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The influence of the neighbourhood built environment on young children's physical development has been well-documented; however, there is limited empirical evidence of an association with social and emotional development. Parental perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment may act as facilitators or barriers to young children's play and interactions in their local environment. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between parents' perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment and the social-emotional development of children aged two-to-five years.
Despite immense benefits of physical activity on health and developmental outcomes, few children achieve recommended daily levels of physical activity. Given more than half of families with children own a dog, we investigated the effect of a mobile health (mHealth) intervention to encourage dog-facilitated physical activity through increased family dog walking and children's active play with their dog.
Hayley Karen Christian Lombardi BSc (1st Class Hons), PhD (Distinction) W.Aust. BHSc (Hons), PhD Head, Child Physical Activity, Health and
The BEACHES project aims to provide high quality evidence of aspects of the built environment which can be modified to reduce the negative impact on children’s physical activity, eating behaviours and weight status.
Hayley Christian BSc (1st Class Hons), PhD (Distinction) W.Aust. Head, Child Physical Activity, Health and Development; Ascend Senior Research Fellow
Senior Research Officer
Dog walking is important for public health and dog welfare, yet some owners do not walk with their dogs regularly. This study examined factors associated with participation in regular dog walking and intention to dog walk, in order to inform physical activity interventions.
Physical inactivity in childhood is a major public health issue. Dog ownership has been widely reported to lead to greater physical activity in adults and school-aged children. We examined if dog ownership and dog-facilitated physical activity were associated with higher physical activity in preschoolers. Secondary analysis of the 'Play Spaces & Environments for Children's Physical Activity' (PLAYCE, 2015-2018) study involving 1366, 2-5-year-olds from 122 long day-care centres in Perth, Australia was conducted.
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are a key setting to support improvements in the physical activity of young children. This umbrella review gathered and synthesised systematic review evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in the ECEC setting on the physical activity levels of children aged 0–6.
To advance active transport, robust policy-relevant evidence is needed to understand how to change behaviour and to support decision-making by policy makers and practitioners. Currently, however, priority research questions that are most critical for advancing active transport have not been identified.