Inequality in Physical Activity in Organized Group Settings for Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Adult-led organized settings for children (eg, classrooms) provide opportunities for physical activity (PA). The structure of setting time may influence inequalities (ie, unequalness) in the distribution of PA. This study examined differences in PA inequality by setting and time-segment purpose in time-segmented organized group settings for children.

Investigate-Design-Practice-Reflect: An Iterative Community-Engaged Action Process to Improve Population Health.

Background: Community-based coalitions are a common strategy for community engagement efforts targeting the improvement of a variety of population health outcomes. The typical processes that coalitions follow to organize efforts include steps that are sequential, slow, and time intensive. These processes also limit local decision-making to the selection of evidence-based policies or programs.

Inequality in Children's Physical Activity Across Time-Segmented Youth Sport Practice.

Youth sport (YS) is a community system for promoting children's physical activity (PA). Studies have examined mean PA during YS practices, but few have examined inequalities in the distribution of PA among children during practice time. This study examined PA inequality in time-segmented YS practices and differences in inequality by time segment characteristics.

Sociodemographic influences on youth sport participation and physical activity among children living within concentrated Hispanic/Latino rural communities.

Introduction: Lack of physical activity (PA) among children living in rural communities is a documented public health problem. Although studies have examined community conditions defined by a rural-urban dichotomy, few have investigated rural community conditions with a concentration of Hispanic/Latino people. This cross-sectional study examined sociodemographic characteristics associated with youth sport (YS) participation and daily PA among children living within concentrated Hispanic/Latino rural U.

Indicators of community physical activity resources and opportunities and variation by community sociodemographic characteristics: A scoping review.

Objective: This scoping review synthesizes studies examining community-level variability in physical activity resource (assets) and opportunity (organized group physical activity services) availability by community sociodemographic characteristics to describe methodologies for measuring resources/opportunities, indicators characterizing availability, and associations between community-level sociodemographic characteristics and availability.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus for literature through 2022. Eligible studies quantitatively examined measures of physical activity resource/opportunity availability by community-level racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic characteristics within geospatially defined communities.

A Protocol for a Local Community Monitoring and Feedback System for Physical Activity in Organized Group Settings for Children.

Background: Communities are wellness landscapes of geospatially and temporally bound settings where children spend their time. Improving population physical activity (PA) requires investigating available community settings for children, such as classrooms and sport teams, and the dynamic social interactions producing PA. This protocol describes a multiscale community wellness landscape monitoring and feedback system of adult-led organized group settings and PA outcomes for children.

COVID-19 pandemic and changes in children's physical activity in a rural US community: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: To examine differences in rural community children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and participation in out-of-school activities from fall 2019 to fall 2020 and explore enacted PA opportunity modifications post initial COVID-19 disruption.

Design: Mixed methods study using the validated Youth Activity Profile (YAP), administrator reports and stakeholder surveys and semistructured interviews.

Setting: Children and community stakeholders from one rural US Great Plains community in the state of Nebraska were recruited.

A protocol for coordinating rural community stakeholders to implement whole-of-community youth physical activity surveillance through school systems.

Accurate and effective local data collection systems are needed to inform community change on youth health behaviors such as physical activity (PA). Systematic methods are particularly important for understanding PA behaviors that may be influenced by individual, interpersonal, organizational, and regional factors. The purpose of this study was to describe a protocol for coordinating community stakeholders to implement an online youth PA surveillance instrument.

Rural community systems: Youth physical activity promotion through community collaboration.

A common way to address rural population health issues is through community stakeholders working together. Youth physical activity (PA) happens in adult-led in-school and out-of-school group opportunities that vary across communities and generally occur in isolated settings. This study explores similarities and differences in rural community system structure and collaborative process variables that help to conceptualize the collaborative impact influencing population youth PA outcomes.

Youth sport participation and physical activity in rural communities.

Background: Physical activity, a high-frequency health behavior, varies by where children live, learn, and play. Children accumulate physical activity in adult-led in-school and out-of-school settings. Youth sport is a potential setting for physical activity, but there are differences in youth sport participation based on age, sex, and socioeconomic status.

An observation system to assess physical activity of children with developmental disabilities and delays in preschool.

Background: Physical activity (PA) behaviors during preschool settings can influence the health and development of children with developmental disabilities (DD). There is a need for a direct observation system that simultaneously assesses PA and preschool environmental contexts.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop an observation instrument for measuring PA and related contextual factors of preschoolers with DD, and to establish content validity and reliability.

Preschool Environmental Influences on Physical Activity in Children with Disabilities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe associations between physical and social environmental features of preschools and physical activity behaviors of young children with developmental disabilities.

Methods: A sample of 34 preschool-age children (mean age, 4.28 ± 1.

Parent adoption and implementation of obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at family child care homes.

Background: Early childhood education programs provide a setting to reach children and parents to modify home environments to prevent obesity. The Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition Home (HOP'N) Home project was a novel approach that linked Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) to home environments by developing children's asking skills for healthful home environmental change through curricular activities.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of engaging parents in obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at FCCH.

The translation of an evidence-based preschool physical activity intervention from in-person to online delivery of professional development to preschool teachers.

Study of Health and Activity in Preschool Environments (SHAPES) aimed to increase preschoolers' physical activity by engaging preschool teachers in professional development designed to modify instructional practices. SHAPES originated as a randomized controlled trial, tested in 16 preschools and disseminated to 4 control schools, and was shown to be effective in increasing preschool children's physical activity (Phase I, 2008-2012). This article describes the steps taken to translate an evidence-based physical activity intervention, SHAPES, from in-person delivery to online delivery of professional development to preschool teachers.

Group-based physical activity trajectories in children transitioning from elementary to high school.

Background: Physical activity has been observed repeatedly to decline as children transition into adolescence; however, few studies have explored the possibility that sub-groups of children experience unique patterns of change during this transition. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the physical activity trajectories in clusters of youth transitioning from 5th to 11th grade.

Methods: Participants (n = 652) were recruited as 5th graders (ages 10-12 years) from elementary schools (n = 21) in two school districts.

EASY-An Instrument for Surveillance of Physical Activity in Youth.

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) promotion among youth is a public health priority, and there is a need for robust surveillance systems to help support such initiatives. Existing youth PA self-report instruments that are used for surveillance lack information regarding the types and contexts of activity. Further, these instruments have limited validity with accelerometry.

How Does the Relationship Between Motor Skill Performance and Body Mass Index Impact Physical Activity in Preschool Children?

Purpose: To determine if weight status modifies the relationship between motor skill (MS) performance and physical activity (PA) in preschoolers.

Methods: Preschoolers (N = 227, age 3-5 y) were recruited from 22 preschools. Preschoolers' MS (locomotor, object control, and total MS) were assessed with the Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Study MS protocol.

The Modifying Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status on the Change in Physical Activity From Elementary to Middle School.

Purpose: Youth physical activity (PA) levels differ by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). It is well established that various multilevel factors may influence changes in PA. The present study examined whether the association between the change in individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors and the change in PA is modified by race/ethnicity or SES.

Implications of Social Groups on Sedentary Behavior of Children with Autism: A Pilot Study.

This pilot study compared sedentary behavior (SB) of children with autism (ASD) to typically developing peers (TD), and evaluated the influence of social contexts within free play (FP) and organized activity settings on SB of children with ASD during an inclusive summer camp. Participants with ASD were matched with TD peers by age and gender, and a modified OSRAC-P was utilized to assess SB and social context by setting. SB did not differ by diagnosis (ASD, TD), setting, or social contexts.

Social Environmental Influences on Physical Activity of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may be at greater risk for not meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines than neurotypical children (NT). The purpose of this study was to explore setting (free play versus organized) and social group composition influences on PA of children with ASD during summer camp.

Methods: Data were collected on 6 ASD and 6 NT boys (aged 5 to 6 years) attending an inclusive summer camp.