Outdoor play

Background: Despite the importance of play for children’s physical activity and health, access to free community settings for active play for all children is not yet ubiquitous. Limited studies in the U.S. have examined equity in access to playgrounds through a public health lens. Purpose: (a) Assess whether access to playgrounds in Austin, Texas, USA varies by socioeconomic and racial/ethnic neighborhood characteristics; and (b) Identify stakeholders involved in playground development, placement, and maintenance. Methods: Neighborhoods were operationalized as census tracts (CTs). All public-access playgrounds in Austin were geocoded, and playground counts per CT were calculated. CT categories of income (tertiles) and predominant race/ethnicity (primarily [≥60%] white, non-white, or mixed-race) were derived using U.S. Census data. Multinomial logistic regressions tested the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the number of playgrounds in neighborhoods. An organizational landscape analysis was conducted to identify playground stakeholders via a systematic search, abstraction, and thematic coding protocol. Results: Relative to low-income CTs, medium-income (OR= 2.95, 95%CI: 1.63, 5.31, p=.000) and high-income (OR= 3.65, 95%CI: 1.99, 6.69, p=.000) CTs had significantly higher odds of high playground access (≥2 playgrounds). Relative to predominantly white CTs, nonwhite (OR= 1.82, 95%CI: 1.04, 3.2, p=.037) and mixed (OR= 2.08, 95%CI: 1.21, 3.60, p=.008) CTs had higher odds of high playground access. Twenty-seven (n=27) relevant organizations to playground equity in Austin were identified, with a focus on (non-mutually exclusive): Community Development/ Engagement (n=20), Construction/ Architecture (n=4), Government (n=6), and Advocacy (n=17). Conclusions: Austin appears to be investing in racial/ethnic playground equity, but socioeconomic-based inequities prevail. Future work should assess playground quality. Practical implications: Findings will be shared with key stakeholders to help inform playground placement and renovation decisions, to help attain physical activity security for all children in Austin. Funding: Partially supported by The World Playground Research Institute, The University of Southern Denmark.

Background: Outdoor play supports children’s physical activity, mental wellbeing, and social and cognitive development. Urban sprawl has diminished children’s opportunities to play in their neighbourhoods. Designing play into the built environment is an increasing priority to ensure cities are child-friendly. Purpose: To explore the strategic-level influences within the local system in Bradford UK, and understand the barriers, facilitators and potential solutions to ‘designing-in’ play’ within urban environments. Methods: Nine strategic leads who influence the built environment and children’s play and physical activity in Bradford, were interviewed. Data analysis was guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Local strategies and plans were reviewed to understand their influence on designing suitable spaces for play. Results: Individual characteristics and knowledge of the strategic leads, organisational culture, and external partnerships are driving an emerging evidence-based, co-designed approach to embedding play into urban built environments, partly through incorporating play and children’s voice into local strategies within and beyond planning, and combining resources. Barriers primarily stem from external pressures, including insufficient funding for maintenance of spaces, the prioritisation of economic viability over quality of housing developments, and insufficient internal staff capacity . Further cross-department communication and collaboration to ensure play and the child’s voice is in all agendas, a focus on designing spaces for children with additional needs, and evidence of impact are recommended. Conclusions: There is good practice within Bradford which has the potential to enhance children’s opportunities for outdoor play. Areas for future local work have been identified. Good practice is hampered by external factors which require national-level action. Practical implications: The good practice identified through this work can support strategic leaders from other urban places to ensure children’s play needs are embedded into the policy environment they work in. Funding: NIHR programme development grant (NIHR204232) and ActEarly Research Innovation Fund

Background: Outdoor play boosts physical activity in young children, positively affecting healthy development. Childcare is a key setting for promoting outdoor play at a population level. Purpose: This study aimed to 1) identify underlying subgroups of childcare centers based on the interplay of co-existing contextual (i.e., parental, social, environmental) factors related to outdoor play during COVID-19, and 2) examine whether these subgroups displayed mean-level differences in outdoor play. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized questionnaire data collected during COVID-19 (June-August 2021) from 193 childcare center directors in Alberta, Canada. Directors reported five contextual factors related to outdoor play: changes in parental interest in outdoor play, social support from the provincial government, health authority, and licensing, as well as changes in the number of play areas in licensed outdoor spaces. Directors also reported on outdoor play and center demographics. Outdoor play frequency and duration were calculated for both toddlers (19-35 months) and preschoolers (36-60 months). Latent profile analysis was conducted using a bias-adjusted 3-step approach. Results: We identified four underlying subgroups characterized by different levels of social support. Within each subgroup, minimal change was observed in the parental interest in outdoor play and the number of play areas in licensed outdoor spaces. These subgroups were labeled low, moderate, high, and very high social support groups, comprising 20.4%, 30.6%, 33.8%, and 15.1% of childcare centers, respectively. Childcare centers in the very high social support subgroup reported higher levels of outdoor play frequency and duration for both toddlers and preschoolers compared to centers belonging to the other three subgroups. Conclusion: During COVID-19, the childcare centers that experienced higher social support best promoted outdoor play. Practical implications: Identifying childcare subgroups can help tailor interventions to target those most likely to benefit, in an effort to promote outdoor play. Funding: VC’s Killam Accelerator Research award.

Background: Environmental factors are associated with children’s developmental trajectories. However, associations with children’s outdoor play remain largely unknown, particularly, among children who reside in low and middle-income countries. Purpose: To examine the associations between parent perceptions of environmental factors and outdoor play among a global sample of preschool-aged children. Methods: Data from the pilot phases of SUNRISE – International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years were used. Parents completed a questionnaire which asked about their child’s outdoor play patterns and family and environmental factors that influenced their child’s participation in outdoor play in the past three days. Results: Data from 1924 children from 18 countries (16 LMICs) were analysed. The number of children and mean weekday (WD) and weekend (WE) time report in outdoor play for high, upper-middle, lower-middle- and low-income countries was 140 (WD:209 mins ±208mins; WE:250 mins±173 mins), 506 (WD:172 mins±157 mins; WE:235 mins±157 mins), 794 (WD:201 mins±158 mins, WE:226 mins±168 mins) and 484 children (WD:249 mins±196 mins; WE:290 mins±163 mins), respectively. Forty percent of parents (n=765) reported environmental factors that prevented their child playing outdoors in the past 3 days, with 55% (n=423) citing multiple factors. One in five parents cited weather factors, 6% cited different types of pollution and 10% cited social factors as reasons their child could not play outdoors. Conclusions: In this global sample, weather conditions, pollution and social factors impacted preschoolers’ participation in outdoor play. Further research using objective measures of climate-related factors as well as cultural and environmental variations between countries is recommended to validate these findings. Practical implications: Climate-related factors, must be at the forefront when developing policies and interventions to ensure children have the right to safe and accessible outdoor play environments. Funding: ADO is supported by a NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1175858)

Background: Organizing sports activities may increase playground usage, but this remains unexplored. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the children’s usage and their physical activity levels at playgrounds with organized sports activities as compared to playgrounds without organized activities. Methods: Following a quasi-experimental study design, we evaluated usage and children’s physical activity levels on playgrounds (N = 4) with organized School Playgrounds Sports (SPS) activities and matched control playgrounds (N = 4). The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities protocol was used to assess playground usage and estimate the playground users’ age category, sex, and physical activity level. On the playgrounds, five consecutive scans were conducted every ten minutes at the pre-determined target areas on four different days during SPS activities. To analyze the association between playground type, the number of observed children, and the proportion of children in MVPA, Generalized Estimating Equation analyses were conducted. Results: The SPS playgrounds were associated with a higher usage (IRR = 1.52, p = .067). Mainly more boys were observed at SPS playgrounds (IRR = 1.914, p = .003). Usage of the SPS and control playgrounds by girls was similar (IRR = 1.068, p = .815). The proportion of MVPA was not significantly different between the SPS and control playgrounds for all the children (p = .714), boys (p = .936) and girls (p = .882). Conclusion: Providing SPS was associated with 52% more playground users at the time of the activities as compared to control playgrounds. However, this mainly involved boys. Furthermore, the children’s physical activity levels were similar on the SPS and control playgrounds. Practical implications: Providing sports activities on public playgrounds may be a viable approach to increase public playground usage by boys. To increase playground usage by girls, a different approach is needed. Funding: NWO-SIA funding (#HBOPD.2018.05.057).

Background: Outdoor time (OT) is consistently associated with higher physical activity in children, but has declined over the last few decades, underscoring the need to better understand its correlates. Purpose: Guided by the social-ecological model, we investigated correlates of parent-reported OT in Canadian children. Methods: In December 2020, we recruited 2,291 parents of 7- to 12-year-olds across Canada and followed up every 6 months until June 2022 (4 assessments). We asked parents to report their child’s OT on weekdays and weekend days during the previous week. Based on the observed distribution, we recoded OT as <2 hours/day vs. ≥2 hours/day. We employed generalized estimating equations to investigate the correlates of OT and tested the moderating effect of gender with interaction terms. Results: Higher child and parent age, concerns about COVID-19, not having a dog, attending school online vs. in person, living in a high- vs. low-income household, and medium to high (but not very high) vs. low neighbourhood walkability were associated with lower odds of spending ≥2 hours/day outdoors. Conversely, higher independent mobility, parent’s perceived behavioral control to support their child’s physical activity, and warmer temperature in the week preceding the survey were associated with higher odds. Children spent more time outdoors in June vs. December surveys. Significant interaction terms indicated that girls had a higher increase in OT than boys since wave 1, but their OT was more negatively associated with parent age. Conversely, the positive effect of independent mobility on OT was greater in boys compared to girls. Conclusions: Correlates of OT span multiple levels of influence of the social-ecological model and gender moderates some of these relationships. Practical implications: Our study identified several correlates of OT and suggests that future interventions may need to be tailored by gender. Funding: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Context: Given the health advantages of outdoor free play for children, there is growing global interest to improve children’s access to urban public space. Recently, developing public spaces for children to be active has become a political priority in Paris, prompting some communities to develop play streets. Objective: This paper presents findings from a study of a play street named “Rue’golotte” in Central-Paris. Drawing on realist evaluation, it examines the contexts of the intervention and the mechanisms activated (processes explaining how people interpret and act on new opportunities). Methods: Qualitative methods included semi-structured interviews, field observations and photographs, informal discussions at meetings, documentation produced by associations involved in the play street. Findings: Several contextual elements shaped the Rue’golotte play street. 1) Individual capacities of the Rue’golotte team including a shared aim of reclaiming public space, the values of diversity and inclusion for the play space, and knowledge about free play; 2) Interpersonal relationships and networks (on neighbourhood council, local political involvement) led to affiliations with a local school association and collaboration with a play organisation, which helped legitimize the project; 3) Institutional parameters and 4) Infrastructures including a unified team, strong leadership, local priorities for accessible public spaces, funding and political support all provided early and continued momentum for the project. The mechanisms activated by the contexts included: i) gains in knowledge about free play and play streets; ii) local acceptance, credibility, and legitimacy for the project; iii) team commitment and perseverance for Rue’golotte. Conclusions: The contextual elements and the mechanisms activated were crucial for developing Rue’golotte as a longstanding play street. This can ultimately provide the possibility for increased play and physical activity for children and residents. Practical Implications: The elements identified can become points of entry for other localities wishing to develop a play street. Funding: N/A