Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres
Abstract Participation in outdoor play is beneficial for the health, well-being, and development of children. Early childhood education centers (ECECs) can provide equitable access to outdoor play. The PROmoting Early Childhood Outside (PRO-ECO) study is a pilot randomized trial that evaluates the P...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85397-1 |
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| author | Rachel Ramsden Dawn Mount Yingyi Lin Emily Fox Susan Herrington Janet Loebach Adina Cox Anita Bundy Amber Fyfe-Johnson Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter Michelle Stone Mark S. Tremblay Mariana Brussoni |
| author_facet | Rachel Ramsden Dawn Mount Yingyi Lin Emily Fox Susan Herrington Janet Loebach Adina Cox Anita Bundy Amber Fyfe-Johnson Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter Michelle Stone Mark S. Tremblay Mariana Brussoni |
| author_sort | Rachel Ramsden |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Participation in outdoor play is beneficial for the health, well-being, and development of children. Early childhood education centers (ECECs) can provide equitable access to outdoor play. The PROmoting Early Childhood Outside (PRO-ECO) study is a pilot randomized trial that evaluates the PRO-ECO intervention on children’s outdoor play participation. The PRO-ECO intervention included four components: ECEC outdoor play policy; educator training; ECEC outdoor space modification; and parent engagement. This study included eight ECECs delivering licensed care to children (n = 217) aged 2.5 to 6 years in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Using a wait-list control cluster randomized trial design, ECECs were randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (n = 4) or the wait-list control arm (n = 4). Change in the proportion and diversity of observed outdoor play behaviour during scheduled outdoor time was measured. Outcome data were collected at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. The intervention effect on children’s outdoor play participation was examined using logistic regression mixed effect models. Controlling for gender, weather and temperature, there were no changes in children’s outdoor play participation following implementation of the PRO-ECO intervention in the between-group analysis. Within-group comparisons also revealed no change in play participation following the PRO-ECO intervention, however, the intervention group showed a positive effect (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.97, 1.70) in play participation 6 months after implementation of the intervention. The findings indicate that further analyses on child- and ECEC-level outcomes collected as part of the PRO-ECO study, including the diversity of children’s play, is required to effectively assess the impact of this intervention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d945a8f3d8e540338e94e9a60be6f2a8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-d945a8f3d8e540338e94e9a60be6f2a82025-01-12T12:21:28ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115112110.1038/s41598-025-85397-1Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centresRachel Ramsden0Dawn Mount1Yingyi Lin2Emily Fox3Susan Herrington4Janet Loebach5Adina Cox6Anita Bundy7Amber Fyfe-Johnson8Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter9Michelle Stone10Mark S. Tremblay11Mariana Brussoni12Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research InstituteDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research InstituteIndependent consultantDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research InstituteSchool of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Design + Environmental Analysis, Cornell UniversityDepartment of Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University College of DesignDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University College of Health and Human SciencesInstitute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH), Elson S Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State UniversityDepartment of Physical Activity and Health, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood EducationSchool of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie UniversityHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research InstituteDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research InstituteAbstract Participation in outdoor play is beneficial for the health, well-being, and development of children. Early childhood education centers (ECECs) can provide equitable access to outdoor play. The PROmoting Early Childhood Outside (PRO-ECO) study is a pilot randomized trial that evaluates the PRO-ECO intervention on children’s outdoor play participation. The PRO-ECO intervention included four components: ECEC outdoor play policy; educator training; ECEC outdoor space modification; and parent engagement. This study included eight ECECs delivering licensed care to children (n = 217) aged 2.5 to 6 years in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Using a wait-list control cluster randomized trial design, ECECs were randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (n = 4) or the wait-list control arm (n = 4). Change in the proportion and diversity of observed outdoor play behaviour during scheduled outdoor time was measured. Outcome data were collected at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. The intervention effect on children’s outdoor play participation was examined using logistic regression mixed effect models. Controlling for gender, weather and temperature, there were no changes in children’s outdoor play participation following implementation of the PRO-ECO intervention in the between-group analysis. Within-group comparisons also revealed no change in play participation following the PRO-ECO intervention, however, the intervention group showed a positive effect (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.97, 1.70) in play participation 6 months after implementation of the intervention. The findings indicate that further analyses on child- and ECEC-level outcomes collected as part of the PRO-ECO study, including the diversity of children’s play, is required to effectively assess the impact of this intervention.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85397-1 |
| spellingShingle | Rachel Ramsden Dawn Mount Yingyi Lin Emily Fox Susan Herrington Janet Loebach Adina Cox Anita Bundy Amber Fyfe-Johnson Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter Michelle Stone Mark S. Tremblay Mariana Brussoni Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres Scientific Reports |
| title | Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| title_full | Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| title_fullStr | Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| title_full_unstemmed | Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| title_short | Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| title_sort | results from the promoting early childhood outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85397-1 |
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