Parent PLAYSHOP: A Physical Literacy Training Workshop for Parents

Purpose/objective: 1)Determine if a physical literacy training workshop can increase parental knowledge, confidence levels, and improve parenting practices related to engaging in play with their preschool child(ren) that facilitates the development of physical literacy. 2) Evaluate workshop reach and implementation facilitators and barriers.

Hypothesis: 1)Parents in the intervention group will have a larger increase in parental knowledge and confidence levels in regards to engaging in meaningful play with their preschool child(ren) than parents in the control group. 2) Parents will report satisfaction with the implementation and that they changed parenting practices related to physical activity at the 2 month follow-up.

Justification: Preschoolers are typically at a development stage where they are beginning to possess a unique set of motor skills that allow them to engage in a wider range of physical activities. Parents have been identified as a key gatekeeper for physical activity in children.

Research method: This pilot study is a Type 1 Hybrid Effectiveness Trial, where an intervention is tested while also gathering information on the effectiveness and potential for real world use (Curran et al., 2012). Approximately, 100 participants will be randomized into an intervention group or a wait-list control group across two Canadian data collection sites: Edmonton, Alberta and Victoria, British Columbia. Participants in the intervention group will receive a 75 minute physical literacy workshop in their community (e.g. community recreation centre, local school, family resource centre) at baseline, where their preschool child is encouraged to attend and participate. The workshop will provide parents with physical literacy training including modifications for the home setting.The overall aim of the workshop is to support parents in engaging in play with their child that facilitates the development of physical literacy. The program was designed using Bandura's social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) with a specific emphasis on parent's self-efficacy and related intervention change techniques described using the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW; a synthesis of 19 behavior change frameworks). To address the 1st objective, the intervention group will complete a brief pre-workshop questionnaire, post-workshop questionnaire, and a follow-up interview approximately 2 months after the workshop. At the end of the workshop, parents will take home a goody bag with basic and inexpensive play equipment/resources. In between the workshop and the 2 month follow-up, they will receive at least two booster e-mails/texts with play ideas. The wait-list control group will complete the two questionnaires online (approximately 1 week apart) around the same time as the intervention group and receive the workshop at a later date. The control group will also receive the goody bag. To address the 2nd objective, parents will report their satisfaction and facilitators and barriers to implementing activities and research staff/partners that delivered the workshops will be invited to be interviewed at the end of the study in order to evaluate reach and implementation facilitators and barriers .

Plan for data analysis: Repeated measures ANOVA and/or linear mixed models will be used to compare change in knowledge and confidence levels between intervention and wait-list control groups (Objective 1). Thematic analysis will be used to analyze parent's satisfaction and changes in parenting practices reported in the 2 month follow-up interview (Objective 1). Thematic analysis will also be used to evaluate the reach and implementation facilitators and barriers reported by parents and research staff/partners (Objective 2).