Christina D Economos, Megan P Mueller, Nicole Schultz, Julie Gervis, Gabrielle F Miller, Russell R Pate
Investigating best practices of district-wide physical activity programmatic efforts in US schools- a mixed-methods approach
BMC public health
school wellness programming important promoting healthy lifestyles academic achievement youth however research needed methods help schools implement sustain programs purpose study investigate factors within outside school environment influenced school capacity implementation potential sustainability wellness programming part school wellness integration targeting child health switch intervention elementary school wellness teams n 30 guided capacitybuilding process focused promoting adoption healthy lifestyle behaviors students data implementation collected three standardized surveys interviews premidpost postimplementation interview indicators organizational capacity assessed using school wellness readiness assessment swra paired ttests run assess changes implementation classroom physical education lunchroom settings capacity stakeholder engagement time oneway analysis variance anova tests run examine implementation best practices low moderate high explained differences capacity gains qualitative data analyzed inductive deductive analysis following consolidated framework implementation research cfir paired ttests showed nonsignificant increases school settingspecific capacity implementation switch best practices time addition consistent level engagement key stakeholders anova results revealed nonsignificant associations implementation group gains school capacity f 2 24 163 p 21 class capacity f 2 24020 p 82 lunchroom capacity f 2 24029 p 78 physical education f 2 24145 p 25 qualitative data demonstrated factors within outer setting ie engaging community partners facilitated programming innersetting factors ie relationships administration staff influenced implementation implementation process themes eg planning adaptation resources meet school capacityneeds engaging students leaders cited key facilitators schools discussed factors affecting sustainability school culture knowledge school wellness policy results implementation study document importance allowing schools adapt programming meet local needs highlight strengths measuring multiple implementation outcomes increased support needed schools regarding formation improvement wellness policies means enhance sustainability time