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Published on: March 7, 2019
Comparative effectiveness of after-school programs to increase physical activity
Sabina B Gesell1, Evan C Sommer, E Warren Lambert
1Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, and the Maya Angleou Center for Health Equity, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. sgesell@wakehealth.edu
Background:
We conducted a comparative effectiveness analysis to evaluate the difference in the amount of physical activity children engaged in when enrolled in a physical activity-enhanced after-school program based in a community recreation center versus a standard school-based after-school program.
Methods:
The study was a natural experiment with 54 elementary school children attending the community ASP and 37 attending the school-based ASP. Accelerometry was used to measure physical activity. Data were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks, with 91% retention.
Results:
At baseline, 43% of the multiethnic sample was overweight/obese, and the mean age was 7.9 years (SD = 1.7). Linear latent growth models suggested that the average difference between the two groups of children at Week 12 was 14.7 percentage points in moderate-vigorous physical activity (P < .001). Cost analysis suggested that children attending traditional school-based ASPs-at an average cost of $17.67 per day-would need an additional daily investment of $1.59 per child for 12 weeks to increase their moderate-vigorous physical activity by a model-implied 14.7 percentage points.
Conclusions:
A low-cost, alternative after-school program featuring adult-led physical activities in a community recreation center was associated with increased physical activity compared to standard-of-care school-based after-school program.
