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Home- and Community-Based Interventions for Physical Activity and Early Child Development: A Systematic Review of
1Department of Kinesiology, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY 13090, USA.
Insights
Home and community programs can boost young children's physical activity (PA) and development. Strategies like parent education and community involvement are key for promoting healthy habits and motor skills.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Public Health
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Early childhood is a critical period for establishing physical activity (PA) habits and developmental trajectories.
- Home/family and community settings play significant roles in influencing young children's behaviors.
- Interventions targeting PA and development in early childhood require tailored approaches for different environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the impact of home/family and community-based interventions on physical activity and developmental outcomes in early childhood.
- To identify effective strategies within these settings for promoting healthy weight, PA, and motor skills.
- To synthesize evidence from peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2021.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across four major databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus).
- Inclusion criteria: peer-reviewed studies, English language, 2011-2021 publication, healthy children aged 2-5 years.
- Focus on interventions in home, family, or community settings assessing weight status, PA, sedentary behavior, and/or motor proficiency.
Main Results:
- 24 studies (8351 participants) from diverse countries were included, with a majority utilizing home/family (19 studies) or community-based (14 studies) approaches.
- Significant improvements in PA were found in only 25% of the studies, indicating challenges in enhancing PA participation.
- Effective strategies included distributing educational materials to parents, consistent parent contact, and fostering community engagement.
Conclusions:
- Home/family and community-based interventions show potential for improving developmental outcomes and healthy weight status in young children.
- Enhancing physical activity participation remains a challenge, necessitating targeted and consistent strategies.
- Parental engagement and community involvement are crucial components for successful interventions promoting physical activity and motor skill development.
Abstract:
This systematic review examined the effects of home/family and community-based interventions on physical activity (PA) and developmental outcomes in early childhood. A search strategy was employed using four electronic databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus). Interventions investigating weight status (i.e., BMI), physical activity, sedentary behavior, and/or motor proficiency that took place in home, family, or community settings were assessed. Studies were eligible if they were peer-reviewed, available in English, published between 2011 and 2021, and if samples consisted of healthy young children (2-5 years old). There were 24 studies retained (8351 participants) spanning from the United States (n = 12), Australia (n = 3), Canada (n = 2), Switzerland (n = 2), Finland (n = 2), Netherlands (n = 1), and other Eastern European countries (n = 2). There were 19 studies that incorporated home/family-based approaches and 14 studies that incorporated community-based approaches. Studies ranged in intervention duration from 6 weeks to 24 months. It suggests that improving PA participation in young children was especially challenging to solicit improvement (only 25% of all studies found significant improvement in PA after intervention). Distributing educational material to parents/families, consistent, direct contact with parents, and encouraging community engagement were identified as effective strategies to promote physical activity, healthy weight status, and motor skills in young children.
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