An Intervention to Improve Motor Skills in Young Children

NCT03901300 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: PBRC 2018-0411R21HD095035-01A1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 72
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of "PLAY" is to adapt and test a developmentally appropriate intervention delivered on a mobile app to parents, with the goal of teaching fundamental motor skill (FMS) proficiency to their preschool-aged children (ages 3 to 5 y). Seventy-two children (3 to 5 y of age) were randomized. Of these children, 36 parents were randomized to use the FMS app and 36 were randomized to use a version of the app that promotes unstructured PA as a comparator group. Parents in the FMS condition accessed instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, and activity breaks to deliver 720 minutes of targeted, structured FMS instruction time to their child over a 12-week period. Parents in the comparator arm used a version of the app that provides instructional lessons to promote the equivalent amount of unstructured PA for their child. Parents were asked to guide the intervention, as parental support, modeling, and co-participation predict children's engagement in PA.

Conditions

Physical Activity; Fundamental Motor Skills; Development, Child; Self-regulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• App Adherence

  Adherence to the app intervention based on number of activity breaks completed over the 12 week intervention

  From date of randomization until completion of the 12 weeks of intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3) Percentile Rank Between Baseline and Week 12

  baseline and 12 weeks (primary outcome)

Study Arms (2)

Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS)

EXPERIMENTAL

The FMS group will utilize the PLAY FMS app that provides instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, and activity breaks to deliver 720 minutes of targeted, structured FMS instruction time to the child over a 12 week period.

Behavioral: Fundamental Motor Skills App

Unstructured Physical Activity

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The active comparator group will use a version of the PLAY app that provides instructional lessons to promote the equivalent dosage of unstructured physical activity for the child.

Behavioral: Unstructured Physical Activity App

Interventions

Fundamental Motor Skills App BEHAVIORAL

Lessons will be provided over the app each week with notifications sent 5 days/week over 12 weeks specific to randomized experimental group.

Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS)

Unstructured Physical Activity App BEHAVIORAL

Lessons will be provided over the app each week with notifications sent 5 days/week over 12 weeks specific to randomized active comparator group.

Unstructured Physical Activity

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 3 Years - 5 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• years of age
• Physically capable of exercise
• Has no parent-reported mobility limitations that impairs performance of fundamental motor skills

You may not qualify if:

• Gross Motor Quotient at "gifted or very advanced" based on the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Pennington Biomedical Research Center: lead
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Webster EK, Kracht CL, Newton RL Jr, Beyl RA, Staiano AE. Intervention to Improve Preschool Children's Fundamental Motor Skills: Protocol for a Parent-Focused, Mobile App-Based Comparative Effectiveness Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Oct 20;9(10):e19943. doi: 10.2196/19943.

  PMID: 33079066 BACKGROUND

• Staiano AE, Newton RL, Beyl RA, Kracht CL, Hendrick CA, Viverito M, Webster EK. mHealth Intervention for Motor Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics. 2022 May 1;149(5):e2021053362. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-053362.

  PMID: 35415743 RESULT

• Staiano AE, Saha S, Beyl RA, Kracht CL, Newton RL Jr, Webster EK. Parental engagement and implementation fidelity in a mHealth motor skills intervention for young children. Phys Educ Sport Pedagogy. 2025;30(4):390-402. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2023.2235394. Epub 2023 Jul 15.

  PMID: 40777185 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity; Self-Control

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Social Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Amanda Staiano
• Organization: LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center

amanda.staiano@pbrc.edu

2257632500

Study Officials

• Amanda Staiano, PhD

  Pennington Biomedical Study Director

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• E. Kipling Webster, PhD

  Augusta University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 1, 2019
• First Posted: April 3, 2019
• Study Start: May 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: February 10, 2020
• Study Completion: February 10, 2020
• Last Updated: March 29, 2024
• Results First Posted: February 9, 2022

Record last verified: 2024-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)