Assessing the scalability of evidence-based healthy eating and physical activity interventions in early childhood education and care: A cross-sectional study of end-user perspectives

Alice Grady; Jacklyn Jackson; Luke Wolfenden; Melanie Lum; Andrew Milat; Adrian Bauman; Rebecca Hodder; Sze Lin Yoong

doi:10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100122

Assessing the scalability of evidence-based healthy eating and physical activity interventions in early childhood education and care: A cross-sectional study of end-user perspectives

Aust N Z J Public Health. 2024 Feb;48(1):100122. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100122. Epub 2024 Jan 9.

Authors

Alice Grady¹, Jacklyn Jackson², Luke Wolfenden³, Melanie Lum⁴, Andrew Milat⁵, Adrian Bauman⁶, Rebecca Hodder³, Sze Lin Yoong⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia; National Centre of Implementation Science, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: alice.grady@newcastle.edu.au.
² School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
³ School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia; National Centre of Implementation Science, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
⁴ School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Health, School of Health and Social Development, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence, NSW Health, NSW, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ National Centre of Implementation Science, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Health, School of Health and Social Development, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, VIC, Australia.

PMID: 38198903
DOI: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100122

Abstract

Objectives: To describe early childhood education and care (ECEC) services: i) perceptions regarding the scalability of healthy eating and physical activity interventions; and ii) associations between scalability and service characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a randomly selected sample of ECEC services across Australia. The scalability of 12 healthy eating and physical activity interventions was assessed using items based on the Intervention Scalability Assessment Tool. Higher scores represented higher perceived scalability.

Results: From 453 participants, the highest scoring healthy eating and physical activity interventions were 'providing healthy eating education and activities for children' (M43.05) (out of 50) and 'providing sufficient opportunities for child physical activity' (M41.43). The lowest scoring was 'providing families with lunchbox guidelines' (M38.99) and 'engaging families in activities to increase child physical activity' (M38.36). Services located in rural areas, compared to urban areas, scored the overall scalability of both healthy eating and physical activity interventions significantly lower.

Conclusions: Perceptions regarding the scalability of healthy eating and physical activity interventions in the ECEC setting vary according to service characteristics.

Implications for public health: Findings identify where government investment and implementation efforts may be prioritised to facilitate scale-up. An investigation into the barriers and support required for lower-scoring interventions is warranted.

Keywords: early childhood education and care; healthy eating; physical activity; scalability.

MeSH terms

Australia
Child
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet, Healthy*
Exercise*
Health Promotion
Humans