SynthesisChild: care, health and development2025
Evidence on the Effectiveness of Public Policies for Physical Activity Promotion in the Early Childcare Education and Care Setting: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Child: care, health and development, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Household Poverty and Movement Behaviors in Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Study of Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physical activity promotion in the early childcare setting: a content analysis of the federal-state-wide educational framework plans in Germany.BMC public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEarly childhood education and care (ECEC) is crucial for shaping physical activity (PA) behaviours due to the significant time children spend in this setting. In addition, research has shown that public policies can be an important means to create a healthy environment. This systematic review explores the effectiveness of public policies promoting PA in ECEC.
methodsNine online databases (Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, Cinahl, IBSS, ERIC, APA PsychINFO and Cochrane library) were searched in August 2023 for studies that examined public policies impacting children's PA behaviour or environments in ECEC. Data were extracted, and a quality assessment was performed using the Downs and Black checklist, and a narrative synthesis was applied.
resultsA total of 11 articles met the inclusion criteria. The studies from the United States, Canada and Australia involved either the implementation of legally binding policies (n = 6) or voluntary accreditation standards (n = 5). Studies reported on the adherence of ECEC centres to policies, the effects on children's PA behaviour or changes in the environment using both device-based (e.g., accelerometer) and self-report (e.g., questionnaires and interviews) measures as well as observation. Reported adherence rates of childcare centres to new regulations ranged from 74% to 94%. Studies on policies that implemented PA into the curriculum required a mandatory PA time of at least 60 min per day or implemented revised accreditation standards reported positive effects on the ECEC centres PA environment. Effects on the PA behaviour of children remained inconclusive, with studies reporting on both increased and decreased PA levels.
conclusionPublic policies have the potential to change the environment and positively influence PA behaviour in preschool children. However, due to the heterogenous methodological approaches in the identified studies, the findings of this review have certain limitations. Future research needs to further investigate the effectiveness of policy approaches to promote PA in early childhood settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.