Building healthy kids: Disseminating the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth via a digital hub

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Build Your Best Day! (BYBD) is an interactive website developed to assist in the dissemination of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth ("Guidelines") to children, parents, and educators. Guided by Diffusion of Innovations Theory, the current study examined youth's perceptions of the Guidelines before and after interacting with BYBD. METHOD: Youth aged 10-14 years participated in a mixed-methods interview, answering questions regarding the Guidelines before and after trialing BYBD. Outcomes included the perceived advantage of the Guidelines, complexity, compatibility, and intention to adopt the Guidelines. Qualitative data was analyzed with deductive content analysis. Pre-/post-BYBD changes in quantitative variables were assessed with t-tests and Cohen's effect sizes. RESULTS: Seventeen youth participated. Prior to BYBD, youth rated the Guidelines as helpful (M=5.73/7, SD=1.36), not overwhelming (M=6.07/7, SD=0.96), and expressed intent to follow the Guidelines (M=5.67/7, SD=1.68). Ratings remained constant or improved following BYBD, with a significant increase in youth's understanding of the guidelines, p<0.001. Youth consistently described the Guidelines as helpful and important, and noted that following the Guidelines would promote health. Youth responded favourably to BYBD, and often reflected on the variety of activities that fall under the Guidelines. DISCUSSION: Preliminary findings suggest that youth perceive the Guidelines as helpful and easy to understand, and are motivated to adopt the Guidelines. Youth's understanding of the Guidelines significantly improved after completing the BYBD activity.