Citation

Phillips SM, Summerbell C, Hesketh KR, Saxena S, Hillier-Brown FC. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(6): e3733.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19063733

PMID

35329419

Abstract

Movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep) are important for the health and development of pre-school children (aged 3-4 years). There is limited qualitative research examining the acceptability and feasibility of tools used to assess movement behaviours in pre-schoolers. This study explored parental views on various measurement tools in three deprived areas in England, UK (West Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland). The study consisted of a demonstration of the different tools (accelerometers, a diary and a questionnaire), directly followed by focus group discussions. Three focus group discussions with a total of eleven parents and carers were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

FINDINGS revealed four main themes: (1) importance of contextual information when using any measurement tool (e.g., child illness, capturing different routines); (2) practical issues associated with devices (e.g., aversion to devices being attached directly to the skin of their child; concern of larger devices during sleep time); (3) encouraging children to wear a device (e.g., making devices attractive to children-'superpowers'); and (4) presentation of diaries and questionnaires (e.g., age-appropriate movement activities, preference for real-time recording over recall). Practical recommendations for the use of the tools to measure movement behaviours of pre-school children are provided.

Language: en

Keywords

qualitative research; measurement; acceptability; feasibility; movement behaviours; pre-school children