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Table 1 Effects of reduced sitting time on toddlers’ cognitive development: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Intervention strategies and activities and corresponding principles of Social Cognitive Theory

From: “GET-UP” study rationale and protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effects of reduced sitting on toddlers’ cognitive development

Activities and strategies

Description

Principle of Social Cognitive Theory

Provision of Professional Development for the Educators

Educators will attend a 6 h professional development workshop. The workshop will begin by introducing the rationale and aims of the study (1 h).

Self-efficacy:

. mastery experience;

Educators will then be asked to think about ways to (i) modify routine activities to reduce the total amount of sitting time and reduce bouts of sitting to less than 15 min and (ii) to change indoor and outdoor environment to reduce the total amount of sitting time and the length of the sitting bouts. (1 h).

. modelling

. persuasion

After this activity, the educators will be able to rehearsal some of the proposed activities in our laboratory (2 h and 30 min).

Learning process:

Finally, educators will be given further ideas on how to reduce toddlers’ total sitting time and reduce bouts of sitting to less than 15 min. Perceived barriers for the implementation of the program and possible solutions to overcome these barriers will be discussed (1.5 h).

. attention,

. retention;

. production (goals and feedback, addressing barriers, and behavioural rehearsal)

We will aim to train all educators from each centre on the same day to ensure standardization of content delivery.

Provision of Resources and Instrumental Materials

After the professional development workshop we will provide educators with supporting written materials with the rationale, aims and strategies/activities to reduce toddler’s sitting time. We will provide them with posters to be displayed in their classroom as a reminder of the need to reduce sitting time. A video demonstrating the proposed activities and desired routine changes will also be provided.

Learning process:

. retention;

. motivation

Self-efficacy:

. modelling

Follow-up Support

During the intervention period the educators will receive monthly on-site visits from the research team, to revise key activities and behavioural strategies to reduce toddlers’ total sitting time and to follow up on the activities that are being undertaken.

Self-efficacy:

. mastery experience;

. persuasion

Three months and six months after the start of the intervention educators will attend an interactive online webinar to follow-up on the intervention, to share ideas and perceived barriers of the intervention implementation and to address possible solutions to overcome those barriers.

Learning process:

. retention;

. production (goals and feedback, addressing barriers)

During the intervention period educators will also receive regular emails and telephone calls.

. motivation

Performance Monitoring and Feedback

During the monthly visits the research staff will collect objective information on the total sitting time and sitting bouts (by accelerometry) in a random small sample of toddlers (10 %) to monitor the implementation of the intervention. This performance will be delivered to the educators, providing feedback on the intervention implementation.

Self-efficacy:

. mastery experience;

. persuasion

Learning process:

. retention;

. production (goals and feedback, addressing barriers)

. motivation