Evaluating the scale-up of the Play Active programme for children’s physical activity in early childhood education and care services: a national type III hybrid effectiveness-implementation

Physical activity is crucial for young children's health and development. Many young children do not meet the recommended 3 hours of daily physical activity, including 60 min of energetic play. Early childhood education and care (ECEC/childcare) is a key setting to intervene to improve children's physical activity. The Play Active programme is a scalable evidence-informed ECEC-specific physical activity policy intervention with implementation support strategies to improve educators' physical activity-related practices.

Citation:
Christian H, Maher C, Trost SG, …….. Nathan A, Papageorgiou A, McLaughlin M, Bauman A. Evaluating the scale-up of the Play Active programme for children’s physical activity in early childhood education and care services: a national type III hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial protocol. BMJ Open. 2025;15(10).

Keywords:
Behavior; Child; Community child health; Exercise; Public Health

Abstract:
Physical activity is crucial for young children's health and development. Many young children do not meet the recommended 3 hours of daily physical activity, including 60 min of energetic play. Early childhood education and care (ECEC/childcare) is a key setting to intervene to improve children's physical activity. The Play Active programme is a scalable evidence-informed ECEC-specific physical activity policy intervention with implementation support strategies to improve educators' physical activity-related practices.