Creating childcare environments supportive of child obesity prevention: The effectiveness of an intensive population based dissemination intervention.

The intervention will include the following evidence based components: Executive support - Nominated Supervisors and management committees will be engaged and encouraged to communicate their endorsement of practice changes at meetings, through changes to position descriptions and reporting requirements. Consensus processes - Meetings with service staff will be conducted to discuss and reach consensus regarding approaches for successfully achieving implementation of policies and practices Training - A training workshop will be available to all services and will focus on the implementation of healthy eating policies and practices. Staff training will combine didactic and interactive components including opportunities for role play and facilitator provided feedback. Tools and resources - Printed instructional materials, sample policies, planning templates, and self- assessment forms to allow self-monitoring of practice adoption. Academic detailing - Service visits will be conducted to demonstrate skills learnt during training (i.e. observe and co-teach a Fundamental Movement Skills activity), and address identified deficits. Recognition - Services providing a copy of their policy and documentation that demonstrates how practices are integrated into service routines will be acknowledged and promoted to other intervention services using communication strategies. On-going support - Services will receive regular telephone support calls for 12 months to review progress, discuss deficits identified from self-monitoring; and facilitate problem solving. Performance monitoring and feedback – Project records will be used to compile feedback reports regarding collective adoption progress of intervention services. Services will be encouraged to self-monitor progress towards implementation goals. Feedback will be provided during academic detailing visit and during telephone support calls. Communication Strategy - small media strategies targeting intervention services only will be used to communicate key messages and case study successful implementation approaches. Intervention strategies will be administered over a 12 month period. The intervention aims to facilitate the following practice and policy changes: - services having a written nutrition and physical activity policy - service provision of water or reduced fat milk only to children - service provision of a fundamental movement skills program - service restriction of time engaged in small screen recreation - service staff role modelling physical activity and healthy eating - service staff monitoring lunchboxes and providing feedback to parents - service staff provision of prompts and positive comments to children to encourage physical activity and healthy eating