Development and Testing of an Out-of-School Hours Care Professional Development Program: A Pilot Cluster Randomised...

Area of Science:

• Child Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Nutrition & Physical Activity

Background:

• Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) settings are crucial for child development.
• Professional development for OSHC staff can impact child health behaviors.
• Existing interventions need evaluation for feasibility and acceptability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-create and test a professional development intervention for OSHC staff.
• To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the intervention.
• To improve child adherence to physical activity guidelines and increase fruit and vegetable provision.

Main Methods:

• A 1-month, 2-arm pilot cluster randomized controlled trial involving four OSHC services.
• Assessment of feasibility and acceptability via recruitment/attendance rates and online surveys.
• Measurement of child moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) using accelerometers and fruit and vegetable (F&V) provision via direct observation.

Main Results:

• 60% staff adherence to the intervention; participants found it enjoyable and knowledge-enhancing.
• Increased proportion of children meeting MVPA guidelines in both intervention and control groups, with small to medium effect sizes.
• Enhanced fruit provision in before-school care and vegetable provision in both before- and after-school care intervention programs.

Conclusions:

• Professional development for OSHC staff on physical activity and healthy eating is feasible and acceptable.
• Larger trials are warranted to assess intervention scalability and effectiveness.
• The intervention shows promise for improving child MVPA and F&V consumption in OSHC settings.