Active Play in After School Programs
Condition: Physical Activity; Activity Play; Motor Activity; Quality of Life; Autonomy; Competence; Children; After-School Program
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Background: Physical activity (PA) is a key component in health promotion and prevention of
      overweight. Interventions delivered in after-school programs (ASP) have the potential to
      become a means of ensuring PA among young schoolchildren. This requires a motivational
      climate, allowing for self-determination and the intrinsic values of the activity, on the
      activity's character of play. ASP staff could be trained in stimulating all children in
      physical activities in their everyday life. Physiotherapists in primary care possess
      knowledge of motor development and learning, and are important contributors to an ASP-based
      physical activity intervention.

      Aim: To develop a complex intervention that emphasizes physical activity play, and to examine
      through a cluster-randomized trial the extent to which the intervention promotes PA and
      health-related quality of life and prevents overweight in a population of young children. We
      aim to increase the knowledge and autonomy supportive skills among ASP staff members,
      enabling them to promote physical activity through play among all first graders in ASP.

      In addition to investigate if the children benefit from receiving autonomy support, we aim to
      study whether the ASP staff themselves benefit from giving autonomy support in terms of
      increased need satisfaction and autonomous motivation for work.

      The intervention: Includes training of ASP-staff members in the fundamental principles of
      self-determination theory and practical applications for motivating young children in PA
      through play. Information will be given on the benefits of a physically active lifestyle and
      the staff will be encouraged to map opportunities for PA in their local ASP and to
      incorporate strategies to increase PA through play among the children throughout the day.

      Methods/design: A complex intervention using a mixed methods approach will be developed and
      evaluated. A pilot trial will assess the potential of this approach and provide information
      necessary to perform a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT). The cluster-randomized
      controlled trial (RCT) will together with qualitative interviews and observations, evaluate
      the effectiveness of the intervention. Outcomes will be measured at baseline (September
      /October 2016) at the end of the intervention which lasts for 7 months (May 2017), and 1 year
      after the end of the intervention (May 2018)
    


Intervention name(s): Active play in after school programs (ASP)
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): A 15 hour training-program for ASP-staff aimed to increase active play and physical activity among children in ASPs. The program includes lectures, guided discussions and practical tasks focusing on increasing the staffs competence in how to support active play and PA among all children in the ASP
A 8 hour course for local physiotherapists enabling them to guide ASP-staff during parts of the intervention period
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention