Oral Presentation The Institute of Australian Geographers Conference 2023

Neighbourhood places for preschool children’s physical activity - A mixed-methods study using GPS, GIS and accelerometry data. (18824)

Pulan Bai 1 2 , Jasper Schipperijn 3 , Michael Rosenberg 4 , Hayley Christian 1 2
  1. School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  2. Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, Perth, Australia
  3. Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark , Odense, Denmark
  4. School of Human Sciences (Exercise and Sport Science), The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, Perth, Australia

Understanding the spatial distribution of physical activity among preschool children is crucial, given the well-established positive association between physical activity and children’s health and development. However, despite the importance of this topic, there is currently limited knowledge about where preschool children engage in physical activity beyond their home and childcare centre environments. To address this gap, this study combined accelerometry with geospatial data to explore the influence of the environment on preschool children’s physical activity by objectively identifying the locations where preschool children engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) within and outside of their neighbourhood.

Accelerometry, GPS and GIS data from 168 preschool children aged 2-5 years were processed in ArcGIS Pro to identify locations (per 25x25m fishnet cell) with high MVPA counts. Locations with high MVPA counts were defined as those with the top 20% of MVPA counts per fishnet cell. The land use for high MVPA count location was determined for three domains: <500m from home, 500-1600m from home, >1600m from home.

Locations with high MVPA counts <500m from home were playgrounds (66.6%), schools (16.7%) and parks (16.7%). Locations with high MVPA counts 500-1600m from home included playgrounds (33.3%), non-home residential (29.6%), childcares (11.1%) parks (3.7%). Locations with high MVPA counts >1600m from home included non-home residential (54.7%), sports and recreation centres (11.1%), playgrounds (6.8%), parks (5.3%).

Our findings highlight that local parks and playgrounds provide physical activity opportunities for preschool children, yet beyond the local neighbourhood the homes of others are important locations for preschool children to accumulate MVPA. These findings can be used to inform the design of current and future neighbourhood places to better accommodate preschool children’s MVPA.