After-School Gets Moving

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The number of American school children who are not active enough to ensure healthy physical, mental and emotional development is growing. Low-income children from urban communities are at greatest risk. After-school has become a social institution in little more than a generation. Urban after-school programs enroll children who encounter higher rates of overweight and obesity. Staff in under-resourced, space-limited after-school programs are mostly paraprofessionals. Most come from the communities they serve. Phase II of Vida Health Communications' After-School Gets Moving: A Multimedia Staff Development Program will build on the positive results of the Phase I feasibility study and produce a comprehensive, tested and evaluated media-based training, rich with live action video demonstrations, to give urban after-school providers resources they need to effectively promote physical activity among children ages 6-10. Research and development efforts in Phase II will include: 1) completing development and production of enhanced DVD (e-DVD) media in two parts and ancillary print materials 2) beta testing of the media in partnership with the BEST (Building Exemplary Systems for Training Youth Workers) team at The Medical Foundation; and 3) a rigorous experimental evaluation of the media training by consultant researchers from the National Institute for Out of School Time (NIOST). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: After-School Gets Moving addresses critical public health concerns surrounding current levels of physical activity, overweight and obesity among children living in urban, under-resourced communities. The proposed DVD training will support staff working in urban after-school programs. It is designed to help this mostly paraprofessional class of caregiver in efforts to promote increased physical activity among children ages 6-10, in spite of limited space, materials and budgets.