Influence of a Parent-mediated mHealth Motor Skill Intervention on Preschool Children's Motor Skills and Cognitive Function

NCT07680075 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00000124
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 35
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The proposed study uses a mHealth application "app" to help parents teach their preschool-age child motor skill (FMS) activities in the home environment. This app guides families to participate in 10-min activity breaks, 7 days/week for 12 weeks and the app includes weekly instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, behavioral scaffolding, and structured activities. This study builds on prior work by assessing whether improvements in FMS generalize to cognitive domains, including executive function skills such as working memory, attention, and inhibitory control. By examining both motor and cognitive outcomes, the project will provide essential evidence on whether enhanced FMS uniquely contributes to cognitive development. Based on findings from the proposed study, there may be a need to develop additional modules that address diverse needs of children or that contribute to broader, multifaceted improvement in both motor competence and cognitive function. Findings will inform the potential of technology-based motor skill interventions to support broader aspects of child development in diverse populations, guiding future practice and policy in education, health, and early intervention.

Conditions

Executive Function; Motor Skills; Healthy

Keywords

mHealth; preschool; motor skill; executive function; parent-mediated

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in executive functioning skills based on COSMIC intervention

  Heads, Toes, Knees, and Shoulders - Revised, Attention, working memory, inhibitory control

  Measured at three time points: enrollment (Week 0), end of intervention (Week 12), and 12-week retention (Week 24)

• Change in motor skills based on COSMIC intervention

  Actual and perceived motor skills assessed by the Test of Gross Motor Development - 3rd edition and Perceived Movement Skill Competence assessment

  Measured at three time points: enrollment (Week 0), end of intervention (Week 12), and 12-week retention (Week 24)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Parent implementation fidelity using the COSMIC app

  Measured throughout the duration of the intervention (12 weeks)

• Changes in habitual physical activity based on engagement with COSMIC app

  Measured at three time points: enrollment (Week 0), end of intervention (Week 12), and 12-week retention (Week 24)

Study Arms (1)

COSMIC

EXPERIMENTAL

mHealth intervention

Behavioral: COSMIC

Interventions

COSMIC BEHAVIORAL

Parents will deliver the FMS intervention at home to their preschool-age child (3-5 yrs). Each day, Parents will access weekly instructional lessons, peer modeling videos and activity breaks to deliver approximately 12 hrs of structured FMS instruction time to their child over a 3-month period. The Mission PLAY app program is comprised of 10-minute segments of varied activities that children perform, called "activity breaks" (10-min activity breaks, 7 days/week for 12 weeks) Each week parent-child dyads will work on one featured FMS (e.g., jumping) and will complete short bouts of activity that include a one-minute warm-up, 8 minutes of FMS practice, and one-minute cool down. During the FMS practice, parents will help their child practice this skill through a series of developmentally appropriate activities that aim to incrementally increase their child's performance through continued practice.

Also known as: PLAY App

COSMIC

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Children will be included if they are 3-5 years of age at the time of enrollment and their accompanying parents (Age 18 or above).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Tennessee: lead
• Woodcock Institute for the Advancement of Neurocognitive Research and Applied Practice: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Cosmic composite resin

Central Study Contacts

Kip Webster, PhD

CONTACT

865-974-3752; kipwebster@utk.edu

Dawn Coe, PhD

CONTACT

865-974-0294; dcoe@utk.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 25, 2026
• First Posted: July 2, 2026
• Study Start: June 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Last Updated: July 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share