Associations between Community Built Environments with Early Care and Education Classroom Physical Activity Practices and Barriers

Authors

Bethany D. Williams, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Susan B. Sisson, University of Oklahoma Health SciencesFollow
Dipti Dev, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Bryce Lowery, University of OklahomaFollow
Diane Horm, University of Oklahoma-TulsaFollow
Janis Campbell, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Denise Finneran, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Jennifer Graef-Downard, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Linda Whaley, Oklahoma Department of Human ServicesFollow

ORCID IDs

Bethany D. Williams https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7006-0787

Bryce Lowery https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8359-9773

Date of this Version

8-3-2021

Citation

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6524.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126524

Comments

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Open Access CC-BY

Abstract

The influence of community-built environments on physical activity (PA) support in Early Childhood Education settings (ECEs) is unknown. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine associations between community PA environments and ECE classroom PA practices. We included licensed Oklahoma ECE directors serving 3-to-5-year-old children. Parks and playground locations were exported from Google Earth. NationalWalkability Index was derived from 2010 US Census data. ArcMap 10.6 was used to geocode ECE locations, which were within an Activity Desert if no parks/playgrounds were located within a 1-mile radius or if Walkability Index was 10.5 or below. Classroom PA practices were determined by using the Nutrition and PA Self-Assessment tool (NAP SACC). Barriers to implementing practices were reported. Most Head Starts (n = 41; 80.3%), center-based childcare settings (CBC; n = 135; 87.0%), and family childcare homes (FCCHs; n = 153; 96.4%) were in an Activity Desert. Parks/playgrounds within a 10-mile buffer were correlated with classroom PA practices in FCCHs only (p < 0.001). Activity Desert status was not related to classroom PA practices for any ECE context (p > 0.029). While FCCHs may be the most vulnerable to lack of park and playground access, overall findings suggest ECEs provide a healthful micro-environment protective of the typical influence of community-built environments.