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Abstract
Background: Early childhood education (ECE) educators may play an influential role in developing the physical activity (PA) habits of the children in their care. Studies exploring early childhood education (ECE) providers’ physical activity (PA) levels and whether they influence PA in ECE centers are lacking. This study aims to fill that gap by describing the PA levels of ECE providers, exploring the relationship between provider PA level and the PA policies and practices within their centers, and investigate any relationships between provider PA levels and their mental health status.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 366 ECE providers from 49 ECE centers located in Seattle, South King County, and Austin, TX were surveyed to assess physical activity levels, physical activity policies and practices within their ECE centers, and self-reported mental health status. Scoring from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to describe the PA levels of ECE providers as low, moderate and high and in MET minutes. The Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) was used to measure center-level PA policies and practices for children enrolled in ECE centers. Scores for NAP SACC subsections were separated by those caring for infants and those not, as some questions related only to centers with infants (e.g. tummy time). Providers’ mental health status was assessed using self-reported Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaires. Linear regression and ANOVA were performed to characterize possible relationships among provider PA levels with PA policies and practices of the ECE centers and provider PA levels with their mental health status.
Results: Forty-eight percent of ECE providers had ‘Moderate’ PA levels (N= 171), followed by ‘High’ PA levels (38%; N= 138) and ‘Low’ PA levels (14%; N= 51). MET minutes were directly associated with total scores on the NAP SACC ‘Outdoor Play & Learning’ subsection in centers with infants (R2 = 0.014, p= 0.049). This association remained after adjusting for geographic site (p= 0.041). Controlling for site suggested additional associations between MET minutes and NAP SACC scores on ‘Physical Activity’ (with infants, p=<0.001), ‘Play Time’ (with infants, p<0.001), ‘Teacher Practices’ (with infants, p<0.001), ‘Outdoor Play Time’ (with infants, p=0.038; without infants, p <0.001), ‘Education & Professional Development’ (all centers, p=0.038) and ‘Outdoor Play Environment’ (all centers, p=0.004). When PA levels were considered categorically, NAP SACC ‘Outdoor Play Time’ scores in centers without infants were significantly lower for providers classified as having low levels of PA (3.13 0.377) compared with scores for providers with high PA levels (3.41 0.246, p=0.035). MET minutes were also inversely associated with CESD-R scores (p <0.001) and PSS scores (p=0.002) after controlling for provider’s age.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that ECE provider PA levels are associated with best practices in some subsections of the arenas of Physical Activity and Outdoor Play and Learning as assessed by the NAP SACC survey. Furthermore, provider PA levels and mental health status were inversely associated. Future research should consider interventions that increase support for ECE providers in improving their own physical activity, as this may have an effect on both their health and well-being, and on the health behaviors of children in their centers.
