Investigators: Gina Trapp, Hayley Christian
External collaborators: Michael Rosenberg (The University of Western Australia), Leanne Lester (The University of Western Australia), Clover Maitland (The University of Western Australia), Ashleigh Thornton (The University of Western Australia)
The aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of childcare centre based interventions to increase young children’s physical activity.
The specific objectives are to:
- Pilot test the efficacy of professional development based interventions focussed on improving childcare centre staff knowledge and practices around physical activity and outdoor play;
- Through a series of natural experiments evaluate the effect of childcare centre outdoor space upgrades on i) children’s physical activity and outdoor play and ii) educator physical activity and outdoor play practices; and
- Work with the WA early education and care sector to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions and develop a policy and practice framework to attract further funding to up-scale and secure the sustainability of physical activity promotion in the WA childcare sector.