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Evaluation of a statewide dissemination and implementation of physical activity intervention in afterschool programs: a nonrandomized trial

  • Original Research
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Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

In 2015, YMCA-operated afterschool programs (ASPs) across South Carolina pledged to achieve the national standard that calls for every child to accumulate 30 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during program time. This study shares the first-year findings related to the dissemination, implementation, and outcomes associated with the statewide intervention to achieve the MVPA Standard. Twenty ASPs were sampled from all YMCA-operated ASPs (N = 97) and visited at baseline (spring 2015) and first-year follow-up (spring 2016). Programs were provided standardized professional development training to increase the MVPA children accumulated while attending ASPs. The training focused on extending the scheduled time for activity opportunities and modifying commonly played games to increase MVPA. The RE-AIM framework was used to evaluate the statewide intervention. Accelerometer-derived MVPA was the primary outcome. Implementation was evaluated via direct observation. Intent-to-treat (ITT) and as-treated comparisons were conducted in summer 2016. Reach/adoption was variable, with attendance at trainings ranging from 0 to 100% across ASPs. Effectiveness of the intervention using ITT models indicated no changes from baseline in the percentage of programs meeting the MVPA standard for boys or girls. Implementation levels also varied and were related to increases in both boys’ and girls’ MVPA for moderate and high implementers. Findings indicate improvements in MVPA can be made from attending the trainings and implementing some or all of the training components. Additional work is necessary to identify ways to ensure staff attend trainings to implement strategies and to identify which specific factors contributed to increases in MVPA.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly St, 1st Flr Office Suite, RM 131, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Michael W. Beets M.Ed., M.P.H., Ph.D., R. Glenn Weaver M.Ed., Ph.D., Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy Ph.D., M.S., R.D, Ruth P. Saunders Ph.D., Collin A. Webster Ph.D. & Keith Brazendale MS

  2. Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Justin B. Moore PhD, MS, FACSM

  3. Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Jessica Chandler MS, Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Michael W. Beets M.Ed., M.P.H., Ph.D.
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  2. R. Glenn Weaver M.Ed., Ph.D.
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  3. Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy Ph.D., M.S., R.D
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  4. Ruth P. Saunders Ph.D.
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  5. Collin A. Webster Ph.D.
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  6. Justin B. Moore PhD, MS, FACSM
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  7. Keith Brazendale MS
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  8. Jessica Chandler MS, Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael W. Beets M.Ed., M.P.H., Ph.D..

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Potential conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD079422. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Statement on human rights

IRB approval for all study procedures was received by the University of south Carolina’s Institutional Review Board.

Statement on the welfare of animals

No animals were harmed during the conduct of the study presented herein.

Informed consent statement

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Helsinki or comparable standard statement

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

IRB approval

IRB approval for all study procedures was received by the University of south Carolina’s Institutional Review Board.

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Implications

Practice: Scheduling adequate time for physical activity opportunities daily and attendance at trainings are necessary to maintain or increase the amount of activity children accumulate during the program.

Policy: Policies need to address minimal training hours required for all site leaders and staff on content related to scheduling activity time and maximizing the amount of activity accumulated by children during that time.

Research: Simple, practical, and easy-to-implement strategies for practitioners are available and should be the primary components of interventions targeting increases in activity within these settings.

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Beets, M.W., Glenn Weaver, R., Turner-McGrievy, G. et al. Evaluation of a statewide dissemination and implementation of physical activity intervention in afterschool programs: a nonrandomized trial. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 7, 690–701 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-017-0484-2

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