Process Evaluation of an Early Care and Education Intervention: The California Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study (CA-CORD).

Given the widespread use of out-of-home child care in the United States, early care and education (ECE) providers offer ideal settings to promote health behaviors among Hispanic/Latino children whose obesity prevalence remains high. This study details the process evaluation of ECE intervention strategies of a childhood obesity research demonstration study (California Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration [CA-CORD]) to prevent and control obesity among Hispanic/Latino children aged 2 to 12 years. Participating ECE providers received the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) materials and action planning sessions with a trained interventionist; Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) physical activity (PA), health behavior, and body mass index assessment trainings; and health behavior toolkit, cooking kit, water dispensers, and posters to promote healthy eating, PA, water consumption, and quality sleep. Intervention logs and director/lead teacher interviews evaluated how well 14 center-based and 9 private ECE providers implemented policy, system, and environmental changes. NAP SACC was implemented with higher fidelity than other strategies, and participation in SPARK trainings was lower than health behavior trainings. ECE directors/lead teachers reported that the intervention activities and materials helped them promote the targeted behaviors, especially PA. Results demonstrated that the use of NAP SACC, trainings, and toolkit had high fidelity and were potentially replicable for implementation in ECE settings among Hispanic/Latino communities.

Predictors of change in sports participation in Latino and non-Latino children.

BACKGROUND: Few prospective studies have examined predictors of change in specific physical activity (PA) behaviours in different ethnic groups. PURPOSE: To assess predictors of change in sports participation in Latino and non-Latino 5-8 year-old children in San Diego, California. METHODS: Average sports participation frequency (days/week) was assessed by validated parent-report at baseline (Nov 2006-May 2008) and 1 year later in 541 children (45.0% male, 41.1% Latino; mean ± SD age: 6.6 ± 0.7 years) taking part in an obesity prevention study (Project MOVE). Biological (sex, age, Body Mass Index z-score), socio-cultural (ethnicity, income, care giver education), parental (PA rules, PA encouragement) and environmental factors (home PA equipment, PA location) were assessed at baseline. Associations between change in sports participation and potential predictors were studied using multilevel linear regression stratified by Latino ethnicity, adjusted for sex, baseline sport participation, study condition and recruitment area. RESULTS: Sports participation increased over 1 year (mean change: +0.5 days; p<0.001) and change was similar for boys and girls (p=0.95), but Latino children showed a greater increase (p=0.03). The number of locations used for PA (p=0.024) and the total frequency of PA location use (p=0.018) were positively associated with increased sports participation among Latinos. No predictors were identified for non-Latino children. CONCLUSIONS: Only factors relating to PA location were identified as predictors of change in sports participation for Latino children. Interventions targeting specific PA behaviours such as sports participation may need to consider PA locations for Latino children and be tailored for specific ethnic groups.

Viability of parks and recreation centers as sites for youth physical activity promotion.

This descriptive study explored the potential for public parks and recreation centers as intervention sites for promoting physical activity among youth. Directors (55% women) of 44 recreation centers in San Diego County completed a survey of their centers' physical activity programming for youths ages 3 to 17 years (response rate = 60%). On an average weekday, 373 (SD = 782) youths participated in physical activity at a center. More boys attended than girls (p <.05). Some centers sponsored after-school programs at elementary (41%) and middle (11%) schools but not at high schools (0%). Primary barriers to providing physical activity programs were inadequate staffing (54%), funding (39%), and facilities (32%). Girls and low-income youth were identified as the most difficult populations to reach. Directors reported considerable interest in collaborating on interventions to improve youth activity programs. Public parks and recreation centers are understudied settings with the potential for substantial involvement in efforts to promote youth physical activity.

Neighborhood Income Matters: Disparities in Community Recreation Facilities, Amenities, and Programs.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Physical activity is important for children's development and their current and future health; national recommendations are for them to engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Most of children's physical activity occurs outside of school hours; thus, access to and the quality of community recreation facilities and programming are particularly relevant. Researchers have identified strong links among socioeconomic disparities, physical inactivity, and poor health, but a limited number of studies have examined how access to community recreation facilities and physical activity programming are affected by local socioeconomic conditions. In many low-income communities, park and recreation facilities may be the only place for children to be physically active outside of school; thus, it is important to understand the connection between community environmental characteristics and child use of facilities. We were interested in determining whether the characteristics of community recreation center environments would be associated with neighborhood income and children's use of the centers. To do this we designed a study to identify whether neighborhood income disparities were associated with recreation center environmental characteristics and whether those characteristics were associated with young children's use of the center. We believed that findings to these questions could inform policy decisions within recreation centers and recreation departments to improve equity, facility use, and levels of physical activity. Thirty community recreation centers and 541 nearby families with children aged 5-8 years in five cities in Southern California participated in the study. To generate data we used multiple research instrumentation including (a) a structured physical activity survey of program offerings and barriers to children's participation in physical activity at the center [completed by recreation center supervisors], (b) direct observation of the presence and condition of recreation center facilities and amenities by trained assessors, and (c) a parent questionnaire on child use of the center. Results indicated that the condition of the community center facilities and amenities, but not their number, was positively related to neighborhood income (p < .05). As well, the number of cost-free, but not total, youth physical activity programs was inversely associated with neighborhood income (p < .05). Parent's report of their children using centers was positively associated with the number of amenities observed there (p < .05). The results suggest that policy makers and community recreation center staff should consider both neighborhood economic issues and environmental characteristics in their efforts to promote children's physical activity at recreation centers.