Abstract
Objective: This study aims to clarify the government’s dissemination measures for implementing the early childhood exercise program (hereafter, “exercise program”).
Methods: We evaluated the implementation process of exercise programs for childcare workers in Unnan City using the PAIREM model. Our evaluation utilized government, childcare facility, and preschool worker data from 2016 to 2021. We analyzed the fundamental movement skills of preschoolers up to 2019, considering the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the data.
Results: Plan: The goal was to determine “the percentage (95.0%) of parents who perceive their child as being physically and mentally healthy.’’ The government planned “the number of workshops held,’’ including “the number of kindergartens and children who would participate in fundamental movement skills tests.’’ There was no target value for fundamental movement skills improvement in preschoolers. Implementation: The educational administration held 14 training sessions for childcare providers over six years. Reach: Study materials were distributed to all childcare providers. A total of 21 pseudo-childcare facilities and 18.5% (342/1849) of pseudo-childcare workers were included in the training sessions. Effectiveness: The percentage of pseudo-childcare workers’ exercise support behavior for preschoolers ranged from 75.5% to 90.4%. Furthermore, fundamental movement skills measurements showed that the softball throw and 25-meter run were higher in 2019 compared to 2016 for children aged 4–5 years. However, the standing long jump in 2019 was lower than in 2016 among children aged 5 years. Maintenance: Data will be collected in the future.
Conclusion: The evaluation by PAIREM clarified the government’s implementation of measures to disseminate exercise programs through workshops, among others. Further improvements and promotion of the project will be necessary in the future.
