title: Influence of the day care, home and neighbourhood environment on young children's physical activity and health: protocol for the PLAYCE observational study.
abstract: The early years are a critical period in a child's health and development, yet most preschool children fail to meet physical activity guidelines. Outside of the home and neighbourhood, children spend a large proportion of time within early childhood education and care (ECEC) services such as long day care. Research is required to determine how the design of day care outdoor (and indoor) spaces provides opportunities or constraints for physical activity. A significant evidence gap surrounds what objectively measured attributes of the home and neighbourhood environment influence preschoolers' physical activity. The PLAY Spaces & Environments for Children's Physical Activity (PLAYCE) study will empirically investigate the relative and cumulative influence of the day care, home and neighbourhood environment on preschoolers' physical activity.
  
  
  
  The PLAYCE study is a cross-sectional observational study (April 2015 to April 2018) of 2400 children aged 2-5 years attending long day care in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Accelerometers will measure physical activity with indoor physical activity measured using radio frequency identification. Global positioning systems will be used to determine outdoor location of physical activity around the home and neighbourhood for a subsample (n=310). The day care environment will be objectively measured using a validated audit tool. Other potential individual, social and physical environmental influences on preschoolers' physical activity will be collected by geographic information systems measures, parent and day care educator surveys.
  
  
  
  Ethical approval has been granted by The University of Western Australia Human Ethics Research Committee, approval number RA/4/1/7417. Findings will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. Key findings will be disseminated to stakeholders, collaborators, policymakers and practitioners working in the ECEC sector. Day care centre directors and parents will be given a summary report of the key findings.
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Earth and Environment and School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Clover
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maitland
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Enkel
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Earth and Environment and School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trapp
authors.affiliation: Centre for Children's Health Research-School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Stewart G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Trost
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jasper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schipperijn
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Earth and Environment and School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boruff
authors.affiliation: School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lester
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Faculty of Education, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Zubrick
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000328:Adult; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D000067576:Child Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004777:Environment; D004779:Environment Design; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012107:Research Design; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D014904:Western Australia
keywords: Environment; PUBLIC HEALTH; Physical activity; Young children