Active Play in After School Programs

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)