112 - Project Nature: A Pilot to Promote Childhood Outdoor Physical Activity via Primary Care

Poster Number: 112
Publication Number: 112.114

Georgia M. Griffin, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Carolina Nieto, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States; Kirsten Senturia, University of Washington, Woodinville, WA, United States; Marshall D. Brown, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Mount Vernon, WA, United States; Elizabeth Nguyen, Texas A&M University, Irving, TX, United States; Danette S. Glassy, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States; Emily Kroshus, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States; Kim Garrett, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Pooja Tandon, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States

Background: Active outdoor play offers many physical and mental health benefits. Families face a range of barriers in supporting their children’s active play in nature including material circumstances and behavioral factors.

Objective: We developed and pilot-tested a family-centered resource to promote active outdoor play during well-child visits with 4-10 year olds, with a focus on meeting the needs of diverse families living in areas where opportunities for outdoor recreation may be limited.

Design/Methods: We adapted Project Nature, a tool consisting of a brochure and toy, which can be used and distributed by pediatric providers to encourage outdoor play. We conducted a mixed-methods pilot study (pre/post surveys and qualitative interviews) of 20 families with children 4-10 years old being seen for well-child visits at an urban clinic serving families from diverse backgrounds. We conducted descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Results: All parents surveyed felt that time in nature and daily physical activity were important. Parents recalled their child’s medical provider encouraging daily outdoor time during a well child visit in the past year 62% of the time pre-intervention, and 75% of the time post-intervention. Children and parents reportedly were physically active together for at least 20 minutes for mean of 2.6 days per week pre-intervention, compared with 3.1 days per week post-intervention. The most popular toys chosen were seed packets and shovel, chalk, magnifying glass, frisbee, and kite. The majority (81%) of parents liked the Project Nature kit and they found the toy helpful because it provided a tangible activity to help their children be more active, and even helped parents be more active as well. The majority of parents did not use the brochure or the associated website. Parents wished the kit had more emphasis on how to help their children be more active during cold and wet times of the year, and wished that providers had discussed this barrier during their visit.

Conclusion(s): This study shows that well-child visits are a feasible and potentially effective setting to promote active outdoor play. The Project Nature kit was a practical intervention to employ during well-child visits, and was acceptable and welcomed by families.  Providing a toy that can be used outdoors as part of an intervention to promote nature contact and outdoor play during well-child visits may be one strategy to reduce disparities in children’s physical activity and time in nature.