents (≥94%) were satisfied/extremely satisfied with the virtual workshop and planned to continue physical literacy activities post-workshop. The virtual assessment protocol for children's fundamental movement skills (FMS; overhand throw, underhand throw, horizontal jump, hop, one-leg balance) was feasible, with high completion rates (>90%) and reliable scoring (ICC = 0.79-0.99). For positive changes in potential outcomes, a medium effect size was observed for children's hopping skills (d = 0.54), and large effect sizes were observed for several parental outcomes (partial η2 = 0.20-0.54). The findings support the feasibility and potential positive outcomes of the virtual PLAYshop program. A larger randomized controlled efficacy trial is recommended.

The Relative Contributions of Center Demographic, Director, Parental, Social, Environmental, and Policy Factors to Changes in Outdoor Play in Childcare Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relative contributions of factors from multiple social-ecological levels in explaining outdoor play changes in childcare centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: In Alberta, Canada, licensed childcare center directors (n = 160) completed an online questionnaire. For outcomes, changes in the frequency and duration of outdoor play in childcare centers during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19 were measured. For exposures, center demographic, director, parental, social, environmental, and policy-level factors were measured. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted separately for winter (December-March) and nonwinter months (April-November). RESULTS: In most instances, factors at each social-ecological level explained a statistically significant amount of unique variance in changes in outdoor play in childcare centers during COVID-19. Full models accounted for more than 26% of the variance in the outcomes. Changes in parental interest in outdoor play was the most consistent correlate of changes in the frequency and duration of outdoor play in both winter and nonwinter months during COVID-19. In terms of changes in the duration of outdoor play, social support from the provincial government, health authority, and licensing, and changes in the number of play areas in licensed outdoor play spaces were also consistent correlates in both winter and nonwinter months during COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Factors from multiple social-ecological levels uniquely contributed to changes in outdoor play in childcare centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings can help inform interventions and public health initiatives related to outdoor play in childcare centers during and after the ongoing pandemic.

Protocol for the PLAYshop randomised controlled trial: examining efficacy of a virtually delivered parent-focused physical literacy intervention for early childhood on child-specific and family-specific outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: The PLAYshop programme is a novel, brief, theory-based, parent-focused physical literacy intervention in early childhood designed to address the major public health issue of childhood physical inactivity. The primary objective of this study is to examine the efficacy of the virtually delivered PLAYshop programme in increasing preschool-aged children's physical literacy, including fundamental movement skills and motivation and enjoyment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study aims to recruit 130 families with preschool-aged children (3-5 years) from Alberta and British Columbia, Canada who will be randomised to an intervention or control group. The PLAYshop programme is informed by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) model and includes four intervention strategies: (1) educational training via a 60 min virtual synchronous workshop, (2) educational resources via handouts, (3) material resources via a goody bag of basic active play equipment and (4) follow-up support via access to a digital app with an online toolkit and four biweekly booster lessons (1-week, 3-week, 5-week and 7-week follow-up). To assess the primary outcome of physical literacy, five fundamental movement skills (overhand throw, underhand throw, horizontal jump, hop, one leg balance) will be measured virtually at baseline and 2-month follow-up using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) tools. Additionally, children's motivation and enjoyment will also be assessed at baseline and 2-month follow-up by: (1) parental-report using items from the Preschool Physical Literacy Assessment (PrePLAy) and (2) self-report using an adapted Five Degrees of Happiness Likert scale for children. The control group will receive the PLAYshop programme after the 2-month follow-up. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol was approved by the University of Alberta (00093764) and University of Victoria (16-444) Research Ethics Boards. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, social and traditional media and a circulated infographic. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05255250.